Theatre takes centrestage

Dubai's independent theatrical companies are staging performances in multiple languages in the hopes of luring audiences to this live art form

There are no re-takes. Once the curtains open, you can't pause to re-perform a scene or to re-think a dialogue. The theatre is a beautiful form of art. There aren't any mics here (mostly) - your voice is all you've got. No fancy sets, a handful of props. Your body is the 'real' furniture. The energy on stage is driven by the applause of the audience and the spirit of fellow actors. The words of mentors calm nervous hearts and minds. And you don't have to wait for box office returns to know if you fared well or not - the verdict is passed then and there.
The UAE is home to many theatre lovers, who love to perform as well as watch. And recently, many independent theatre groups have come up in the city, each committed to the cause of evolving this art form. What's more, they're keen to stage shows in several languages - think English, Italian, Greek, Hindi and more. Here, the founders of four such groups give us a peek of the action, behind the scenes.

A spectrum of emotions
A Greek actress, Vicky Koumoutsou has acted in TV series, movies and theatrical performances in Greece for over ten years. Four years ago, when she landed in Dubai, she discovered that the city had no 'professional' actors. "Most actors don't act for a living - all of them have full-time day jobs." A drama school teacher, Vicky, 31, decided to change that by setting up her own theatrical community called Scenes & Skenes. Whilst 'scenes' stands for a place where an incident in real life or fiction occurs, the Greek term 'skenes' derives from a word meaning 'tent' that has developed a secondary meaning referring to the backdrop used in Greek drama.
For Vicky, the move was a step towards cultivating a serious theatre community in the UAE. "I am looking at paying my actors," she says. "It would encourage more people to take up acting as a job, complete with proper contracts and salaries." It would also help her put up better shows. "The biggest challenge is to find a committed cast for one's show. Since most people are always on the move and perform (voluntarily) out of passion, it gets extremely stressful to match schedule rehearsals and show dates," she notes.
Her first production was a Greek modern comedy, Daddy Do Not Die On Friday, staged in November 2015 at DUCTAC, exclusively for the Greek community. She followed it up with an English production in May last year called Birds by Aristophanes, an ancient Greek comedy, which had a cast of 30 actors and dancers from the UAE. Next up was Chocolate Factory in October last year, both in Greek and English. "I am planning to take Chocolate Factory to schools and ours would be the first local group to perform for children. Mostly children's productions come from places like the UK. They perform for one or two weeks and leave."
The logo for her company includes the icons of three masks. "The two masks are inspired by the ancient Greek symbol for theatre, which depicts happiness and unhappiness. I added the third one to reflect an expression of nothingness - these days, a lot of us do certain things without any emotion and I wanted to add that to the spectrum."
Is the Dubai audience receptive to theatrical shows? "They love a good production, which explains why shows that come from abroad are always full-
house. It is up to us in Dubai to create a high standard show and win the trust of the audience."
To know more: scenesandskenes.com

Creating a world of art
Orb Drama Club was created way back in 2005, but in 2016, it was given a new lease of life when its name was changed to Orb Theatricals. Whilst it has, so far, only produced plays in English, the group is looking forward to adding Hindi and Marathi productions soon too.
Founder Sabiha Majgaonkar, 43, who works as a removals manager, feels that the theatre scene in Dubai has seen a big change over the last decade. "When Short + Sweet - the largest festival of 10-minute plays in the world - came to Dubai in 2013, it brought with it a lot of exposure to theatre and opportunities to perform." However, she feels the city doesn't have a neutral theatre-loving audience, who watch and appreciate theatre as an art form. "Most of the audience comprises of the theatre community and their families."
As the group's creator, what are the obstacles she faces in running it? "The main challenge is to create a name for oneself. Initially, it was a challenge to build up a dedicated team, who would help take things forward." Today, she feels they are past the hiccups. "Now, it's time for us to create new milestones."
An actor and director herself, Sabiha is known for her monologues on stage. "Monologues, especially those of a short duration, allow one to pack in a lot more content in comparison to a cast-driven show." Her favourite genre is black comedy.  The need of the hour is to pull crowds that would enjoy theatre, she believes. "It's a culture that needs to be developed - a challenge the community has to surpass collectively."
Orb has performed at Short + Sweet, season after season. Its most memorable ten-minute plays include Paradise, Relics, VD, The Last Supper, Intelligent Design, and Things Change. "We will be putting up our first full-length production, Arsenic & Old Lace, in March. It will involve 13 actors and be directed by a local actor-director Kailash Nair. It is, by far, our most ambitious project to date and we are really excited about it," she says.
To know more: facebook.com/orbtheatricals

