Theater Articles

The Colonial Public and the Parsi Stage : Book Review

This book explores how theatre enabled Parsis to negotiate the growing challenges of colonialismIn ‘The Colonial Public and the Parsi Stage’, Rashna Darius Nicholson is particularly interested in exploring how theatre impacted the life of Parsi...
Through a lens, gently

Through a lens, gently

The city premiere of Divya Cowasji’s film next month will showcase the best and brightest—and last—of Parsi theatre’s...

Dara’s Theme and other dramatic tunes

Dara’s Theme and other dramatic tunes

Parsi naataks miss the rich sonic texturing lent by the late greats, Kersi Mistry, Dara Mehta and Sarosh Bhabha Music director Kersi Mistry (extreme left) in rehearsal with members of his troupe....

Why bitter can’t be better

Why bitter can’t be better

Why have Parsi natak audiences been rejecting plays that don’t sugarcoat the pill?What were you thinking? How can you do this? I cried in your play!” That was Hindi film character actor David...

Magaj Nu Lockdown ft. Shri Yazdi Karanjia

Magaj Nu Lockdown ft. Shri Yazdi Karanjia

Our dearest friend and legendary Parsi theater artist Yazdi Karanjia has started a series of short skits during the COVID-19 lockdown. You can see all of them on the Youtube channel: Bawaji Ni...

Theater Loses A Gem: Bomi Kapadia Passes Away

Theater Loses A Gem: Bomi Kapadia Passes Away

Ad man and playwright Rahul da Cunha pays tribute to actor Bomi Kapadia, who died on Monday.“When beggars die, there are no comets seen; The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes.” –...

Theatre personality Ruby Patel passes away

Theatre personality Ruby Patel passes away

Ruby Patel was a name to reckon with on the Parsi-Gujarati stage. Ruby along with her husband Burjor Patel worked in several Gujarati comedies till the 1960s. Article in the Indian Express Ruby...

Toronto Parsis to Livestream Parsi Natak

Toronto Parsis to Livestream Parsi Natak

Madan Ni Mansik HospitalWhen: 18 Apr 2020 7:00 PM, EDTWhere: OnlineEVENT DETAILS:Premier NatakMadan Ni Mansik HospitalBrought to you by the Toronto Parsi Drama GroupThe COVID-19 pandemic continues...

Bawas Got Talent: One for the community

Bawas Got Talent: One for the community

Bawas Got Talent is a chance for the Parsi community to showcase their skills in the performing artsThe Parsi community may be small and dwindling in number but that hasn’t proved to be a deterrent...

Yazdi Karanjia Awarded Padma Shri

Yazdi Karanjia Awarded Padma Shri

Our dearest friend, mentor and legendary theater artist Yazdi Naoshirwan Karanjia has been conferred the Padma Shri Award in the list of names that were announced on the eve of Republic Day 2020 in...

When grandeur ruled Parsi theatre

When grandeur ruled Parsi theatre

For over a 100 years starting from 1850, a large number of proscenium theatres were built in the large cities, particularly Bombay and Calcutta.A Parsi theatre troupe (File photo)By FEISAL ALKAZI |...

Drama in the house

Drama in the house

A veteran stage actor walks down memory lane and recounts the time when Parsi Theatre blossomed in the city.If one has to trace the legacy of Parsi Theatre in the city, it goes back to 1850s, when...

Understanding 20th century Parsi theatre

Understanding 20th century Parsi theatre

During 1857- 1930 big theatre companies which were largely owned by Parsi business community flourished which used to showcase plays in Gujarati, Hindi and Urdu languages. In the early 1900s, some...

Naatak nights on Tejpal heights

Naatak nights on Tejpal heights

Capers to thrillers, Parsi plays have enjoyed great runs at the 59-year-old Tejpal Auditorium in Gowalia Tank. Tracing the journey of this drama genre here, ahead of Navroze weekThe young guard...

Theater: Class Act by Meherzad Patel

Theater: Class Act by Meherzad Patel

Meherzad Patel’s The Class Act promises plenty of laughs this weekend While city folk maybe in splits now with the Bangalore Comedy Fest, those who wish for more laughs could check out Meherzad...

Behzad Dabu: How To Get Away With Murder

Behzad Dabu: How To Get Away With Murder

Breakout roles are a dream for most actors and actresses.  Frankly, they are hard to come by.  Every performer wants that role that will bring them instant recognition and take their...

Amar Akbar Akoori: Play at the NCPA

Amar Akbar Akoori: Play at the NCPA

Amar Akbar Akoori is a hilarious Gujarati play meant not just for the Parsi community, but to be enjoyed by anyone who speaks Gujarati. The story revolves around three boys - a Gujarati, a Bohri...

Still Chuckling After All These Years

Still Chuckling After All These Years

Parsi revue Laughter in the House 2 is a cornucopia of guilty pleasures One would perhaps not have imagined the Bee Gees song ‘Stayin’ Alive’ to be as felicitous to the boulevards of Ballard Estate,...

Laughter rings in the house again

Laughter rings in the house again

Five years after Laughter In The House sparked magic at the box office, the golden oldies of Parsi theatre are back with a sequel By Anju Maskeri | Posted 05-Feb-2017 Burjor Patel, Rashna Karai and...

Hamlet No Omlette: A time for Natak

Hamlet No Omlette: A time for Natak

Parsi theatre was the first to realise the full commercial potential of Shakespeare’s works. The result was King Lear as comedy and a farce called Hamlet No Omelette. The curtains of the spare,...

The show must go on: Parsi Theater in Surat

The show must go on: Parsi Theater in Surat

Fun, love and laughter are the traits of the rarest form of plays enacted at the Parsi Theatre in the city. The Diamond City has raised hopes of theatre lovers that such form of plays would be...

Draame-Bawaas | Parsi Theatre Competition

Draame-Bawaas | Parsi Theatre Competition

Witness the finals of the Draame-Bawaas one-act play competition, in which four finalist teams, rigorously mentored by veteran artistes, perform a quartet of sparkling productions. The competition...

The Second Coming

The Second Coming

Draame-Bawaas, a competition of one-act plays, aims to give a new lease of life to Parsi theatre. FOR me, theatre is religion,” says Sam Kerawalla, 84, one of Parsi theatre’s greats. Trained as an...

Remembering Adi Marzban

Remembering Adi Marzban

Walking in the tracks of Marzban mania Were he with us, puckish humour and wacky wit intact, Parsi theatre’s finest writer-director Adi Marzban would have been 101. Generations of ardent fans agree...

Parsis once dominated English theatre

Parsis once dominated English theatre

The first family of Parsi theatre on memorable productions, new travelling plays and drinking wine on stage To talk theatre with them is to breathe a living legacy. Actor-producers Ruby and Burjor...

Are you bawa enough to act?

Are you bawa enough to act?

The golden age of Parsi-Gujarati theatre may be long over, but a few drama-loving bawas are determined to revive it. Theatre veteran Burjor Patel, his daughter Shernaz Patel, lighting director Sam...

Yazdi Karanjia Felicitated in Baroda

Yazdi Karanjia Felicitated in Baroda

This year, the World Theater Day was celebrated at Vadodara by Triveni in a unique way, as they invited Yazdi Karanjia, the doyen of Parsi Theater, who delivered a humorous talk about his theater...