Bachchon Ki Adalat
Director
Nisha Narayan / Deepti Rattan
Synopsis
BACHCHON KI ADALAT was an original Natya Bharati production, written and directed by Nisha Narayan and produced by Avantika Gupta, which charmed audiences all around the DC area with its story and actors, featuring children ranging from the age of 4 to 16.
While we had attempted to bring variety of plays entertaining and enriching our adult audience, we felt it was time for us to create a theater experiences that educate, challenge and inspire young people as well. Goal was to provide a fun, yet safe and caring environment where the excitement of the theater is shared by all. Also to help children develop enthusiasm, confidence, self-esteem, communication and social skills while expanding Natya Bharati's outreach to next generation.
Gist of the play -
Everybody has heard of the Supreme Court, Small claims court, even a people's court. Now, we invite you to take an inside peek into what a court convened by children, for children, with a child-appointed judge, feels, looks, and soun
Cast
Ansh Kasana,Ashna Bhatia,Deep Mathur,Divya Mathur,Kunal Agarwal,Shyla Agarwal,Myra Verma,Reetika Banerjee,Saili Shinde,Shirom Kumar,Shikhar Kumar,Urjit Galera,Siya Narayan,Meera Narasimhan
Additional Info
Also staged at Rajasthali Show and Invited by South Asian Theater Festival (SATF) in New Jersey.
Pasina Pasina
Playwright
Vijay Tendulkar
Director
Sushil Rattan
Synopsis
This nautanki style of theater is the vehicle for this *musical-all-the-way*... simple story, enjoyable music, and Tendulkar like you've never seen before!
Once upon a time, there was a small little place called Bambampur! The King and his young Queen and childless and sad. The Royal Physician prescribes a special herbal medicine for what ails them – however, the medicine cannot be made without the most essential ingredient: pasina! insaan ka pasina!
This play is written for children, though acted by adults, it provides fun and entertainment to all ages.
Cast
Ajay Rawat,Anamitro Banerjee,Suma Muralidhar,Kshama Bute-shinde,Madhuri Subramaniam,Pushkar Vartak,Rajiv Paul,Rashmi Sahasrabudhe,Sanjay Kumar,Shweta Javehrani,Dinesh Menon,Gauri Nerurkar,Minal Jain,Ravi Bhave,Saket Gune,Sangeeta Simlote,Smita Gopinath,Suhana Raphael,Sumeet Nerurkar
Iktara
Playwright
Mitu Tiwari Raphael
Director
Mitu Tiwari Raphael
Synopsis
When we truly see beyond stereotypes …we get to know a new person. We realize we are nothing but a reflection of others.
During the course of this one-and-a-half-hour play, you’ll meet eight characters who feel no different than you or I…
Cast
Manoj Tiwari,Sangeeta Agarwal,Vishwas,Ketaki Pange,Vinay Sanapala,Sonia Naik,Priti Pamnani,Pushkar Vartak,Anirudh Srirangam,Guneet Banga
Additional Info
This play was staged in January at a black Box theater in Silver Spring MD followed by in November in Houston.
Production Team: Aditi Thite, Chetna Gola, Onkar Naik, Vaidu Iyer, Praveen Javehrani, Sandeep Sawant, Aditya Mahante, Jitu, Girish Shetty
Folk Dance Festival celebrating IDRF 30th Anniversary
Playwright
Concept: Adarsh Gupta
Director
Coordinated by Adarsh Gupta
Synopsis
For the past 30 years, IDRF has been a leading organization working to alleviate poverty in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka by empowering disadvantaged communities with infrastructure, skills and resources necessary to improve development in those areas.
For this occasion, Natya Bharati presented art forms from various regions of India through folk dances. Dance, being a part of human life from the primitive to the most cultured communities, appears to have evolved even before we began to speak or paint. While the primitive man performed the dance combining reality with the deity, the cultured man performed the dance for pleasure and for the expression of art.
