This weekend is dedicated to theatre at Club Mahindra Varca Resort as families can laugh their hearts out at theatrical plays, directed by Lillete Dubey. The greenery and huge lawns and gardens with an amphitheatre make for a perfect evening to watch these theatrical plays that have elements of humour and tragedy that will engage the audience.
Well known film, television and stage actress, Lillete Dubey, is the artistic director of her own theatre company, The Primetime Theatre Company, for over 30 years. She has dabbled with every form of theatre and her repertoire ranges from Shakespeare, Greek tragedy, musical comedies to contemporary drama.
On December 2, ‘Salaam, Noni Appa’ will be staged at 7 pm. The play is based on Twinkle Khanna’s charming short story of an autumn romance starring Lillete Dubey, Jayati Bhatia and Yateen Karyekar. On December 3, ‘Vodka & No Tonic & other stories’ from Shobhaa De’s ‘Lockdown Liaisons’ will be performed. The play is a collection of short stories and varying perspectives of men and women as well as relationships and trying circumstances. The play is starring Lillete Dubey, Ira Dubey and Joy Sengupta. On December 4, ‘Dance like a Man’ will be staged which is based on Mahesh Dattani’s classic hit.
The story of two Bharatanatyam dancers, their success, tension, and jealousy along with the dark secrets of family relationships and conflicts between generations. The play is starring Ananth Mahadevan, Lillete Dubey, Suchitra Pillai and Joy Sengupta.
“I am delighted to perform in Goa. This is a very different selection of plays. Shobhaa De and Twinkle Khanna write a lot of humour and humour is very important part of life that keeps us sane. Humour and tragedy is a slice of life and it is a combination of everything we experience,” says Lillete Dubey.
With three back to back plays, this is not the first time, she will be performing in a shortly timed frame. “We do plays all year round and sometimes we have to do double and triple shows and even different plays on the same day. Prithvi Theatre in Mumbai is one of the most wonderful places to perform and there are so many producers and directors waiting to perform in that space that they can’t give us dates. We have to make the most of it when we get the dates,” says Lillete.
Emphasising on her experience as a theatre artist, Lillete explains that it is more than an adrenaline rush to perform in front of a live audience. “It is exciting in its own way. There are terrific actors to work with either in films, OTT or in theatre. But performing on stage is unmatched and quite different, even though we move into other forms of acting. For theatre, you have to practise and hone your skills. It is an unusual career where you have to first calibrate your experiences and project a little more,” she explains.
She has made her name on the big screen as well that too making her debut at the age of 46. She has acted in over 40 feature films including ‘Baghban’, ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’, ‘Pinjar’, ‘Zubeida’ and the two Best Exotic Marigold Hotel franchises. “When most actresses are bidding farewell to their career, I started mine. In cinema, less is always more. The camera picks up everything and the emotions have to be internalised. In theatre, the voice is so important because if you are sitting on the last few rows in a theatre, you can’t see me but you can hear my voice and see my gestures. The style of performance is different,” says Lillete, differentiating between the two mediums of performance.
Lillete was awarded the Best Actress Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards for ‘Adhe Adhure’ and she is also a jury member for their awards. Speaking about her association with Club Mahindra, especially Club Mahindra Varca Resort, where the three plays will be staged for the very first time, she says, “My brother-in-law, Rajeev Dubey, is the Group President and Chief Executive Officer for Mahindra & Mahindra Limited. He has been in the company for 30 years. They have been sponsoring my shows and have been kind and supportive to the festival. This year, we performed at four venues across Mumbai with five different plays. Right from Prithivi Theatre in Juhu to NCPA in South Mumbai and Royal Opera House in Chowpatti. This is the first time we are performing at a Club Mahindra property exclusively for them, that too in Goa. All the three plays have humour because that’s what matters most to me. But more than that, it is about offering Club Mahindra members as well as the larger Goa audience a unique and immersive experience, for which the company is known.”
Lillete loves to perform for a Goan audience, she shares, “The Goan audience keeps bringing me back to Goa. It is one of my favourite places in the world and it has got some magic in the air. I don’t know how people can work here with that vibe. I adore Goan food and the atmosphere is so appealing that I would love to move to Goa anytime, lock, stock, and barrel.”
She has a history of performing plays in Goa and has been coming quite frequently except during the Covid pandemic. She was also a curator for theatre for Serendipity Arts Festival in Goa for the first two editions in 2016 and 2017. “I was the first curator of the theatre performances for the festival in Goa along with Anuraddha Kapur. Though most of the plays were free shows, there were 1-2 which were ticketed shows in Kala Academy and still the response and reactions from the audience from the audience was great,” she says.
Lilette is currently in Doha, where she walked the red carpet for Mira Nair’s ‘Monsoon Wedding’ which is now adapted as a drama for the stage. Directed by Nair, ‘Monsoon Wedding: The New Musical’ premiered amid the FIFA World Cup festivities in Doha recently. “I want to come every year to Goa but unfortunately, there are no places to perform and now even Kala Academy is shut for over three years. There are so many spaces that can be utilised for programmes and plays and which can be converted into small spaces like a black box theatres. It is wonderful to see how within the stretch of 80 kilometres in Doha, they have created wonders for the World Cup,” says Lillete, with hopes for new places to stage her plays in Goa.
Lillete will be arriving
