MUMBAI: It's an exciting time as the spotlight is back and shining in its full glory with artists on stage. The NCPA is abuzz with a fantastic line up of presentations. The NCPA theatre division creates, presents, and hosts world-class theatre that entertains, challenges and inspires.

Our goal is to reach the widest and most diverse audience possible. Animating our flexible range of spaces with a mix of live and screened events in a variety of languages. Our programming ranges from classic plays to new writing, physical theatre, musicals, live and streamed broadcasts, spoken word, classic cinema, and stand-up comedy, created, and performed by the very best local, national and international artists.

Coming up in December:

Shikhandi – The Story of the In-Betweens

English Play (with some Hindi - 90 mins)

Venue Experimental Theatre

Friday, 2nd December - 7.30 pm &

Sunday, 3rd December - 5.00 pm & 7.30 pm 

An NCPA Presentation in collaboration with FATS theArts Productions

This is a comic, tongue-in-cheek retelling of the story of Shikhandi. Mixing the traditional with the contemporary, the play questions maleness, femaleness and everything in between.  Shikhandi is perhaps one of the earliest trans characters known in mythology. Shikhandi was meant to be born male to avenge an insult in her past life as Amba. But the bigger karmic game unfolds when she is reborn as female, raised as male, has a sex change on her wedding night, thanks to a Yaksha, and finally fulfils her destiny—to be the cause of Bhishma’s death. 

The play was a runner-up at the Sultan Padamsee Playwriting Awards 2016. Shikhandi was also awarded Best Play at the Laadli Media Awards 2017, and Best Ensemble and Best Supporting Actor (Female) at META 2018.

Written & Directed by Faezeh Jalali

Cast: Abhishek Saha, Akash Ghosalkar, Faezeh Jalali, Junaid Khan, Karan Desai, Meher Acharia-Dar, Srishti Shrivastava & Tushar Pandey/Nakul Bhalla

Music: Percussion: Sriram 

Violin: Shalaka Deshpande 

Vocals: Anadi Nagar

Suggested age: 15+ 

Box Office: Book your tickets here

Twelve Angry Jurors

English Play (90 mins with Interval)

Venue - Experimental Theatre

Sunday, 4th December – 5.00 pm & 8.00 pm 

An NCPA Presentation in collaboration with Rage Productions

The play, based on a film that was adapted from Reginald Rose’s teleplay at the time, begins with an eighteen-year-old boy from a slum who is on trial for the murder of his abusive father. A jury of twelve people is locked in the deliberation room to decide the fate of the young boy. All evidence is against the boy and a guilty verdict would send him to the electric chair. But the judgement must be unanimous. Even before they begin a discussion, it is apparent that most of the jurors are certain the boy is guilty. While most jurors have already decided on the fate of the boy, one vote of not guilty opens a Pandora's box and a forced deliberation begins. Slowly, but surely, each member of the jury is forced to confront the facts on hand and open his/her mind to the possibilities that exist outside them and shine a light on the kind of person he/she actually is. Originally produced for Aadyam, an Aditya Birla Group Initiative, this production of Twelve Angry Jurors is presented by special amateur license arrangement with Samuel French Ltd.

Age: 10+

Directed by Nadir Khan

Cast: Ajitesh Gupta, Devika Shahani, Dipika Roy, Nikhil Murali, Prerna Chawla, Rohit Malkani, Shivani Tanksale, Shivani Vakil, Sohrab Ardeshir, Suresh Venkat, Vivek Madan & Rajit Kapur

Box Office: Book your tickets here

OCD 

English and Hindi play (100 mins)

Venue - Godrej Dance Theatre

Saturday, 10th December – 5.00 pm 

An NCPA Presentation in collaboration with Theatrewaalas 

OCD is a light comedy about a carefree young man and his over obsessed OCD suffering servant. A kind of role reversal where the servant is after a master’s life to keep things neat, clean and in order. And how in an effort to keep his master’s house in order the servant starts trying to cross boundaries and set his life in order by trying to control his relationship matters. The protagonist is a turbaned Rajasthani butler called OC chacha, who suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder. Because of this, he is always striving to keep things ridiculously neat and tidy, which makes him the ideal domestic help on paper.

But that’s not always the case… especially when his idiosyncrasies get in the way of his master Rohan’s lifestyle and eventually relationships. For instance, he believes the furniture in the house should only be arranged at particular angles, doesn’t like even numbers and is convinced that one should stay away from women, because nothing good can come out of associating with the fairer sex! But since OC chacha has been a part of Rohan’s family for years and is almost treasured heirloom, it is difficult for Rohan to get rid of him.

The play is a funny take on human eccentricities wherein every individual in this world has some or the other quirky habit but he or she feels that the other person is weird and anyone who does not adhere to majority norms is considered a freak. We all want to love and be loved but are afraid of commitments and are insecure about love, life and everything around. The play delves with this psyche of the human nature.
 
Suggested age : 16+

Written and directed by Rohit Tiwari

Cast: Abbas Syed, Ankit Sharma, Anurag Jha, Devyani Dagaonkar,  
Rishika Chandani, Rohit Tiwari, Sarang Patwardhan, Shaurya Tyagi & Sheetal R

Box Office: Book your tickets here

Balatkar Please Stop It

Hindi play (120 mins)

Venue - Experimental Theatre

Saturday, 10th December – 7.30 pm 

An NCPA Presentation in collaboration with Ansh Theatre

A theatre company decides to do a play on international woman’s day. The subject decided by the director creates discomfort among actors. The play evokes laughter at the hypocrisy!

A- 2 act play is a compelling watch for all, above 18.

Written and directed by Makarand Deshpande

Cast: Nivedita, Ninad, Bharat, Sushil, Aakanksha, Purva, Vikram, Abhijeet, Anuj, Richa, Divya, Sharmila, Nancy, Sahil, Gaurav and Makarand

Box Office: Book your tickets here