India is a land of varied cultures and traditions. Diversities in all spheres make the Indian culture quite unique. Indian folk and tribal dances are product of different socio-economic set up and traditions. Indian folk and tribal dances are simple and are performed to express joy. Folk dances are accompanied by folk music in
Cast
Ganesh Vandana (Lejhim) - Bharat Deolekar,Karnataka (Kamsale) - Pavani Reddy,Orissa (Sambhalpuri) - Nalini Mirajkar,Andhra Pradesh (Lambadi) - Lakshmi Babu & Sowmya Srikant,Kashmir (Rouf) - Shweta Misra,Maharashtra (Shetkari Nritya) - Pallavi Talekar,Uttarakhand (Kumaoni/Garhwali) - Neema Bist & Mamta Kukreti,Punjab (Giddha) - Sonali Seth,Kerala (Parvati Puja) - Radha Datta,Gujrat (Tippani) - Purvi Thakkar & Bharat Deolekar,Uttar Pradesh (Kajri) - Monika Chaturvedi,Assam (Bihu) - Lumbini Bora,Tamil Nadu (Korathi) - Madhuri subramaniam,Haryana (Chandrawal) - Shweta Misra,Bengal (Kati Dhan) - Sreedatta Banerjee,Rajasthan (Ghoomer) - Meeta Bhatnagar,Rajasthan (kalbelia ) - Purvi Bhatt,Rajasthan (Holi Finale) - Vinita Tiwari & Pushpa Dashottar
Additional Info
98 dancers from across Washington Metropolitan Area had participated in this program. List above depicts choreographers only.
The Music In My Blood
Playwright
Sonalee Hardikar & Shubhra Prakash
Director
Sonalee Hardikar
Synopsis
The Music In My Blood
“once you have become a musician, you cannot unbecome.”
The great maestros who have given their life to Classical Indian Music do not hesitate to admit that they have only just begun. “Music in My Blood” explores the world of Classical Indian Music through drama. A music that deeply stirs the emotions of a listener and demands great sacrifice from its students and depicts the resistance of youth and their coming back to their roots.
Music in my blood tries to trace the havoc that changing times wreaks on tradition, the change in the purpose of why art should be pursued, what was once a free-flowing medium used to describe the divine, infinite, how did it transform into a single rendition, copyrighted and sealed version that can make millions? The play is a documentation of what happens when ambitions and genius are pitted against each other, when barriers constructed to shield and protect, become barriers that keep the loved ones locked out, and most of
Cast
Aanya Rastogi,Ariaki Dandawate,Miriam Eusebio,Michael Gentile,Gautam Gurnani,Meera Narasimhan,Richa Rudola,Sumend Wankhade
Additional Info
Producing Company - Hypokrit Theatre Company;
Music - Laxmikant Bongale;
Singers - Rucha Jambhekar, Manoj Govindraj;
Tabla - Amod Dandawate;
Lights/Projections - Madison Hartke-Weber;
Sets - Hassan Khan;
Sound - David Wong
Costumes - Priya Rohatgi
"Visit India Through Folk Dances" - Olney Theatre Center
Playwright
Concept - Adarsh Gupta
Director
Coordinated by Adarsh Gupta
Synopsis
“Visit India through Folk Dances”, A Folk Dance Program “Celebrating Diversity of India” -
Natya Bharati presents art forms from various regions of India through folk dances. Dance, being a part of human life from the primitive to the most cultured communities, appears to have evolved even before we began to speak or paint. While the primitive man performed the dance combining reality with the deity, the cultured man performed the dance for pleasure and for the expression of art.
Dances of India comprises numerous styles of dances, generally classified as classical or folk. As with other aspects of Indian culture, different forms of dances originated in different parts of India, developed according to the local traditions and also imbibed elements from other parts of the country.
