City theatre unites for a cause

Life is never an easy gamble but when one gets diagnosed with a disease like cancer, every wisp of hope dies a slow death. As in the case of Anil (name changed), a prominent theatre personality from the city, for whom all hell broke loose when he was diagnosed with cancer recently.

Describing the challenges Anil is facing, his friend Rajnish says, “I got to know about it when I was in Germany for work and I immediately finished everything and came back to be with him. By then chemotherapy had begun but it wasn’t working. Doctors suggested bone marrow transplant as the only possible cure.”

That’s when Rajnish called all the leading theatre groups in the city and started #Theatreforacause a sustained effort to fight against cancer. He adds: “When a member of one’s family is unwell, everyone makes it a point to be with him and support him. That’s what we all are doing the city’s theatre community has got together to raise funds for his treatment.”

“Anil is a dear friend and we have worked together many times. So when we got to know about his condition we jumped in. Rangeen Sapney Theatre will be staging plays and conducting workshops to raise funds,” says Surender Sahil Verma. Joining hands with him is the Kissago Theatre group and they will be staging the first play of the series, Jee Huzoor, on September 15.

In fact, starting from the date, every weekend, one of the city’s theatre groups will stage plays at Lamakaan or Phoenix Arena. “We are very happy that they are giving us the space and time for free to support a cause,” shares Jay Jha, theatre actor.

They also plan to raise funds by appealing to the audiences. “We will announce the cause before staging plays, and will publish bank details behind tickets so that anyone who wants to help, will know how,” says Saurabh Gharipurikar of Udaan Performing Arts.

As it’s about supporting causes, two veteran theatre groups from the city Nishumbita and Sutradhar have also extended their support. “We have always worked for different causes and this time when it’s for someone from the community, how can we back off? This is the first time that the community has forgotten ego clashes and came together to support a cause,” says Ram Mohan Holagundi of Nishumbita.

Vinay Varma and Sutradhar will also stage a play in the upcoming weeks. “Whatever we are doing isn’t for publicity but for humanity as a whole,” he says.