Are you okay in a society of scissorhands?

"Sakhram Binder faced violence and harassment because its protagonist questioned revered institutions and attitudes of society," explains Shanbag.

Similarly Tamasha, originally a subversive form of folk entertainment, has been severely sanitised by society, he claims. "Tamasha in its original form was full of satire. It questioned norms of society. It included in-your-face sex, and commented on political activities. Now, all they do is dance the bite, the kick is lost," bemoans Shanbag.

Shanbag intends to confront his audiences and fellow artists. "A lot of artists, whether connected to theatre, painting, music, dance or cinema are being attacked, and their space of expression is being curtailed. We are asking audiences to think about what official and unofficial censors are doing to art," says Shanbag.

Ironically, this theatre-work with an in-your-face title, has only been given a temporary, one-month censor certificate. "If after a month, nobody hurls stones at us or blackens our face in public, they might give us a permanent certificate. Otherwise, they can say, 'It's a law and order situation' and curb the performance altogether," he shrugs.

On: September 29 to October 1, 9 pm. October 2, 4 pm, 7 pm. October 3, 6 pm, 9.30 pm. October 4, 4 pm, 7.30 pm.
At: Prithvi Theatre, Janki Kutir, Juhu Church Road, Juhu.
Call: 26149546.
Tickets: Rs 200

The people behind it
Shanta Gokhale developed the play's broad structure Irawati Karnik and Sunil Shanbag focussed on researching and building on the subject for three months Maya Jadhav, the Shamshir of Lavani, has choreographed
a few dances Shyam Petkar, Kishore Kadam, Anand Thatte and Anil Deshmukh helped translate material from Marathi to Hindi Deshmukh, Atul Tiwari and Arvind Jagtap wrote original songs Shailendra Barve composed original music
Cast: Nagesh Bhonsle, Gitanjali Kulkarni, Shubhrojyoti Barat, Ketaki Thatte, Rajashree Wad, Hridaynath Jadhav, Umesh Jagtap, Gulshan Devaiah, Puja Swaroop

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!