Cast
Ganesh Vandana (Maharashtra) - Bharat Deolekar,Karnataka (Kamsale) - Madhuri Subramaniam,Kerala (Thiruvathira ) - Mini Pillai,Tamil Nadu-Kanya Kumari (Fisherwomen) - Chitra Krishnamurti,Tamil Nadu (Kurathi Attam) - Madhuri Subramaniam,Andhra Pradesh (Lambadi) - Lakshmi Babu & Sowmya Srikant,Orissa (Sambhalpuri) - Nalini Mirajkar,West Bengal (Chhou, Bou-Dhamail) - Sumana Sarkar,Assam (Bihu) - Lumbini Bora,Uttar Pradesh (Kajari) - Avantika Gupta,Haryana (Chandrawal) - Shweta Misra,Punjab (Giddha) - Sonali Seth,Rajasthan (Ghoomar) - Meeta Bhatnagar,Rajasthan (Kalbelia ) - Purvi Bhatt,Gujarat (Tippani) - Purvi Thakkar,Finale (Horia) - Vinita Tiwari
Additional Info
Narration Script - Vikram Kolluru; Story Tellers - Vikram Kolluru, Rashmi Dham, Austin Sincock, Gregory Sincock; Slides - Nachiket Dharker; Sound - Subhankar Banerjee; Lights - Paresh Parekh
The Final Chapter
Playwright
Ashok Ambardekar
Director
Ashok Ambardekar
Synopsis
A prolific writer Vishram Saigal professed…
Life is full of extra ordinary moments. Some are good others are bad but always unexpected.
They just appear from nowhere and hit you. Where do they come from? Some hidden hollows
you didn’t even know existed around you? These moments invoke aspirations and dreams but some can destroy too…
Life does not spare Vishram either and a calamitous stroke of such a moment hits him... shakes him to the core.
From top of the Literary world Vishram comes tumbling on a downward spiral. How low will this steep descent take him? How will it shape The Final Chapter of the book...his life?
Cast
Sanjay Kumar,Beena Kurane,Shrikant Ektare,Shampa Basu,Ahsan Zulfiqar,Shruthy Shetty,Uday Krishna,Rashmi Sahasrabudhe
Honour: Confessions of a Mumbai Courtesan
Director
Mark Cirnigliaro
Synopsis
HONOUR: Confessions of a Mumbai Courtesan is a fun, poignant and deeply moving coming of age story of a girl in a brothel. Paired with Apne Aap, an organization dedicated to the end of the sex trade, Honour delves into a child's life pushed to the brink. Will she escape her fate?
Visit India's red light district and meet the eunuch, priest, pimp, mother and daughter who call it home. A fun and poignant look at the exotic, dangerous life of Mumbai's real-life brothels and why they exist.
Dirty Paki Lingerie
Director
Erica Gould
Synopsis
Different characters. All of whom are confronting the intersection of tradition and modernity as Muslim women are represented in DIRTY PAKI LINGERIE, Aizzah Fatima’s solo play which has been performed in New York City at the Flea Theater as well as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and many other venues.
Whether it is Selma, a send-generation, hhijab-wearing feminist grappling with her Muslim practice and desire to please her new husband with sexy lingerie, or Asma, a Pakistani immigrant mother searching for her daughter’s future husband in the Urdu Times Matrimonial section, Fatima embodies the complex interplay between heritage and contemporary society. With humor and grace, Fatima offers portraits of women whose voices need be heard.
Dirty Paki Lingerie is a solo play by Aizzah Fatima that shows different characters, all of whom are confronting the intersection of tradition and modernity as Muslim women. Fatima embodies the complex interplay between heritage and contemporary soci
Iktara
Playwright
Mitu Tiwari Raphael
Director
Mitu Tiwari Raphael
Synopsis
When we truly see beyond stereotypes …we get to know a new person. We realize we are nothing but a reflection of others.
During the course of this one-and-a-half-hour play, you’ll meet eight characters who feel no different than you or I…
Cast
Manoj Tiwari,Sangeeta Agarwal,Vishwas,Ketaki Pange,Gunnet Banga,Pushkar Vartak,Sonia Naik,Vinay Sanapala
Additional Info
Production Team: Aditi Thite, Chetna Gola, Onkar Naik, Vaidu Iyer, Praveen Javehrani, Sandeep Sawant, Aditya Mahante, Jitu, Girish Shetty
Jaati Hi Poochho Sadhu Ki
Playwright
Vijay Tendulkar
Director
Pushpa & Umesh Agnihotri
Synopsis
A satirical social play, Jaati Hi Poochho Sadhu Ki is one of Vijay Tendulkar's famous plays. It highlights the plight and predicament still faced by those who belong to a lower caste/class.
The story is told through Mahipat, the protagonist of the play. He wants to move up, tries all means, but can't, despite having acquired University education. The biggest hurdle on his way up is his caste.
