Last weekend was a brilliant – if sleepless – experience with my partner and a couple hundred other folks at The Company Theatre Workspace at Kamshet, Maharashtra, India.
While it was bloody cold it definitely delivered and was worth a little zzzz deprived night!
Vadivale Lake by day…
Naturally there was zero network, limited access to power. I figure, if one is going to detox from the land of the connected – this is the way to do it!
The atmosphere convivial, food simple, hot and delicious. And the real pull? Superb quality performances!
Here goes my modified version of the organizers program… just to make you all sufficiently jealous to want to get out and support these folks if ever in the neighbourhood!
Program
6:00 PM Guests arrive at TCT Workspace, refreshments at sunset
The Company Theatre Workspace with Atul (left)
Just a bit of background, The Company Theatre Workspace is spearheaded by Atul Kumar, funded by the theatre and performance community for the theatre and performance community. A breathtakingly lovely spot surrounded on three sides by the lake.
7: 15 PM Inauguration – Lighting of the Lamp
A glimpse of the outdoor theatre seating area before audience arrived for the lamp lighting ceremony…
Outdoor theatre before the audience…
7:30 PM G. P. Deshpande’s “Satyashodak” directed by Atul Pethe
The 1st play was acted by sanitation workers from Pune – with the subject a historical play on the social education activist Mahatma Jyotiba PhuleJyotiba and his wife Savitribai Phule were pioneers of women’s education in India and education of lower castes.
The villagers were invited to see the play and join for dinner.
Play
12:00 AM Nrityagram’s Bijayini Satpathy performs Odissi
Then an exquisite Odissi dancer from Bangalore… Story telling through dance with a sparkling talent!
Equisit bharatnatyam from Bangalore
1:30 AM Kaluram Bamaniya sings Kabirvani
Followed by Rajasthani folk singers who were hilarious too – had folks dancing, clapping and singing (and not just to keep warm!).
Introducing the Rajasthani folk group
3:30 AM Acrobatics, Mime and Slapstick: The Tragedy of Madbeth. Performed by Rupesh Tillu
Madbeth comedy had everyone in stitches. This is a pic of Rupesh earlier in the evening sorting out lighting and sound…
Madbeth getting prepped to go crazy!
4:30 AM Danish Husain performs DastanGoi
We then all crammed into the main house gaining respite from the cold to be transfixed (or put to sleep – take your pick!) by Urdu story telling. No pics of this but did get one in the space Danish did his piece.
I confess it – my eyes did get a little heavy-lidded by this point. And I need to really concentrate to catch the gist of Urdu – irrespective of how clearly interesting and entertaining it may be!
An empty indoors which just a few hours earlier was crammed with rapt and nodding audience!
5: 45 AM Morning Ragas and Abhang by Manjusha Patil
Morning raga as the sun rose over the lake – simply magical.
Morning raga lit by stage lighting…
As dawn approached from darkness to light
Daytime
8:30 AM: Guests depart
Exhausted but happy… we all piled into our respective vehicles or the bus and headed home… hoping there will be another such event next year!
Creature comforts exiting stage right!
I gotta admit – most of my sleep deprived nights are thanks to flights. This was a refreshing change!
Have you ever been to an all night arts festival?
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Everyday Asia 
I am so envious of you…what a fun event.
It was completely worth the trip and time! 🙂
Of course, your title sucked me in. 😁
Hehehe!! Well… it really was what a filmmaker friend said after the drive back to Bombay. 🙂