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 no Navroze celebration was complete without watching his wonderful plays. With the community set to celebrate New Year this week, Meher Marfatia treads… Continue reading Remembering Adi Marzban
Category: Theater
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 Patel have handed down to their daughter Shernaz an abiding passion for the stage. Together, the three are the first family of Parsi… Continue reading Parsis once dominated English theatre
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 Kerwalla, media guru Sam Balsara, senior journalist Meher Marfatia and Jim Vimadalal are scouting for writers, directors and actors from the Parsi community across… Continue reading Are you bawa enough to act?
If boys will be boys, girls will be girls: Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal
In a year when our collective consciousness has been shocked by the horrific treatment of women across the country, Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal – one of the India’s best-known feminists and playwrights – is a compelling reminder that women are neither to be pitied or censured, changed or controlled; they are to be celebrated in all their… Continue reading If boys will be boys, girls will be girls: Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal
The Dabu Couple wins over Syracuse theater scene, 20 years running
Hints of spice waft in swirls of steam. Pastel teacups brimming with brewed Indian chai rest on the sanded wood of a low table. Binaifer Dabu and her husband Navroz Dabu sit side-by-side on their leather couch, the twilight sun still warming their faces. Leaning toward Navroz, Binaifer offers him a cup of the family… Continue reading The Dabu Couple wins over Syracuse theater scene, 20 years running
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 journey. The artists of Triveni then presented about seven humorous songs from old Parsi Theater plays under the direction of P… Continue reading Yazdi Karanjia Felicitated in Baroda
Operation Theater at the Parsee General Hospital
What would you make of “Manchu Macbeth” and “Hamlet no Omelette”? Shakespeare with a delicious twist, yes. But dramatically different too was the fact that these Gujarati spoofs were stirred up in Parsi General Hospital before regaling cosmopolitan audiences every Navroze night on March 21. The remarkable theatre-for-charity tradition was introduced by Dr Jehangir Ratanshah… Continue reading Operation Theater at the Parsee General Hospital
