Marriage meets drama

Tucked away in the leafy lanes of Dadar is the latest addition to the list of permanent addresses for theatre in the city. The half a century old King George High School’s BN Vaidya Hall will now become a mainstream English and Hindi stage space, thanks to the efforts of veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah who convinced the school management to rent out the space to theatre groups rather than to marriage parties.

For its part, the school management has decided to forego the daily rent of Rs 60,000 from marriages and accept only Rs 20,000 as daily rent from theatre groups. The space will currently be open to weekend theatre and gradually daily shows will also be booked there.

Satish Lotlikar, chairman of Indian Education Society, says they are looking to encourage cultural events within the school premises. “Several students from our school have gone on to become performance artists. This step is dedicated to them,” said Lotlikar, adding that the school has arranged for a trained stage crew to assist groups backstage.

A thrilled Jairaj from Naseer’s run Motley Theatre says the venue will be a great alternative to those who want to watch English, instead of the staple Marathi plays at neighbourhood YB Chavan Hall and Shivaji Mandir.

“It is difficult to imagine how this wonderful 400-seater hall was catering to marriage parties alone. Very few people knew about this venue as a potential theatre space,” says Jairaj, revealing that a chance encounter with lights designer Inayat Sami led to the group’s discovery of the space.

In fact, Inayat has already fitted the space with advanced theatre lights and acoustics. The hall has also been renovated with an inclined flooring to facilitate a better view of the stage. “Naseeruddin Shah has been working hard to make this venue known to several other theatre groups. Makarand Deshpande and Akarsh Khurana have already expressed their interest in this space,” says Jairaj.

The Motley Festival has wrapped up from BN Vaidya, and Naseer will return to the venue with their next play in around two weeks time.