Divya Palat Actor / Director [English Theatre ] 1. Which is the last best play you saw and why? My own play �Imps�, which I loved because it was Improvisational theatre at its purest and funniest best! The audience loved the shows and I was extremely happy seeing non-theatre going audiences coming to the theatres and enjoying themselves. It was intelligent, funny and had an all new cast. Before �Imps�, I loved �Measure for Measure�-primarily because it was technically brilliant. The lighting was unbelievable! 2. Your favourite adda to see a play� The NCPA. I have worked extensively at the Jamshed Bhabha Theatre for �The Graduate�, staged �Imps� at the Godrej Dance Academy and acted at Tata Theatre. It�s like a second home to me! 3. Your favourite playwright� Edward Albee, David Mamet, Ray Cooney, John Chapman , Neil Simon�the list goes on and on� 4. Your favourite play-character� Sita, in Aamir Raza Hussain�s Legend of Rama (which I was fortunate enough to play) and Ben in �The Graduate.� 5. A play you would like to see filmed. Why? Most plays now have their film version as well�but I prefer the stage versions usually! 6. A novel/short story you would like to see on stage? Why? None that I can think of off-hand. 7. The most hilarious play you have seen� Hosi Vasunia�s �Run for Your Wife� and obviously �Imps� which is a laugh-riot! 8. A play, which is over-hyped� I think theatre in India definitely needs all the hype it can get! 9. A play character you would like to �dialogue� with� Rolf from Sound of Music to find out what happened after he joined the Nazi Army. 10. A passage from an important play that you can recite� All of Shakespeare�s important monologues. 11. A classical play that you should have read� I have read some of Anton Chekhov�s plays but yet have to read all of them. 12. A play that changed your perception about the theatre� �The Graduate,� because of the amount of opportunities the script afforded us. We made it into a musical with 17 sets and used different levels and the flys at JBT. It made me think outside the box. 13. How do you regard the Mumbai theatre scene? Promising, growing and with many youth theatre groups flourishing. 14. If you have ever been a part of a theatre production/s, can you recall an event that was insightful, significant or simply humorous? A girl came up to me after a performance of Sound of Music where I played Liesl and asked me why Rolf, the character I was cast opposite had left me�She was in tears. It made me realize that we do actually take the audience on a magical journey and they really become a part of the story and a part of the character�s lives! Then when I was playing �Sita� in �The Legend of Rama,� audience members used to come back-stage to try and touch my feet. It made me understand how sentimental our country is about religion and culture. I had to stay in my sari till the last audience member left because they could not digest the fact that �Sita� actually dressed in jeans! 15. Can you think of a foreign production that you found remarkable? Why? Complicite�s �Measure for Measure. It was technically perfect. 16. Your favourite director/actor/music or set designer� Actor- Aditya Hitkari because he is unbelievably hardworking and very talented. Set designer- Jasjeet Singh because he is artistic, creative and gets the sets up and running in time, all the time! 17. A significant Indian production that you may have witnessed� �The Legend of Rama�- by Aamir Raza Hussain. 18. Life in the theatre without the humble batata-wada or the cutting chai or if you please brownies that are snuggling chocolate bits� or can you recall the best gastronomic experience you�ve had in the precincts of the theatre to date? The chutney sandwiches at the NCPA and the roast beef sandwiches at St. Andrews. 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