Dance Like A Man - A Play By Mahesh Dattani

Can the parents of a girl be jealous of her super-success? When it's a Saturday night at Shilpakala, and Mahesh Dattani and Lillette Dubey are answering, it's certainly worth finding out.

The Times Hyderabad Festival is back this year with 9 days of music and art. The festival will see some renowned musicians, dancers and singers, like Ustad Amjad Ali Khan on the inaugural day, Sonu Nigam on 1st April, and Vani Ganapathy, Ghulam Ali Khan and Ehsan Bharti Ghungroo Wale on 6th April. There are also a fashion show by Vinita Pittie and Neeta Lulla on 7th April, and renowned plays Dance Like A Man by Mahesh Dattani on 7th April and The Vagina Monologues by Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal on 8th April. In addition, there will be carnivals at Eat Street on 31st April and at Hyderabad Central on 7th & 8th April, and cooking classes at Taj Krishna, Novotel, ITC Kakatiya, Mainland China, Taj Banjara and Touch from 2nd to 6th April.

Today, the penultimate day, an English play Dance Like A Man is being staged at the Shilpa Kala Vedika auditorium. Dance Like A Man is an intimate tale which portrays the social scene in South India. Oscillating between the present and time gone by, it is the story of two Bharatanatyam dancers, Jairaj and Ratna, both well past their prime, juxtaposed with that of their daughter, Lata, who is on the brink of establishing herself as a brilliant dancer. Her imminent success creates tension and jealousy, and the audience is drawn into the dark secrets of family relationships and conflicts between generations.

The play enthralls by presenting serious issues such as family conflicts and dark household secrets in a more humorous light without losing focus. It probes and dwells into the psyche of the characters as it questions their deeper motivations. But the mode is comic rather than tragic, even though the concerns are serious, and you are never sure whether to laugh or to cry.

This 2-act play is written by Mahesh Dattani, directed by Primetime Theatre Co. artistic director Lillette Dubey of Monsoon Wedding and Zubeida fame, and features a cast of four - Lillette Dubey, Vijay Crishna, Joy Sengupta and Suchitra Pillai.

The entry to the concert is by invitations, available at The Times Of India office, Planet M and Walden outlets. For further details, please contact 2335-5335.