Prithvi Theatre Festival 2023: 6 new productions that are a must-watch

Motley theatre group's play Old World directed by Arghya Lahir, an adaptation of Russian playwright Aleksei Arbuzov’s play, stars Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah.

The 38th edition of Prithvi Festival 2023 kicked off on Friday night with a performance by prominent Indian classical vocalist Shubha Mudgal who sang a curated selection of songs from the Sufi-Bhakti traditions. The annual festival which showcases a mix of old and new plays was started in 1983 and has over the years become a pilgrimage of sorts for theatre lovers. This year, apart from the fringe performances, music and dance shows and stage talks with eminent theatre personalities such as Pratik Gandhi, Satish Alekar, Neena Gupta, Akarsh Khurana and Rasika Dugal, among others, there are six productions that are premiering at the festival. Here’s a look at the new plays:

Russian playwright Aleksei Arbuzov’s Old World is about two senior citizens who are as different as chalk and cheese meeting in a health resort and the friendship that emerges from there. A play on love, loss and laughter, it is directed by Arghya Lahiri and stars Naseeruddin Shah as a taciturn doctor and Ratna Pathak Shah as a difficult patient. Naseer’s Motley theatre group has not done a new play for Prithvi Fest in a while and this one seems right up their alley.

D for Drama's Purane Chawal, directed by Sumeet Vyas.

Actor Sumeet Vyas wears the director’s hat for this adaptation of Neil Simon’s popular play The Sunshine Boys which is about two veterans of Indian comedy who, after working together for more than 40 years, part ways only to come face to face once again. Vyas, who has worked on stage with Kumud Mishra and Shubhrajyoti Barat as actors, has the pleasure of directing them this time. Barat has shared in a social media post that he and Mishra had not done a play together in a long time together and they felt this was the right one to go along with.

Written and directed by Akarsh Khurana, This Time is set at a college reunion where a group of people who were friends in college two decades ago meet each other again. Among them is an estranged couple who had broken up a long time ago and are coming face to face for the first time after all those years. This one has been described as a comedy about growing up, regrets, nostalgia and the one that got away. The play’s cast includes Adhaar Khurana, Garima Yajnik, Kshitee Jog, Mallika Singh, Mantra and Siddharth Kumar.

Akavarious' This Time directed by Akarsh Khurana.

Water Lily’s Red is set in the 1950s and takes a look at a specific time in the life of Latvian-American painter Mark Rothco who was asked to paint a series of murals for the Four Seasons hotel in New York. The play takes a look at the relationship between an artist and his creations and asks questions about the relevance of art and its purpose. Daniel Owen Dsouza who is acting in the play along with Vikram Kapadia is also helming the production as the director.

Water Lily’s Red.

When Ram is exiled to 14 years in the forest with his wife Sita, his dutiful brother Lakshman decides to go with him. In order to serve his brother better, he asks his wife Urmila to take his 14 years of sleep. His wife, who stays behind in Ayodhya, has no choice but to fall into a deep slumber for all those years. A play in English with a few dialects of Kannada, Malayalam and Tamil, Adishakti’s Urmila has been directed by Nimmy Raphael and imagines how Urmila would have protested if she had the choice. Meedhu Miriyam, Sooraj S and Anil Iyer are part of the cast.

Adishakti’s Urmila, directed by Nimmy Raphael.

Writer and director Makarand Deshpande is back with another new play at Prithvi Fest with Manushya. The play is about Phadke, a thinker who believes everyone is a clown and needs to let that clown out! Starring Deshpande himself and a bunch of other actors including Aakanksha Gade, Sowmya Bali and Esha De among others, Manushya explores the consequences of Phadke’s actions.

Makarand Deshpande-directed Manushya.