Mahipat's story seems to be relevant in the Indian subcontinent, more so in today's India, when the country is making big strides in economic and political fields. But as far as caste is concerned, the mindset of most of the people has not changed much.
Cast
Sandeep Sawant,Sridhar Mirajkar,Govind Modi,Shashank Modi,Raju Ali,Ramesh Sood,Manoj Tiwari,Vaidu Iyer,Neha Pania,Javed Boota,Virat Khanpandi,Krishna Kumar,Jigeshwar Patel,Gaurav Sharma,Jayant Tripathi
Additional Info
First Play of 2016-2018 Term staged on April 16th and 17th of 2016
Kasturba versus Gandhi
Producer
Adarsh Gupta / Mamta Kukreti
Director
Professor David Rothman
Synopsis
These are exciting times as we embark on celebrating “WOMEN”!
In keeping with the times, Natya Bharati is proud to bring you our next venture about an empowered woman who was the strength behind the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi.
She is Kasturba Gandhi.
Kasturba is an epitome of women who were the backbones of leaders that they supported, and without whom, the leaders could probably not have reached the pinnacles of their successes. Some of these women, while strong personalities, remained behind the scenes, and some were even lost in the annals of history. One such woman was Kasturba, or “Ba” as many fondly called her.
Aside from being known as Mahatma Gandhi’s wife, not much is known about Kasturba. Who was she? What was her relationship like - with - Her husband? Her family?
Find out this Fall, when Natya Bharati presents its second 2016 production
KASTURBA versus GANDHI,
written by Dr. Nishi Chawla, a former professor of English Literature at the Univers
Cast
Girish Shetty,Ketaki Pange,Bethany Rishell,Madhavi Reddi,Neha Bhavnagarwala,Firoze Bhavnagarwala,Deep Gandhi,Beena Kurane,rajiv,Mahesh Radhakrishnan,Stuti Banerjee,Assistant Director: Meera Narasimhan
Additional Info
Play was Staged again for SAHARA/IDRF on November 5, 2016 at JCC
Both Productions were supported by a very dedicated production team
So Ja Rajkumar
Director
Vijay & Lalita Deshpande
Synopsis
This is a farcical comedy, intertwined with fantasy.
It is a story of a middle class couple, Pratima and Rajkumar Lele. Lately, Raj is afflicted with a strange malady –whatever he looks at just before going to sleep, it appears in his dream and then actually materializes. This of course creates havoc on his domestic front. Raj desperately seeks the help of his buddy Chander who, in a humorous way, adds to confusion. Pratima suspects that Raj is having an affair and Raj is unable to convince her otherwise.
Subsequently, Pratima believes Raj’s story after witnessing the surprising outcome of one of his dreams.
Pratima retains a psychiatrist to treat Raj. A somewhat shady character with questionable credentials, the Doctor figures out Raj’s problem and then hatches a scheme to take advantage of Raj’s bizarre condition.
The ensuing drama creates outrageous situations and ends up with unexpected but hilarious results.
Cast
Chetna Gola,Sri Mirajkar,Hemant Anikhindi,Yatin Gola,Goldie Manocha,Manoj Tiwari,Pranav Pandya,Sher Bahadur,Ashish Pandit
Additional Info
Staged at NB's 30th Anniversary Play Festival in April of 2015
Here We Are
Director
Anshita Kumar
Synopsis
Here We Are, set in the 1930s, provides a glimpse into the lives of a couple as they begin their journey as newlyweds aboard a train heading for New York City. The couple is eager to begin their literal and figurative journey on a positive note; however nervous anticipation and personal expectations lead to misunderstandings. Will the husband dismiss his wife's reflections as that of an anxious bride? Will she allow herself to be consumed by her insecurities? Through quips and squabbles, Here We Are attends to the difficulties of marriage and explores the often unspoken experience of newlyweds.
Cast
Badar Tareen,Lubna Alam
Additional Info
Staged at NB's 30th Anniversary Play Festival in April of 2015
Pasina Pasina
Playwright
Vijay Tendulkar
Director
Guri Bagga & Sushil Rattan
Synopsis
Once upon a time, there was a small little place called bambampur! The King and his young Queen are childless and sad. The Royal Physician prescribes a special herbal medicine for what ails them - however, the medicine cannot be made without the most essential ingredient: pasina! insaan ka pasina!!
