Theatre lovers in Bengaluru, this year has started on a great note. Ranga Shankara, one of the city’s most renowned theatres, is reopening for the first time since it shut down last year due to the pandemic. From Saturday, January 9 to Sunday, January 31, their #ReturnToTheatre will be marked with a plethora of multilingual performances such as Sharanya Ramprakash’s Kannada play Akshayambara and Naseeruddin Shah directing three of Ismat Chughtai’s stories in the Hindi-Urdu play Ismat Apa Ke Naam (pictured above).
Here’s what’s in store for you as Ranga Shankara reopens its doors.
‘Akshayambara’
Written and directed by Sharanya Ramprakash, Akshayambara questions the ideas of gender roles by combining theatre and the dance drama form of Yakshagana. The story is a role reversal of the Draupaudi Vastraharan sequence from the Mahabharata where Draupadi is essayed by a man while the role of lust-driven Kaurava is played by a woman.
Director: Sharanya Ramprakash
Cast: Sharanya Ramprakash, Prasad Cherkady
When: Sunday, January 10 at 3.30pm and 7.30pm
Where: Ranga Shankara, R K Colony, J.P. Nagar
‘Shraddha Mattu Stainless Steel Patregalu’
These two Kannada plays have a common theme running through them; they showcase a parental figure through the eyes of their child. Shraddha is based on a short story by Srinivasa Vaidya and explores the relationship between a son and his father, a follower of Lokmanya Tilak. Stainless Steel Patregalu, as the name suggests, showcases a mother’s obsession with stainless steel utensils.
Director: Kiran Vati
Cast: Prachi Ravichandra, Keerthi Bhanu, Ganesh Shenoy, Harish Somayaji
When: Tuesday, January 12 at 7.30pm
Where: Ranga Shankara, R K Colony, J.P. Nagar
‘Ismat Apa Ke Naam’
Renowned writer and feminist Ismat Chughtai’s stories Chui Mui, Mughal Bachha and Gharwali are narrated by Heeba Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah and Naseeruddin Shah.
Director: Naseeruddin Shah
Cast: Heeba Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Naseeruddin Shah
When: Saturday, January 16 to Sunday, January 17 at 3.30 pm and 7.30pm
Where: Ranga Shankara, R K Colony, J.P. Nagar
For more plays at Ranga Shankara, go here.
