Thespo X Press

Thespo turns X

Thespo turns X
Plays in English, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali
Workshops by theatre biggies from India & UK
The Fourth Wall – Exhibition of Theatre Photography
Sam Kerawalla to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award

Mumbai, November 19, 2008: In December Thespo completes ten years of celebrating youth theatre. Conceived in 1999, Thespo is the brainchild of Theatre Group, Mumbai – a group that has honed the skills of veterans like Alyque Padamsee, (late) Pearl Padamsee, Gerson Da Cunha and Ebrahim Alkazi among others; and Q Theatre Productions (QTP). Thespo gives young theatre enthusiasts a simulation of the professional stage without the logistical bothers of fund raising, sound and lights hire, auditoria bookings, etc.

Thespo X features plays, workshops, platform performances, a theatre photo exhibition, film screenings, a theatre magazine, and music gigs from November 25 to December 14, 2008 at the Prithvi and NCPA theatres.

After auditioning 55 plays from eight cities including Kolkata, Varanasi, Kanpur, and New York, four plays in English, Hindi, Marathi and Bengali are being staged at the Prithvi and NCPA theatres. The plays are Proof in English from Mumbai; Video in Hindi, English and Bangla from Kolkata; Dalan in Marathi from Pune; and Bhadmanus in Hindi from Bangalore.

Thespo is organizing seven workshops including Expressions through Body Movements by Sanjukta Wagh, Grips Theatre by Mohan Agashe where adults perform for children, Problem Solving by Akash Khurana, French Theatre by Sarah Doignon. UK theatrewallahs Sophie Larsmon and Jack Holloway will create a site specific piece through a 15 day workshop and Danielle Baker of Pekhamshed will work with specially abled participants.

Thespo X will open with ‘The Fourth Wall’ – an exhibition of theatre photography by Rafeeq Ellias, Madhu Gadkakri, Meenal Agarwal, Siddharth Siva and curated by Mathieu Foss, at Gallery Beyond, Kala Ghoda, from December 4 to 10, 2008.

The festival will culminate with the Thespo Awards Night where Thespo statuettes will be presented in various acting, directing, design and writing categories. However, the piece de resistance will be the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award to Sam Kerawalla for his contribution to theatre.

Thespo has come a long way since its modest beginnings in 1999 as an Evening of Three One-Act plays. Thespo 2000 had Four Days of Full-length Plays. In 2001, Thespo expanded to Bangalore and became a Two-city Six-Day festival. In 2002, Thespo Bangalore was a three-day event while Mumbai continued to be a Six-day extravaganza. In 2003, Thespo invited a play from New Delhi, and plays from Mumbai have travelled to participate in Thespo Bangalore, and vice-versa. In 2004, Thespo spread its wings adding Delhi to its roster, and welcomed Kannada theatre into the fold. In 2005, Thespo Poster Design Competition was created to give young art directors the opportunity to design posters for theatre productions. In 2006, the Thespo Magazine was launched. 2007 saw the new expressions of theatre like Radio plays and Documentaries. This year promises to be bigger than ever, and it’s just ten years old.

Those interested in staging platform performances, volunteering or participating in Thespo X are invited to email thespo@gmail.com or call 2639 2688.