The fifth edition of the NCPA Centrestage Festival in Mumbai in collaboration with the Vinod and Saryu Doshi Foundation will feature 14 premiering plays in 4 languages over 10 days. Deepa Gahlot, Theatre and Film Programming Head at the NCPA speaks about the highlights this year and why she thinks that the Centrestage is a significant theatre festival.
By Deepa Punjani
Deepa Punjani (DP): The NCPA Centrestage Festival is back. What according to you is going to be special about the festival this year?
Deepa Gahlot (DG): That is always tough to answer, because picking one play over others would be unfair. But it is special because it is the fifth year; in such a short while it has become a significant theatre event and is the only multi-lingual festival of premiering plays. To keep it growing takes passion from the team and support from the NCPA and from Dr Saryu Doshi.
DP: You have two British-Indian groups from the UK this year. Shabana Azmi will be performing in HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUNITA and there's a Kathak performance of Lorca's play YERMA. What led you to select these groups?
DG: A bit of serendipity. Both productions were ready to tour and HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUNITA was in the midst of planning their Asia Tour when we were planning Centrestage, so it worked well. YERMA had shows in the UK and has got rave reviews. With Shabana Azmi performing in HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUNITA, it was a shoo in.
DP: The NCPA has an in-house production in collaboration with the theatre group Akvarious yet again. What led you to support THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR?
DG: It's a timeless play. Gogol wrote it in the 19th century, but it fits right into 21st century India. Wherever there is corruption, greed and hypocrisy, The Government Inspector can stride in and unmask the dangerous fools. The satire is just bang on. We have worked with Akvarious on a successful production of TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE (which is still running), and we have a comfortable working relationship. They are a talented, dedicated bunch and a professional group, who deliver what they promise. Akarsh Khurana has worked out an interesting play-with-a-play device and completely Indianised the story. It's fun to watch.
DP: You have musicals, comedies, drama, dance as well as devised plays this year. This mix of genres- was it a conscious choice? As a curator, what are you looking for from year to year?
DG: That is always the case-- Centrestage always goes for variety. As I have said before, the Festival gives you a glimpse of as many kinds of theatre as possible. In a Festival, there has to be something for everyone. But that doesn't mean we go only for the tried and tested. There is encouragement to the experimental and adventurous as well. My personal preference is for original writing, but if there are a couple of classics to even things out, so much the better.
DP: You have an acting workshop by Ashok Ulfat this year as part of the festival. What is going to be special about this workshop?
DG: We have a workshop every year at the festival. We have done theatre appreciation in the past, direction, design, commedia, and playwriting. So we decided to do an acting workshop this year. Alok has been doing workshops in the suburbs; this gives South Mumbai-ites a chance to participate as well. Which is not to say, others are not welcome, but because of the demographic lay out of the city, there is more workshop activity in North-West Mumbai.
DP: The festival has been largely focusing on familiar groups from Mumbai apart from a few exceptions. Is that again a deliberate choice of programming or could the Centrestage aim for being a national or an international festival?
DG: There has always been a mix of old and new groups, local and outside groups and budget permitting, international companies as well. Every year, at least one (or more) group starts its journey with Centrestage; this year it is Patchworks Ensemble with ILA. I would love it if at some point in the future, all the plays are NCPA productions and can travel as a package. Right now, after the plays open at Centrestage, they are on their own. For us to have more of a national and an international presence, we would need a massive budget and a much bigger team. At present, believe it or not, there are just three of us. Still, I am all for growth and expansion, if it happens, that's great; if it doesn't, at least the NCPA and the city have a super festival, that is a catalyst for so much new work.
DP: It's been five years since you have been programming the festival. What's been the best experience for you putting this festival together?
DG: The joy of getting exciting proposals is unmatched, but the true satisfaction comes after, when a play that took off at Centrestage soars. I am happy when Centrestage plays get picked for other festivals, win awards and are appreciated by audiences. From last year's lot, for instance, the Gujarati play BLACKOUT has become a huge hit, and unlike most popular Gujarati plays, it is a two-hander about a crumbling marriage. I can't tell you how proud this play's success makes me feel. THE INTERVIEW, AAJ RANG HAI and BOLLYWOOD KA SALAAM from the first festival in 2010 are still running. So, the high I get is sometimes deferred, but it is long lasting.
Deepa Punjani (DP): The NCPA Centrestage Festival is back. What according to you is going to be special about the festival this year? 
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