And so begins *the quest* initiated by the political need to ensure the kingdom has continuity of control / leadership, meandering through the various hues and flavors of the denizens’ lives - fittingly facilitated by a foursome of fun-loving narrators - and culminating in a climax of…??
The nautanki style of theater is the vehicle for this *musical-all-the-way*... simple story, enjoyable music, and Tendulkar like you've never seen before!
Cast
Sushil Rattan,Suma Muralidhar,Sandeep Sawant,Ajay Rawat,Prerna Mohod-Kadu,Nivedita Bawa,Rajiv Paul,Sonia Gehlot,Ram Randad,Raju Iyer,Mr. Bala Subramaniam,Vikram Kolluru,Suhana Tiwari Raphael,Reetika Banerjee,Anamitro Banerjee,Rutvij Pandya,Mukesh Bhatt,Ravi Bhave,Guri Bagga
Additional Info
Staged at NB's 30th Anniversary Play Festival in April of 2015
Keep Your Fingers to Yourself
Director
Dibyendu Paul
Synopsis
A father from Mumbai visits his daughter in the Washington DC area. It’s been six weeks since he has been here, and there are four more weeks to go. The father is getting restless while the daughter keeps saying, “I’m so happy you’re here, Papa”. The son-in-law cares for him and treats him well. Things look up in the mornings and evenings when there are people in the house. But the emptiness and the silence in the middle of the day gets the better of him. The father wants to leave as he is ardently missing his association with Mumbai—his own flat, the people, the hullabaloo, and the circumstances he is more comfortable with. What he misses the most is his ability to do things or to go somewhere independently. Is he a well-treated first class prisoner in his daughter’s house? Is he stuck?
Cast
Arindam Ghosh,Shampa Basu,Dibyendu Paul
Additional Info
Staged at NB's 30th Anniversary Play Festival in April of 2015
Let Me Flow
Playwright
Mitushi Tiwari Raphael
Director
Mitushi Tiwari Raphael
Synopsis
Let Me Flow is a remarkable one-act play about life. Its the touching story of a man and a woman who together struggle through sorrow to find hope. The raw, heartfelt and daringly honest dialogue in the play makes an emotional connection with the audience, and definitely leaves you with much to think about.
Write-up on Director: First time writer & director Mitu Tiwari Raphael has been involved with theater for nearly 15 years now. As an actor she has had the privilege to work with incredibly talent directors, who just through their imagination, brought memorable characters and plays to life. It is her hope to follow their lead.
Cast
Guneet Banga,Gopi Ganji,Shweta Amre Javehrani,Mehul Gulati
Additional Info
Staged at NB's 30th Anniversary Play Festival in April of 2015 April.
Shweta and Mehul participated in June's show.
Gaj Fut Inch
Playwright
Padamshree K.P. Saxena
Producer
Dalvinder Multani
Director
Goldie Manocha
Synopsis
Gaj Fut inch deals with the deeper emotions of a shy, adolescent Tillu, whose life is wholly involved in the family business and like a typical calculating businessman, his world is limited to profits, lucre and revenues. He has never encountered love in life, still he emerges a winner because Jugni (his fiancé) accepts him the way he is. The situation becomes hilarious when the father starts to teach Tillu about ways to impress a girl.
Cast
Vikrum Mathur,Amritpal Kaur,Ashima Aryal,Paresh Parekh,Swati Sinha,Beena Kurane
Additional Info
Staged at NB's 30th Anniversary Play Festival in April of 2015 - April and June
Kultar's Mime
Playwright
J Mehr Kaur & Sarbpreet Singh
Producer
Sikh Research Institute
Director
J Mehr Kaur
Synopsis
Kultar’s Mime is an immersive theater experience, which draws upon poetry, painting and music to tell the story of four young children who were victims of the 1984 Delhi massacre.
Cast
Ben Gutman,Cassandra DeMarco,Rose Fieschko,Geena Forristall,Sydney Grant,Ross Magnant
Additional Info
This play was invited from Boston staged in December of 2015.