The call of destiny
In 2013, a car accident left Pawan Manghnani bedridden for six months. A stand-up comedian with five years of experience, it was around this time that he was introduced to spirituality. "As part of the discourse, I was taught to say 'Yes' to everything that came my way, and that's how acting and directing/producing happened to me," recalls the 31-year-old entrepreneur, who also loves to take charge of the DJ console or play an emcee at events. "After my recovery, when a couple of friends suggested I act, I did exactly that!"
That's how Aish Outt Productions was born on World Laughter Day (May 4) in 2014. It started off with producing stand-up comedy shows across Dubai and getting international talents to the city. Now, they give local comedians a chance to open the show for these big names. The group has also been producing/directing theatre productions for festivals in Dubai, primarily Short + Sweet. The name Aish Outt, which loosely translates into 'Rock Out' or 'Enjoy', was decided upon to reflect Pawan's philosophy in life. "It's something that I have always believed in - creating acts that ensure people have fun."
They're now keen to produce plays in English, Hindi, and Sindhi, but Pawan laments that unprofessional actors and directors are the bane of the theatre scene in Dubai. "Initially, everybody is very enthusiastic, but as rehearsal schedules are finalised, people start backing out or coming in late. Although, we now maintain a blacklist and prefer working with committed actors, getting everyone together is still a tough task."
Live theatre vs air-conditioned multiplexes - has Dubai audience warmed up to watching plays? "We have a long way to go," says
Pawan. "But the awareness is there, and audiences are warming up at a faster pace as compared to 2010, when we started out the home-based standup scene."
Their 10-minute productions include I Love You Two, I Loved You Two, Cluster F, The Lunar Eclipse, Turn The Other Cheek, The Actress' Dilemma, and The Gift.
To know more: facebook.com/AishOutt

Revisiting a passion
The Revenants teatro is a newborn. "It came as a resolution for the New Year," says Michela Contini, who co-founded the group, together with Marco Fraschetti and Natascia Colautti.  "We started to refer to ourselves as 'the Revenants' - joking about the fact that we 'came back' on the theatre scene after we considered giving it up," says Michela, 37, who holds a doctorate in literature and philosophy. "Marco just got a new job, I just had a baby, and Natascia was tied up with work. It's not easy to balance your daily commitments and your passions. But, as a drama teacher once told me, once the theatre bug enters your heart, there is no other way to deal with it than giving it what it asks of you. So, following our dreams and passions, we 'came back' as the Revenants. We chose to keep the English name for the group, but we added "teatro" just to make clear the Italian essence of our company."
The group aims to become a cultural landmark for the Italian community (and lovers of Italy) in Dubai. "We are planning to work in a double direction: translating a few Italian plays in English, and vice-versa. The Italian theatrical heritage has many great masterpieces to offer and we want Dubai to know and appreciate them." L'audizione, written by the Italian comedians P Petrolo and C Gregori, will be their first production for Short + Sweet 2017.
What are the biggest challenges they face in running their outfit? "We are not a professional theatre company, meaning that we don't get paid for our performances. Therefore, we can't carry out our drama activity as a full-time job, needing to deal with other "morning" professions. Other issues follow like the renting cost, procedures, approvals, etc." But are things changing for the better? "Definitely," she says. "The 'quality' of the audience has grown alongside the quality of the performances. Watching a play is not being seen as entertainment alone, but more and more as a cultural event."
purva@khaleejtimes.com