A NEW COMEDY COMING SOON!
For everyone looking for some laughter, Francesca is directing a play which is a 70’s Broadway comedy from the USA. It will be performed on 6th, 7th and 8th December. Having previously done a play called “The Odd Couple”, Francesca and Elke want to do another hit with laughter backing up every comic scene.
As you would have noticed, the title of the play has not been shared. This is because this play was adapted into a feature film which was absolutely not up to the mark even though the play itself was considered a gem of scenic writing for its impressive humor and its precision to detail. The film gives a very skewed idea of what the play might be like and Francesca and Elke decided that it would be best not to reveal the name of the play for the moment so as to not give Aurovilians the impression of a vulgar comedy before they see it staged.
What makes this play special is that it is a slapstick comedy which features universal humor. Hence this makes it accessible to audiences of diverse backgrounds. It is about professional people in theatre and revolves around their everyday life so the set is quite complex because it is trying to show a play inside a play.
Francesca believes that theatre needs to be looked at differently here, to more and more be seen as a service to Auroville and not only as a hobby. “Theatre produces culture and Auroville has a lot of educational life but lacks a cultural one”, she says, and suggests this could start by acknowledging the requirements of theatre: a unit of its own, where sets and costumes from different plays are preserved, and which provides a space for theatre artists to practice. “Storing the set and costumes of different plays would mean they would be reused and performances could be organized in a sustainable way”,she points out.
Francesca conducted a theatre workshop on 12 th ,13 th and 14 th July to fundraise for the performance happening in December. They are looking for more financial support, and donations can be made into
the FS account 252771.
By Nivedita Singhal for AV Art Service
