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Staff Who says a play can only be staged in a theatre? All the world’s a stage, remember? With this in mind, the folks at theatre company QTP are taking their newest production, ‘A Peasant Of El Salvador’, on tour around Mumbai. Written by Peter Gould and Stephen Stearns, the play narrates the story of a Central American hill farmer and his family, set against the backdrop of the civil unrest of the late 1970s. The play has traveled to alternative venues in Worli (the Hall of Harmony at the Nehru Centre) and Santacruz (Ave 29), before heading to Bandra this weekend (Temperance on October 6 at 7.30pm) as part of the company’s efforts to discover and cultivate new performance spaces, as well as perform for new audiences.
‘A Peasant Of El Salvador’ uses just three narrators, with its central character Jesus played in turns by Meher Acharia-Dar, Pramod Pathak and Suhaas Ahuja, who also play other characters who pass through the narrative. The play uses a very small setting with minimal props, so it can easily be staged in any venue with ample space. It premiered at Prithvi Theatre, Mumbai, earlier this month and received very appreciative reviews. “We’re looking at alternate venues for many reasons,” says Vivek Rao of QTP. “It’s rather tough to get dates at places like Prithvi Theatre, so other venues make sense. The play just uses three crates and a guitar as props, with a large cross in the background, so it’s a very minimal setup that can be taken around anywhere.” The group has chosen smaller, more intimate venues with a capacity of a little under 100 people. “We’re also hoping to reach out to a wider audience this way, where more and more people look at venues like Ave 29 (in Santa Cruz) and Temperance in Bandra as places where they can go watch plays. More places are now becoming open to the idea of hosting theatre too.”
The company is looking at more alternative spaces to host shows soon, thus making theatre a little more accessible. Check out some stills from the show below.
Photos by Ameet Mallapur
