A ‘short + sweet’ experience for Mrs Maniben R Patel
Auckland hosted its first edition of ‘Short + Sweet’ a 10 minute theatre festival which originated in Australia. Alex Broun, the director of Short and Sweet festival was upbeat about the event in Auckland as it has taken Australia by storm and is now a permanent annual fixture in the theatre scene across Australia. This festival is slowing expanding its horizon and is now reaching the shores of Malaysia, Singapore, US and UK.
The first edition of ‘S+S’ had tremendous response to entries in all categories. From this there were 20 plays chosen in the ‘Festival category’ and 20 plays were chosen in the ‘Wildcards’ category. Among these 20 in the ‘Widlcards’ was an Indian production by MigHT-I theatre – Mrs Maniben Patel.
The idea for Mrs Maniben was mooted in the discussion after MigHT-I theatre was selected to present an entry in the ‘Wildcards’ as an Independent theatre company (ITC). Kaustubh Pethe, came up with this idea of a funny story that he had heard, which became the focal point for the play!
Devdutt Paranjape, Bipin Chavan, Sushma Thakur added a few thoughts which became the basis of the play. Prashant Belwalkar, then had the onerous task of writing a script based on the ideas, which he was able to do just in time given that the time limit of the play was only 10 minutes.
The play had eight characters in it, Mrs Maniben (Sushma Thakur), Dr Shah (Kaustubh Pethe), Jignesh Patel (youngest son, Bipin Chavan), Mandy Patel (Jignesh’s wife, Andrada Neagu), Hansa Lee (Mrs Maniben’s daughter, elder to Jignesh, Mrunal Niphadkar), Chang Lee (Hansa’s husband, Devdutt Paranjape), Karsanbhai Patel (Eldest son, Prashant Belwalkar) and Kokila Patel (Karsan’s wife, Jayashree Sonar). The casting reflected the mix bag of characters and the idiosyncrasies’ they brought to the role.
The play was very well received by the largely Kiwi audience and despite the differences in culture and accent, they applauded at all the right punches and had a hearty laugh. Kaustubh Pethe, as Dr Shah, was his usual best and was the focal character, who had some important news to give to the children.
Bipin Chavan, as Jiggy the youngest son, proved his mettle with a wily performance which as matched by Andrada as his wife. This young Romanian added not only jest but a bit of glamour to the role. Mrunal Niphadkar as Hansa was very convincing as a daughter and Devdutt Paranjape as Chang was a revelation.
Many found it hard to believe that he was not an Asian! Jayshree Sonar excelled in her role as Kokila and Prashant Belwalkar was his usual self in depicting the eldest son Karsanbhai. This pair had the most laughs from the audience! And finally Sushma Thakur, as Mrs Maniben was a portrait of a stoic but strong matriarch of the family, who despite her age was in control of everything around her!
A not to be missed performance and a tremendous achievement for this group. Though they failed to qualify for the finals, the play left a lasting impression on the audience! Let’s hope for some more plays from this group.
Auckland hosted its first edition of ‘Short + Sweet’ a 10 minute theatre festival which originated in Australia. Alex Broun, the director of Short and Sweet festival was upbeat about the event in Auckland as it has taken Australia by storm and is now a permanent annual fixture in the theatre scene...
Auckland hosted its first edition of ‘Short + Sweet’ a 10 minute theatre festival which originated in Australia. Alex Broun, the director of Short and Sweet festival was upbeat about the event in Auckland as it has taken Australia by storm and is now a permanent annual fixture in the theatre scene across Australia. This festival is slowing expanding its horizon and is now reaching the shores of Malaysia, Singapore, US and UK.
The first edition of ‘S+S’ had tremendous response to entries in all categories. From this there were 20 plays chosen in the ‘Festival category’ and 20 plays were chosen in the ‘Wildcards’ category. Among these 20 in the ‘Widlcards’ was an Indian production by MigHT-I theatre – Mrs Maniben Patel.
The idea for Mrs Maniben was mooted in the discussion after MigHT-I theatre was selected to present an entry in the ‘Wildcards’ as an Independent theatre company (ITC). Kaustubh Pethe, came up with this idea of a funny story that he had heard, which became the focal point for the play!
Devdutt Paranjape, Bipin Chavan, Sushma Thakur added a few thoughts which became the basis of the play. Prashant Belwalkar, then had the onerous task of writing a script based on the ideas, which he was able to do just in time given that the time limit of the play was only 10 minutes.
The play had eight characters in it, Mrs Maniben (Sushma Thakur), Dr Shah (Kaustubh Pethe), Jignesh Patel (youngest son, Bipin Chavan), Mandy Patel (Jignesh’s wife, Andrada Neagu), Hansa Lee (Mrs Maniben’s daughter, elder to Jignesh, Mrunal Niphadkar), Chang Lee (Hansa’s husband, Devdutt Paranjape), Karsanbhai Patel (Eldest son, Prashant Belwalkar) and Kokila Patel (Karsan’s wife, Jayashree Sonar). The casting reflected the mix bag of characters and the idiosyncrasies’ they brought to the role.
The play was very well received by the largely Kiwi audience and despite the differences in culture and accent, they applauded at all the right punches and had a hearty laugh. Kaustubh Pethe, as Dr Shah, was his usual best and was the focal character, who had some important news to give to the children.
Bipin Chavan, as Jiggy the youngest son, proved his mettle with a wily performance which as matched by Andrada as his wife. This young Romanian added not only jest but a bit of glamour to the role. Mrunal Niphadkar as Hansa was very convincing as a daughter and Devdutt Paranjape as Chang was a revelation.
Many found it hard to believe that he was not an Asian! Jayshree Sonar excelled in her role as Kokila and Prashant Belwalkar was his usual self in depicting the eldest son Karsanbhai. This pair had the most laughs from the audience! And finally Sushma Thakur, as Mrs Maniben was a portrait of a stoic but strong matriarch of the family, who despite her age was in control of everything around her!
A not to be missed performance and a tremendous achievement for this group. Though they failed to qualify for the finals, the play left a lasting impression on the audience! Let’s hope for some more plays from this group.
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