Meherzad Patel Writer, Director, Actor [ Theatre ]
Which is the last best play you saw? BAPU TAMEY KAMAAL KARI, which stars Dilip Joshi, Sumeet Raghavan and Amit Mistry. I have seen it about six times.
Your favourite 'adda' to see a play NCPA's Experimental Theatre. I believe it has the most intimate feel.
Your favourite playwright I've just read Danesh Khambata's script for a musical he's opening in August; it answers this question aptly.
Your favourite play-character Prince Phillip in THE BUCKINGHAM SECRET, directed by Meherzad Patel.
A novel/short story you would like to see on stage? 'Lamb to the slaughter', written by Roald Dahl.
The most hilarious play you have seen BAPU TAMEY KAMAAL KARI, the Gujarati natak that made Dilip Joshi a star.
A play, which is over-hyped All productions of WAITING FOR GODOT.
An important play (but ignored)? Aren't all plays ignored when compared to Bollywood and television?
A play character you would like to ''dialogue'' with? None! As a writer you know it's just a character, which is a figment of the writer's imagination. So I would rather converse with the authors.
A passage from an important play that you can recite? If music be the food of love, play on ...
Not from Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT, but that line is my cue to walk on to stage for CLASS ACT... I have been doing it over 100 times, so it's stuck in my head.
A classical play that you should have read? WAITING FOR GODOT, written by Samuel Beckett, because the performances of it have bored me to death...
A play that changed your perception about the theatre? ME, KASH AND CRUISE, directed by Rahul da Cunha. They really did something innovative with that.
How do you regard the Mumbai theatre scene? The theatre scene in Mumbai is better than any other city in India.
Have you read any interesting books/articles concerning the theatre? Why did you find them interesting? I read about the Opera house in Mumbai, which is going to open up for performance. Open request to convened person to contact me, I'm ready with 5 plays to perform there... It has always been a dream.
If you have ever been a part of a theatre production/s, can you recall an event that was insightful, significant or simply humorous? It was the opening night of BUCKINGHAM SECRET, when the set fell down during the show. The actors still performed through the wreckage. In the end, the audience was applauding on their feet. It was overwhelming, exciting, dangerous and scary... But definitely not hilarious!
Can you think of a foreign production that you found remarkable? Why? There was this brilliant mime act that came in 2009 to JBT, NCPA. Even they can't track who it was. They performed in such a remarkable setting. The stage was bare, a screen was placed, and it was a beautiful merger of effects and performance.
Your favourite director/actor/music or set designer I like Quasar's direction style.
As an actor, you must see how Siddharth Randeria, aka ''Gujjubhai'' makes the audience eat out of his hands.
Fali Unwala is the set designer who made THE BUCKINGHAM SECRET's palace on stage so royalty must be given to him. Pun intended.
A significant Indian production that you may have witnessed? BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, directed by Vikranth Pawar.
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 go for the famed cold coffee at NCPA.
Meherzad Patel
