ABG launches new theatre initiative - ‘Aadyam’

Mithila Phadke
Times of India

Acclaimed groups craft five new plays

An elderly couple grappling with a nervous breakdown and sudden fall from riches. An Englishman mysteriously collapsing on his estate, giant paw-prints near his body. A love triangle unfolding across old Bombay and Gujarat set to the tune of the Bhangwadi tradition, families battling it out in public, and a shrewd moneylender literally demanding his pound of flesh.

There''s a common platform from where this motley gang, spanning eras and countries, plans to tell its stories. Some are new; others train an unexpected lens on the familiar. They are all part of Aadyam, an initiative by the Aditya Birla Group in association with the Times of India, which makes its debut on the Mumbai theatre scene this month. The nine-month-long festival brings together acclaimed groups like Arpana, Akvarious, Masque, Q Theatre Productions and Rage Theatre for five new productions, staged over 45 shows in Mumbai and Delhi.

The idea behind Aadyam is to reach out to wider audiences, and help shed the notion that theatre-going is an activity restricted only to a certain section of people.