Theatre Speaks

Ashutosh Potdar
Playwright
[Marathi Theatre ]
Which is the last best play you saw?

A well-curated presentation of a few plays on Gaza done by the Aasakta, Pune artists.

Your favourite 'adda' to see a play

Rang Shankara in Bangalore and Sudarshan in Pune.

Your favourite playwright

Several. But at this moment - Krinshnaji Prabhakar Khadilkar, Tom Stoppard, Harold Pinter and Shafaat Khan come to mind.

Your favourite play-character

Begum Barve from Satish Alekar's eponymous play.

A play you would like to see filmed. Why?

I have not thought about this.

Novels/short stories you would like to see on stage? Why?

Tankat by Rajan Gavas, Jayant Pawar's stories and Shanta Gokhale's Tya Varshi. These writings allow one to see and de-familiarize the world with totally different perspectives. They are not just fiction in a traditional sense but also 'performing fictions'; they perform magic on one's mind. At the same time, they don't become merely 'personal' expressions of an individual but in a nuanced manner, peel off layers of bhavtaal.

The most hilarious plays you have seen

I have seen Tamashas in Kolhapur and Sangya Balya and Bharud performances in Kasaba Sangaon in my school and college days.

A play, which is over-hyped

Don't know.

Important plays (but ignored)

Political plays of Khadilkar, Mama Varerkar, Phule and farces written in the late 19th and early 20th century.

A play character you would like to ''dialogue'' with

Chandu in Mahesh Elkunchwar's WADA CHIREBANDI.

A passage from an important play that you can recite

The last scene in SILENCE, COURT IS IN SESSION!

A classical play that you should have read

I am not sure which play to call 'classical' and why.

A play that changed your perception about the theatre

Kanhailal's KARNA

How do you regard the Mumbai theatre scene?

I am not well-informed on the current theatre scene in Mumbai to comment.

Have you read any interesting books/articles concerning the theatre? Why did you find them interesting?

Recently, I read interesting articles published in Rangabhoomi, a journal published by the well-known Kirloskar Natak Mandali in the late 19th and early 20th century. The journal, then edited by Shankar Bapuji Mujumdar, has some of very insightful articles regarding theatre like: managing and administering theatre, relationships between actors, theatre managers and patrons, developing acting skills, raising funds for a theatre group, role of archive in thriving of theatre, nuanced connections between gender and theatre, theatre space and its programming and so on. I see these articles as well as the visuals published along with the articles very exciting, informative and relevant even today and as archival material.

If you have ever been a part of a theatre production/s, can you recall an event that was insightful, significant or simply humorous?

Getting involved with the activities of theatre groups like Aasakta in Pune has been a great experience. I get to experience the process of making and presenting a performance work. I can look at my own work from a distance. Especially, for the last one year, we have been running an activity called 'Ringan' in Pune. We present rehearsed readings of plays, stories, and essays. I can see how this 'material', otherwise not seen fit for a performance, gets transformed on the stage. Curating a Ringan show every second weekend of a month and rehearsing and bringing it to the audience has been a joyful cultural experience. Importantly, we have been experimenting with archival material in Ringan and through the process the archive comes alive, visuals speak and the audience gets enchanted. That's the beauty of it.

Can you think of a foreign production that you found remarkable? Why?

UTSUSHI by Ushio Amagatsu of Japan for its creation of powerful, magical and engrossing moments on stage.

Your favourite director/actor/music or set designer

Favourite directors- Atul Pethe, Mohit Takalkar, Atul Kumar, and Sunil Shanbag.

A significant Indian production that you may have witnessed

Rasika Agashe's MUSEUM OF SPECIES IN DANGER and Neelam Mansingh Chowdhary's THE LICENCE.

Life in the theatre without the humble batata-wada or the cutting chai... or can you recall the best gastronomic experience you've had in the precincts of the theatre to date?

I cherish some wonderful memories of having spicy and yummy misal and 'cutting chai' with theatrewallahs at Bhawani Mandap and Keshavrao Bhosale Natyagruh in Kolhapur. I have had inspiring conversations with Vijay Ghatage, Madhav Bavadekar, Sanjay Haldikar and Sunil Dhopeshwarkar over assa Kolhapuri pandhara, tambada rassaa and mutton. Or, how can I forget the amazing food and local alcohol at theatre director Sukracharya Rabha's place in Rampur in Assam!

Ashutosh Potdar has one-act and full-length plays, poems, short fiction and scholarly essays in Marathi and English to his credit. He has published KAMWALYA BAYA – a Marathi adaptation of Jean Genet's THE MAIDS. His other translations into Marathi include plays of August Strindberg and Dario Fo. His independent play, AANANDBHOG MALL was given the R S Datar Play-Writing Award by the Maharashtra Foundation. Ashutosh's other plays include NAVAL LIFE, PULAKHALACHA BOMBALYA MARUTI. The play script of F-1/105 has received the Ashwaghosh Award given by Bodhi Natya Parishad in 2013. Ashutosh teaches at FLAME, Pune."
 
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