THEATRE : Gopal Sharman’s "The Ramayana" English Play at Akshara Theatre, 11-12 B, Baba Kharak Singh Marg > 7:30pm on 14th October 2016

Time : 7:30 pm Add to Calendar 14/10/2016 19:30 14/10/2016 22:15 Asia/Kolkata THEATRE : Gopal Sharman’s "The Ramayana" English Play Event Page : http://www.delhievents.com/2016/10/theatre-gopal-sharmans-ramayana-english.html Akshara Theatre, 11-12 B, Baba Kharak Singh Marg, New Delhi - 110001 DD/MM/YYYY

Duration : 2 hour 45 mins. 

Entry : Tickets at Rs. 250, Rs. 350, Rs. 500, Available at :
Online : BookMyShow
Note : For 10 years old and above.

Venue : Akshara Theatre, 11-12 B, Baba Kharak Singh Marg, New Delhi - 110001 
Landmark : Next to RML Hospital Emergency Gate 5
Venue Info : Events | About | Map | Nearest Metro Station - 'Patel Chowk(Yellow Line)Exit Gate - 3'
Parking : Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital public parking or Inside Akshara Theatre

Event Description :  Akshara Theatre presents Gopal Sharman’s "The Ramayana" based on Gopal Sharman’s theatrical masterpiece.

The Ramayana “India’s Gift to Broadway” 
- New York Times  

October is the month when veteran theatre duo Gopal Sharman and Jalabala Vaidya would be in the thick of rehearsals with the Akshara Theatre Repertory, for performances of The Ramayana, their internationally acclaimed stage production of Gopal Sharman’s contemporary interpretation of the epic.

But with Gopal Sharman’s passing in June, it is left to Jalabala to get the production ready for performance on the coming weekend at India Habitat Centre’s Stein Auditorium and Epicentre Gurgaon, where it will be the opening play of the Old World Theatre Festival.

This iconic theatre production which was commissioned in the early 70’s by the Royal Shakespeare Company was originally performed as a one-woman solo tour-de-force by Jalabala, who played it on Broadway, London’s West End, United Nations Headquarters, as well as in 35 Indian cities and towns to packed houses, rave reviews and standing ovations worldwide -- from the 70’s through to the 90’s – creating dramatic history.

In recent years, Jalabala performs the opening and closing scenes of the play, while a cast of superbly talented young actors performs the other scenes creating an exciting and innovative theatrical experience. The actors includes Jalabala’s talented grand-children Nisa Shetty as Sita, Dhruv Shetty as Hanuman and Yashna Shetty as Kaikeyi, along with Vikalp Mudgal as Rama, Vijay S. Kumar  as Ravana. Rakesh Palisetty as Vibheeshana and Pragya Priyadarshnini  as Mandodari.

The production retains the dramatic intensity of Gopal Sharman’s play which explores the human characters of Rama and Sita with reverence, delicacy and insight, through some of the most exquisite stage writing in modern theatre. Eminent Tamil litterateur Ka Naa Subramaniam, writing in the Indian Express pronounced it “The Ramayana for our times”, while the New York Times hailed it as “India’s Gift to Broadway”.

At the end of the rehearsal, 80-year old Jalabala chokes up because this is the point in the play when she would announce to the audience: “And now let me introduce the author and director of the play, my husband, Gopal Sharman...” But even though her eyes are filled with tears, Jalabala concludes the play and calls her cast onstage, saying “I know Gopal is here is spirit”  – and for all of them this season’s Ramayana is both a testament and a tribute to the creative genius of Gopal Sharman as well as to a creative relationship that spanned an action-packed 55 years.

So once more, we join Gopal, Jalabala and their young cast in exploring the magic and mystery of Rama – “in whose voice the dumb babble love’s profundities and the lame prance gaily over unscaled peaks.”

But there’s more to come. For Jalabala is preparing a production entitled “The Ramayana For Our Times”, which chronicles the journey of Gopal Sharman, Jalabala Vaidya and their Ramayana, through narration and enaction. There will be a sneak preview of this production on October 15, following one show of The Ramayana at the Akshara Theatre on October 14. 

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