The Prithvi Theatre is a small independent theatre in Juhu, a few kilometres north of our home in Bandra. It is nestled in a quiet leafy street close to the beach and shows a wide variety of English and Hindi language plays and shows. It isn't big or fancy but is a haven and a world away from the brash modern Bollywood multiplex entertainment common in Mumbai. It also has a great homely cafe, a good spot to relax after a trip to the theatre. A lot of thought seems to go into the schedule which includes educational and family plays, as well as performances based at adult audiences.
Here are examples of some of the more unusual performances / events we have seen.
1) Chai and Why
Our first trip to the Prithvi was shortly after we moved to Mumbai, to see a science talk held once a month called "Chai and Why". The idea is that an expert comes to give an accessible talk about an area of maths or science, everyone has chai, then the audience can ask lots of questions. This is completely free and both the talks I've seen (on comets and geometry) were really good (as was the chai).
The downside to these talks is the "questions" part. Whereas in England, people tend to have inhibitions about asking too many or silly questions, at Chai in Why in Mumbai there can be 1.5 hours of questions, some of which are quite testing if you have any understanding of the subject. Don't get me wrong, it's fantastic that there is an opportunity to ask and learn after the talk, but it's all a bit much for me on a Sunday morning! I prefer talk and chai, then skipping the "why" bit.
Phil and I have been asked to do a Chai and Why ourselves, on bell ringing! A date has not been fixed yet, but watch this space...
2) The Travelling Circus
Our second notable trip was on Good Friday, with the Pipe Family, to see a travelling circus. The stage is only small so the show was structured accordingly with one act using the stage at a time. The acts included acrobats, a tightrope walker, a lady balancing a large stack of crockery on her head whilst riding a unicycle, hula-a-hooping, clowns and other such traditional circus acts.
It was, however, the final act which will stay in my memory for a very long time. Following a stream of lean, lithe athletes, a pot-bellied moustached middle-aged man and his smaller female (but equally pot-bellied) assistant walked onto the stage in spangly suits that had seen better days.
Their only props were a bucket and cup, from which the man started drinking cup after cup of water. The audience looked on, bemused, as he drank and drank and drank, and a plastic mat was laid out in front of him. Litres later, he faced the audience and projected the water out in front of him like a fountain, where it splashed down onto the mat. The force, volume and duration of this fountain was incredible, we were amazed! But there was more to come...
The somewhat weary looking assistant returned to the stage with a large glass jug of water....in which three live goldfish were swimming around happily. Oh dear. We watched as he, again, loaded up with water from the bucket, then preceded to drink from the jug until all the goldfish had been swallowed too. If that wasn't enough, he then managed to regurgitate them one by one, live, and put them back in the jug to swim around as before. From what we saw, it looked like he definitely swallowed them, and the fish seemed to be swimming just as enthusiastically after the ordeal.
These first two tricks were both impressive and grotesque, but plausible. It was the third trick that stunned me. The assistant brought out two new jugs of water, but this time one was bright orange and the other bright green. The water-man stocked up on normal water again, then drank one of the coloured jugs, then the other. He then regurgitated a jug of orange water, before separately spitting out a jug of green water. Unbelievable. I was appalled and seriously impressed in equal measure at this performance.
3) Real Life Cluedo
Today, I went alone to the theatre, as Phil is away, to see a real life play of the game Cluedo, where the audience has to guess who the murderer is. How exciting! I read about this in the newspaper and, although it did seemed to be aimed more at children, I booked my ticket immediately.
This was really good fun and very like the game up until the end of the play when the final clues basically told you what the answers were ("I have a new clue for you...the weapon is a sharp, pointy, metal item!") which was a bit disappointed (though I understand meant to keep the children happy). The characters were the same as British Cluedo, with the exception of Rev. Green being replaced by Mr Green, the slimy businessman. The theatre was packed full with over-excited children (and adults) which contributed to a great atmosphere. The whole show was well done.
Here are some pics from my trip:
Here are examples of some of the more unusual performances / events we have seen.
1) Chai and Why
Our first trip to the Prithvi was shortly after we moved to Mumbai, to see a science talk held once a month called "Chai and Why". The idea is that an expert comes to give an accessible talk about an area of maths or science, everyone has chai, then the audience can ask lots of questions. This is completely free and both the talks I've seen (on comets and geometry) were really good (as was the chai).
The downside to these talks is the "questions" part. Whereas in England, people tend to have inhibitions about asking too many or silly questions, at Chai in Why in Mumbai there can be 1.5 hours of questions, some of which are quite testing if you have any understanding of the subject. Don't get me wrong, it's fantastic that there is an opportunity to ask and learn after the talk, but it's all a bit much for me on a Sunday morning! I prefer talk and chai, then skipping the "why" bit.
Phil and I have been asked to do a Chai and Why ourselves, on bell ringing! A date has not been fixed yet, but watch this space...
2) The Travelling Circus
Our second notable trip was on Good Friday, with the Pipe Family, to see a travelling circus. The stage is only small so the show was structured accordingly with one act using the stage at a time. The acts included acrobats, a tightrope walker, a lady balancing a large stack of crockery on her head whilst riding a unicycle, hula-a-hooping, clowns and other such traditional circus acts.
It was, however, the final act which will stay in my memory for a very long time. Following a stream of lean, lithe athletes, a pot-bellied moustached middle-aged man and his smaller female (but equally pot-bellied) assistant walked onto the stage in spangly suits that had seen better days.
Their only props were a bucket and cup, from which the man started drinking cup after cup of water. The audience looked on, bemused, as he drank and drank and drank, and a plastic mat was laid out in front of him. Litres later, he faced the audience and projected the water out in front of him like a fountain, where it splashed down onto the mat. The force, volume and duration of this fountain was incredible, we were amazed! But there was more to come...
The somewhat weary looking assistant returned to the stage with a large glass jug of water....in which three live goldfish were swimming around happily. Oh dear. We watched as he, again, loaded up with water from the bucket, then preceded to drink from the jug until all the goldfish had been swallowed too. If that wasn't enough, he then managed to regurgitate them one by one, live, and put them back in the jug to swim around as before. From what we saw, it looked like he definitely swallowed them, and the fish seemed to be swimming just as enthusiastically after the ordeal.
These first two tricks were both impressive and grotesque, but plausible. It was the third trick that stunned me. The assistant brought out two new jugs of water, but this time one was bright orange and the other bright green. The water-man stocked up on normal water again, then drank one of the coloured jugs, then the other. He then regurgitated a jug of orange water, before separately spitting out a jug of green water. Unbelievable. I was appalled and seriously impressed in equal measure at this performance.
3) Real Life Cluedo
Today, I went alone to the theatre, as Phil is away, to see a real life play of the game Cluedo, where the audience has to guess who the murderer is. How exciting! I read about this in the newspaper and, although it did seemed to be aimed more at children, I booked my ticket immediately.
This was really good fun and very like the game up until the end of the play when the final clues basically told you what the answers were ("I have a new clue for you...the weapon is a sharp, pointy, metal item!") which was a bit disappointed (though I understand meant to keep the children happy). The characters were the same as British Cluedo, with the exception of Rev. Green being replaced by Mr Green, the slimy businessman. The theatre was packed full with over-excited children (and adults) which contributed to a great atmosphere. The whole show was well done.
Here are some pics from my trip:
Looking down at the stage. The background music was a live guitarist, and the stage shows a kitchen, ballroom, study, lounge, billiard room and conservatory.
Before
During
Welcome to the Prithvi
Stray Dog India
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