Theater Articles

Why have Parsi natak audiences been rejecting plays that don’t sugarcoat the pill?What were you thinking? How can you...

Cinema drastically impacted nautanki, resulting in waning audience interest. Today, the rural areas of Hathras,...

Jamshedji Framji Madan, the Parsi entrepreneur, was the torchbearer of the Indian film industry. Read his story here. Indian cinema found its footing in the nineteenth-century. At the time,...

Flops, frauds or community disapproval did not prove obstacles to the growth of the theatre enterprise. Elphinstone Circle in Bombay in the 1870s. Photo: Lee-Warner Collection/Wikimedia Commons, CC...

Over the last two weekends the Zoroastrian Association of Greater New York (ZAGNY) presented the world ONLINE premiere of Pestonji Na Parakram, a hugely succesful Parsi Natak. The Natak had...

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.” –...

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...

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...

“There are just 67,000 Parsis left in the world, but they give an impression of a million because people like Yazdi Karanjia have dedicated their lives for a good cause,’’ said actor and theatre...

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...

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...

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 |...

Adi Pherozeshah Marzban, also known as Adi Marzban (1914–1987) was a doyen of Parsi theatre in the post-independent period. Though he has directed and stage plays in English and Gujarati languages...

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...

Jamshedji Framji Madan, professionally called J.F.Madan was an Indian theatre and film magnate who was the pioneer of film production in India. He was born to a Parsi family in Mumbai in the year...

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...

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...

I have done many other things. First, I thought of becoming a psychologist.It has been 35 years since Shernaz Patel debuted with the play, The Diary of Anne Frank. Excerpts from her time in Indian...

The world premiere from Chicago-based playwright Ike Holter begins previews June 2.Article by Adam Hetrick | PlaybillBehzad Dabu (How to Get Away with Murder), Linda Libby (Ether Dome), and Shannon...

“Let’s just start with the word “vagina.” It sounds like an infection at best, maybe a medical instrument: “Hurry nurse, bring me the vagina.” “Vagina.” “Vagina.” Doesn’t matter how many times you...

A play that imagines a world with no Parsis reminds us why we need them more than everThere are people outside of Mumbai, who think Parsis are a figment of our imagination. "You can't blame them,"...

Nearly half the work in the restoration and facelifting of the century-old Parsi Opera Theatre at Bhawani Natyashala in Jhalawar has been completed, state government officials said.The Rajasthan...

The brilliant theater legend Dinyar Contractor has been awarded the Padma Shri Award by the Goverment of India in 2019. The awards announced on the eve of the Republic Day are a testament to...

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...

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 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...

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,...

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...

Edward Theatre is seeking a cultural revival after surviving a dark tunnel of the single screen's demise Slated to open towards the end of the month, the Goethe Institut's ambitious Poets...

During 8th to 10th century, when Parsi community migrated from Greater Iran to Gujarat, nobody imagined how beautifully this community will adopt the land of India and the people of this region....

Good friend of Parsi Khabar, and an amazingly talented artist, writer and theater personality Kayhan Irani goes to the White House !!! From AAM On Wednesday, the White House will recognize ten...

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,...

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...

Showbiz Chicago Interviews: JEFF Award Nominee BEHZAD DABU February 21st 2016 Showbiz Chicago Feature Editor Stacey Crawley catches up with 2015 JEFF Award Nominee Behzad Dabu, who returns to the...

Meher Mistry: Destiny’s child Dadar girl Meher Mistry on how she turned princess for the lead role in Disney’s ‘Beauty And The Beast’ When Meher Mistry walks in for a chat at a cosy café in Mumbai’s...

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...

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...

Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal is major character in 'The Letters' When Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal was a little girl, she loved being on stage. Article by Kristen Oliver Gainesville Times But she set aside her...

Najamai is thrilled to welcome her new daughter-in-law...Of course as long as she is " whitish" !

Behzad Dabu follows in the footsteps of his parents Binaifer and Navroz who both are theater personalities in Syracuse NY and his maternal grandfather the legendary theater personality Yazdi...

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...

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...

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...