Stand up comedy

Venue: The Comedy Store

Anuvab Pal,Rajneesh Kapoor,Aditi Mittal and Kunal Rao are in the city to tickle your funny bone with their intelligent blend of jokes to spread hilarity.

Hayavadana ( Hindi play )

Date: December 30 and 31

Time: 7 pm

Venue: K R Cama Institute

Two men,Devdutt and Kapil are close friends who fall in love with the same girlPadminihours apart. Kapil performs his duty of friendship. And Devdutt and Padmini marry. In a forest,months later,Devdutt cuts off his own head as an offering to the Goddess Kali,knowing that he has lost both his wife and his best friend. Kapil is not to be outdone and offers his own head. And Padmini,lost and enraged,attempts to cut off her own head. Hayavadana is an exploration of identity,of memory and love,of sexuality and death.

Directed by: Arghya Lahiri and Pushan Kripalani

Cast: Abhishek Saha,Dilnaz Irani,Neil Bhoopalam,Prashant Prakash,Preetika Chawla and Vivek Gomber

Yaar Banaa Buddy ( Hindi play )

Date: December 30

Time: 9:00 pm

Venue: Prithvi Theatre

What happens when one out of three best friends suddenly starts behaving in a strange manner,forgetting his roots and background? The other two friends take a vow to bring him back and then starts a series of the most hilarious sequences that are simultaneously thought-provoking,touching and finally,very profound.In the end,the friends do find each other and understand that friendship is definitely the most precious emotion of human relationships.

Directed by: Nadira Zaheer Babbar

Cast : Chetan Pandit,Sajjad Khan,Saahil Chadha,Yashpal Sharma,Harsh Khurana,Rajesh Balwani,Chinmay Das,Rashmi Pote, Nivedita Bhattacharya and Arun Gondarkar

Sthree: Contemporary adaptation of Silappathikaram ( Bharatanatyam performance)

Date: December 30

Time: 7 pm

Venue: Experimental Theatre,NCPA

Inspired by the ancient Tamil epic Silappathikaram (The Anklet),and set to an original score composed and played by one of Indias greatest violinists Dr. L. Subramaniam,the performance will transport the audience to the splendour of Indias Sangam Period,an era of great cultural renaissance when art,literature,music and drama flourished.

Accompanied by English narration and by a chorus of seven women dancers,Sthree is a contemporary adaptation that explores the underlying tension between the principles of karma and dharma,the basis of the Hindu belief system.

Munshiji Ki Gudgudiyan 2 (Hindi play)

Date:December 31

Time:5 pm,8 pm

Venue:Prithvi Theatre

After the success of Munshiji Ki Gudgudiyan,theater group Ekjute presents Munshiji Ki Gudgudiyan 2,another compilation of four plays based on short stories written by Munshi Premchand. Bade Bhaisahab takes a humourous look at the love-hate relationship between two brothers. Deeksha . . . means taking on a spiritual discipline. The play shows how the protagonists attitude towards alcohol changes from abstinence to addiction and lands him in trouble. Vaidak Shastri is the story of Moteram Shastri,a teacher,who decides to become a physician as he is tired of his job. He hopes to fool the world with his intelligence. Though he achieves success,his lecherous nature lands him in trouble and he is compelled to return to teaching. Naya Vivah examines the concept of marriage and how it is relevant in the Indian society.

Directed by: Santosh Tiwari,Mithilesh Maihar and Kapil Sharma.

Cast: Darpan Mishra,JaishankarTripathi,Santosh Tiwari,Hanif Patni,Ankur Parekh,Vijay Singh,Mithilesh Maihar and Kapil Sharma.

Salaam…1950s Ke Naam (Hindi play)

Date: January 1

Time: 5pm,8 pm

Venue: Prithvi Theatre

Nadira Zaheer Babbars undying love and immense admiration for the cinema of 1950s inspired her to pen Salaam…1950s Ke Naam. This musical is a walk down memory lane for those whove grown up watching films of that era. With conventional formulaeic ingredients such as star-crossed lovers and revengeful Thakurs and kabeelawalas (tribesmen),love triangles,family ties,sacrifice,shrewd and conniving villains and vamps and loyal friends it is a tribute to the golden era of 1950s.

Directed by: Nadira Zaheer Babbar

Cast: Juhi Babbar,Ankur Parekh,Santosh Tiwari,Kajli Sharma,Preeti Nambiar,Srishti Nayar,Sangam Shukla and Mithilesh Maihar.