Bhopal
Producer
Epic Actors' Workshop, NJ
Director
Joanna Shermann
Synopsis
On the night or Dec 2 – 3, 1984, the Union Carbide Pesticide plant located in Bhopal India, exploded releasing toxic fumes that engulfed the city. Men, women and children died like flies. I first learnt about this disastrous explosion on the TV screen in Montreal Canada. The next day, newspapers brought images of mass destruction of lives. The city was littered with dead bodies and bodies gripped in pain. Bhopal had become the largest peace-time gas chamber in history.
Additional Info
Epic Actors' Workshop, NJ and
Bond Street Theater, NY
Interview
Playwright
Siddharth Kumar
Director
Manoj Tiwari
Synopsis
Not Available
Cast
Gopi Ganji,Krishna S. Murti,Priya Wasnikar,Pranav Pandaya
Additional Info
Summer event with "sab Golmal Hai"
Sab Golmal Hai
Director
Rajiv Paul
Synopsis
Not Available
Cast
Sujal Lagowala,Vaidu Iyer,Chhaya Lagowala,Kunjan Butala,Purvi Thakkar,Ram Randad
Additional Info
Summer Event with "Interview"
Roye Sukhi Vivah Peechhey (RSVP)
Playwright
Dr. Pali Bhupinder Singh
Producer
Mamta Kukreti, Deepti Rattan
Director
Dalvinder Multani
Synopsis
Not Available
Cast
Dalvinder Multani,Amrit Paul "Ruby",Paul Singh,Soniya Arya,Harkesh (Goldie) Manocha
Everyone Loves a Good Tsunami
Director
Krishna S. Murti
Synopsis
Not Available
Cast
Pranav Pandya,Nisha Narayan,Raju Iyer,Meera Narasimhan,Dilip Parikh,Subodh Sen,Urvashi Verma,Kosha Parekh,Ram Patla
Rudali
Playwright
Padma Vibhushan Mahashweta DeviThe story was converted into a play for this production by Playwright: sharmila (Pinki) GhoshalProduction Script: Usha GanguliHindi Translation: Rakesh Sharma
Producer
NB in collaboration with Rangan Artists
Director
Usha Ganguli
Synopsis
Not Available
Additional Info
A production of the forum of New Jersey Artists (Epic Actor's Workshop, Mrittika Inc., and Manjori
Where There is a Will
Director
Adarsh Gupta
Synopsis
Not Available
Cast
Subhojit Sen, Manoj Tiwari, Mitushi Raphael, Suma Muralidhar, Alka Khanna
Khamosh! Adalat Jaari Hai
Playwright
Vijay Tendulkar
Director
Shekhar Tipnis
Synopsis
Not Available
Cast
Krishna S. Murti,Alka Khanna,Dilip Parikh,Sri Mirle,Vikram Nehru,Ameet Taskar,Manju Gupta,Shekhar Tipnis,Kishan Banga
Jisne Lahore Nahin Dekha, O janmaya Hi Nahin
Producer
Pushpa Dashottar Manoj Tiwari
Director
Umesh Agnihotri
Music: Vasanti Athavale
Synopsis
Not Available
Cast
Ashok Sarin, Sibtain Kazmi, Krishna Murti, Anil Gulati, Manjula Kumar, Jaydeep Parikh, Shimaliya Agnihotri, Noon Naghmi, Ali Shoeb Hasan, Reggie Miller, Edward Dean, Sanjay Suri, Rajendra Bhatia, Pushpa Agnihotri, Manoj Tiwari, Rita Mitra
Surya ki Antim Kiran Se Surya ki Pehli Kiran Tak
Producer
Lalita Deshpande
Anil Gulati
Director
Manjula Kumar
Synopsis
Not Available
Cast
Manjula Kumar, Shobhana Nundy, Ashok Sarin, Manoj Tiwari, Subhash Karmarkar, Ameet Taskar, Meera Narasimhan, Reggie Miller
Ballabhpur ki Roopkatha
Director
Dipu Bhaumik
Synopsis
Not Available
Cast
Raj Bhatia,Timir Mukherjee,Monika Samtani,Krish Murti,Vivek Gupta,Shree Ayengar,Krishna S. Murti