I love literature, and drama has always been my favorite genre. Reading plays is a whole lot of fun, specially those by playwrights like Oscar Wilde, Henrik Ibsen, and Moliere. But what’s more fun than reading plays? Watching them being performed live! That’s why Prithvi Theater has been one of my favorite places since I can remember. It’s a lovely little theater in Juhu with amazing ambience that’s run by Sanjana Kapoor (veteran actor Shashi Kapoor’s daughter). Play lovers in Bombay’s suburbs owe her a lot!
So what do you need first when you want to go see a play at Prithvi? Passes! The passes are pretty reasonably priced. The only thing is the tickets don’t have assigned seating, so you have to get there early and stand in line if you want a good seat. Ticket booking at the theater starts after 1 pm, so don’t get there in the morning to pick up your passes or you’ll be disappointed. Also, don’t go there on a Monday, Prithvi is closed everyMonday. You can also get your passes at bookmyshow.com (with a nominal "convenience charge" of about 15 bucks per ticket). You could also try to book tickets right before the show, and if you’re lucky it won’t be full.
Prithvi theater must have a capacity of about 200 people or so. The lighting is really good, the accoustics are terrific, and the sets are usually very simple (explains why they don’t charge a bomb for the passes). It’s pretty well ventilated too, even when the theater is full, you won’t feel claustrophobic. The only time you may feel like hyperventilating is when some character has to light a ciggie and the smell of smoke fills the theater (I really hate cigarette smoke and wish they would just pantomime smoking).
The one thing that I’m not crazy about is the seating in the theater. It’s just rows and rows of benches. These wooden benches don’t really allow for personal space, so if you’re in a row with a lot of heavy people, you’ll be squashed with barely any space on the bench. And it’s just not nice to be in such close physical proximity to strangers, male or female. Also, when you get used to comfy seats at multiplexes, the unmaleable wooden benches feel really stiff (my tushie no likey). It gets pretty uncomfortable, specially for the longer plays. Also, last time I was there (last weekend for Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen, excellent play, excellent actors, excellent direction), the guy behind me decided to keep shaking his legs like a catatonic schizophrenic. He made his entire row and my entire row shake. I turned to glare at him once, but the man couldn’t take a hint. In comparison, the experimental theater at NCPA is priced pretty much the same as Prithvi, but they have moulded chairs in rows. While even these aren’t the most comfortable (and you’ll feel it if someone decides to have spasms), at least they ensure that the person next to you has to stay in his/her own seat and not spill out over into your space.
It tends to get a bit cold inside the theater, so I’d suggest carrying a jacket or a wrap. And please don’t carry noisy plastic bags... it’s annoying when in the middle of a play, someone decides to make their bag crackle. Also, the restroom could be a lot cleaner, it takes a lot to go in there even to just brush your hair... And please have the decency to switch off your cellphone, but if you’re paranoid about that at least put it on silent and keep it in your bag or pocket so that the light doesn’t distract everyone (even the actors) if it starts ringing. I can’t tell you how often that happens and the offender doesn’t look ashamed at all. It’s one thing to be obnoxious and take calls in a movie theater, but doing that at a play is just ridiculous. So when you go enjoy a play at Prithvi, please try to make sure you let others enjoy it too :)
If you’re not crazy about plays and need another reason to head to Prithvi, there’s their open-air cafe! You should read my review on Prithvi cafe to read about just what makes it so amazing (https://mouthshut.com/review/Prithvi_Cafe_-_Juhu_-_Bombay-30874-1.html). My favorite thing there is the Irish coffee, which is amazing in this weather. Sipping a cup of that while the rain pours down is pure bliss. Their walnut brownie isterrific, and you can ask them to warm it up a bit so it’s all soft and warm when you bite into it, mmmmmmm :)
Prithvi’s cafe also has amazing pastries and sandwiches from Mocha, and they have nice Indian fare too... you can actually have a proper meal here, with starters, a main, and dessert. I’d suggest not getting their iced tea - they use an instant mix powder and it’s pretty gross. They should really start keeping those Nestle iced tea cartons instead, if they don’t want to just brew the tea. A lot of the wannabe actor types hang around the cafe, but the open-air ambience makes suffering the loudmouth wannabes bearable. Oh and Prithvi also has a little book shop where you can find some unique books (nothing beats Landmark for me, though).
A cool thing about Prithvi is that they have a lot of fun summer activities for kids, like acting workshops, arts and crafts, and other stuff.Also, they have a lot of regional language plays, which is great, but I prefer English plays. Ihave seensome Hindi plays and one Punjabi-Hindi play with my mom (called Jisse Lahore Nahi Vekhya that was pretty good), but usually I stick to English plays. I’m not closed-minded, but after a few Hindi plays, I was bored out of my mind and completely turned off. Prithvi also has an open-mic evening, usually on Tuesdays, when budding writers and artists are encouraged to come recite or performsomething they wrote. I’m always trying to gather up the courage to go read some of my poems, but my stage-fright always gets the better of me.
Another lovelything about Prithviis the location. There are lots of restaurants nearby, so you can make plans for dinner after the play (or before, if you’re going for the 9:30 pm show). You have plenty to choose from like Don Giovanni (my favorite Italian place), Gringos (if you’re in the mood for sizzlers), Alfredos (if you want some nice pizza and a drink), and so much more. So next time you’re in the mood for a play, head to Prithvi, enjoy your play, and then check out the dining options in the vicinity :) Happy play-gazing!