Manish Gandhi Actor, Director Which is the last best play you saw and why? STORIES IN A SONG- for its simple story telling choices put together with some brilliant singing. Your favourite adda to see a play Prithvi Theatre Your favourite playwright Anton Chekhov Your favourite play-character Rizwan from the play RIZWAN by Abhishek Majumdar A play you would like to see filmed. Why? Prabhakar Shrotriya�s ILA. There�s a lot you can do with its epic narrative- it�s got the right material for filmmakers. A novel/short story you would like to see on stage? Why? Peelee Chhatri Wali Ladki by Uday Prakash. The stage can beautifully capture its truthful layering set against a romantic backdrop. The most hilarious play you have seen� SULTANA DAKU, produced at the Film and Television Institue of India (FTII), and directed by Dr Devendra Sharma. It was in the Nautanki style. A play, which is over-hyped Chhoti Productions� BETWEEN THE LINES An important play (but ignored) Q Theatre Productions� SO MANY SOCKS A play character you would like to �dialogue� with The Masked Man from Frank Wedekind�s SPRING AWAKENING A passage from an important play that you can recite Ashwatthama�s speech from Dharamvir Bharti�s ANDHA YUG A classical play that you should have read LYSISTRATA by Aristophanes A play that changed your perception about the theatre Khalid Mohamed�s KENNEDY BRIDGE How do you regard the Mumbai theatre scene? Young actors in Mumbai tend to �join� theatre to let their creative juices flowing whilst they struggle to get the real deal- a role in a film or in a TV serial. Quality work and innovation have no support system. Star studded mediocre productions acquire huge sponsorships. Young theatre practitioners are not allowed to fail. It�ll be an industry soon. Have you read any interesting books/articles concerning the theatre? Why did you find them interesting? �The Necessity of Theatre� by Paul Woodruff. It�s not the best on its subject in terms of its presentation, but manages to make some incredibly valid points. 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 senior leader passed away on the day of the Prithvi Festival shows of COCK. Not only did the play get staged as per the schedule, but also a sizeable audience turned up despite the odds. While performing, there was this strange connect with the audience that we all experienced�very human. Can you think of a foreign production that you found remarkable? Why? LOL by Protein. It�s a performance in dance theatre tracking six cyber souls who are sincerely seeking love on the World Wide Web. It�s got this hilarious confrontation scene played out to the clatter of keyboards. Your favourite director/actor/music or set designer... Director- Sunil Shanbag Actor- Naseeruddin Shah A significant Indian production that you may have witnessed... TRITIYA JUDHA by Probir Guha, which I saw in Chandigarh in 2008 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? In Chandigarh, we would rehearse in a school located right next to a Gurudwara. During every break we�d rush to this place for some delicious halwa and masala chai. I�d end up with ghee on both my hands, my breath filled with that unusual aroma of the Gurudwara chai. 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