Still waiting in the wings
Brunch|April 20, 2024
We hum tunes in English, binge TV, spoken word acts and comedy in it. Why, pray tell, does theatre lag behind?
Arshia Dhar
Still waiting in the wings

Plays suchasHamlet, the ClownPrince (inset) andDear Liar (starringNaseeruddin ShahandRatnaPathakShah) have run to critical andpublic acclaim.Andyet,morepeople gravitate to stand-up comedy rather thana comicplay for an eveningout.

All the world's a stage? Then how come some stage events do better than others, even though they're in English too? In the last few months alone, Indians booked early-bird tickets to gigs and music festivals, singing along to The Backstreet Boys, Halsey and Sting. But barely a fraction of those folks attended a play. Comedian Vir Das has sold out bigger concert halls than Indian playwrights tend to do. Spoken Fest claims to be Asia's largest spoken-word gathering and packs out arenas in Delhi and Mumbai; but theatre festivals fill far fewer seats.

PLAYWRIGHTS HAVE BEEN CRAFTING PLAYS IN ENGLISH FOR INDIAN VIEWERS. THE STORIES AREN’T ABOUT JOHN AND GEORGE ANYMORE, BUT ABOUT ANAND AND VIKRAM

Denne historien er fra April 20, 2024-utgaven av Brunch.

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Denne historien er fra April 20, 2024-utgaven av Brunch.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA BRUNCHSe alt
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