In Sync With Past, Present — Four Best Plays at Prithvi

Gujarati theatre director Manoj Shah has earned a reputation as a director who brings a lot of variety into his work and covers a wide range of genres. His plays often delve into areas of history and the lives of artistes, capturing time frames and locales with almost pin point accuracy. To give authenticity to this variety, backdrops for the plays have always been done by acclaimed painting personalities like Ghulam Mohammed Sheikh and Bhupen Khakhar. Now four of his best plays are all set to be staged again at the Prithvi Theatre in June.

While Mareez Tu Aavi Kevi, his latest play, seems like it comes from the school of conventional Gujarati humour, Manoj's other plays are far from being conventional. Mareez being one of them. Shah says, 'Mareez is based on the life of a poet and his world of timelessness. We have used a range of colours and played with the lighting. The characters are those who are known to every average Gujarati household.'

Mareez has completed more than 200 shows since 2012, and is one of the plays in Shah's repertoire to feature large ensembles, with 15 actors. The title refers to the pen name of Abdul Ali Vasi, the mid-twentieth century poet dubbed the Ghalib of Gujarat, who nonetheless led a beleaguered and musing existence. Mareez takes us through the signposts of his life and circumstances.

On being asked as to how he feels so comfortable using such radically different languages, Manoj says, 'I use a lot of languages, but that is the essence of India. The variety of sounds and phonetics contribute to giving a very different kind of sound and music in the play. All of them contribute to allowing us to fit into our culture.'