Rangmanch 10: Kanjoos (Hindi)

Date: 17th November

Script: Original by Moliere, translated by Hazrat Awara and adapted by Nikhil Sachan

Direction: Nikhil Sachan

Cast: Ankur Zutshi, Himani Kumar, Ankur Pandit, Ashutosh Vikram, Ashish Tickoo, Astha Gupta, Hiba Khair, Yash Kothari

Music: Ankur Zutshi & Nikhil Sachan

Anchor: Parul Agarwal

Undoubtedly, the most entertaining night that Theatrix has seen, Kanjoos tells the story of an old miser who loves his money more than anything and desires to marry the love interest of his son. What ensues is chaos, bakar and bawaal. Ably performed by the cast, with a special mention of Ashutosh Vikram and Astha Gupta and the debutantes Yash Kothari, Hiba Khair and Ankur Zutshi, the play was not only an exhilarating experience for the audience but for the Theatrix team as well and gave a hat trick of hits to Nikhil Sachan after the success of Keshav Pandit and Hazaaron Khwahishein Kaisi.






Trivia: One of the biggest draw of the play were the costumes, be it Yash Kothari in the garb of a hawaldaar or Ashutosh Vikram wearing a cement sack,vest and lungi on stage. Although these actors had vehemently fought against the above mentioned costumes, the director prevailed by stressing that the roles demanded these compromises and the results in terms of the audience response was there for all to witness.

Rangmanch 9: A Doll's House (English)

Date: 31st October, 2012

Cast: Swati Govil, Sathyajith Prabhu, Ankur Pandit, Vidya Panicker, Saurabh Pillai

Script: Original by Henrik Ibsen (Adapted by Ashish Tickoo)

Direction: Ashish Tickoo

Anchor: Shuchi Garg

A Doll's House is the oldest play to have been performed on the Rangmanch stage. A classic tale of male dominance in the society and female emancipation that challenged the mindsets of the conservatives, the play was adapted to a more modern context and the characters were ably brought to life by the balanced and believable  performances of the whole cast.

Trivia:
Rangmanch 9 featured the return of the marvelous Vidya Panicker on stage after Rangmanch 3. Sathyajith Prabhu became the first individual from PGP16 to perform on the Rangmanch stage. Thanks to the ongoing summer placements, this play saw the maximum number of locations being used for rehearsals right from the Room of Contemplation to the  under-construction MDP block to the amphitheater.

The Open Night

Date: 23rd August,2012

Cast: Vikas Singh, Shwetank Dikshit, Swati Chabra, Debrup Ganguly (Mukhauta), Anmol Shankhwar, Eshna, Chaitanya Sai, Jitendra Giri, Debatanu Dutta (Playing Along), Sathyajith Prabhu (Hidden Fires),
Anirudh Bainwala, Sharan, Vamsi Krishna (An Inclusive Joke), Sharan, Anirudh (To Be Immortal), Vamsi Krishna (A Monologue), Anirbhan Bhar (Mimicry)

 

Anchor: Shweta Prasad

Acts: Mukhauta (Written and directed by Alok Singh,PGP16), Hidden Fires, An Inclusive Joke, To be Immortal, Playing Along, A Monologue)

Perhaps, one of the more lighthearted nights on the Theatrix forum, The Open Night featured some brilliant and entertaining performance by students of PGP16. Introduced with the aim of giving the incoming batch an experience of theater and to induct them in the Theatrix fold, The Open Night proved a huge success with great response from the new batch. A special mention of the PGP15 Theatrix team which helped in organizing and mentoring the acts.

Trivia: The biggest hit of the night was undoubtedly, Jitendra Giri, who enthralled everyone with his performance as the devil in Playing Along, a role previously enacted by Saurabh Pillai from PGP15 during Rangmanch 6. All those present, would never forget the word 'switch' in their lives! 

Rangmanch 8: Hazaaron Khwahishein Kaisi (Hindi)

Date: 5th August, 2012

Script: Original by Nikhil Sachan

Direction: Nikhil Sachan

Cast: Himani Kumar (Suhaag Raat), Ankur Pandit (Hero), Astha Gupta (Tehzeeb)

Supporting Cast: Ashutosh Vikram, Ashish Tickoo (Tehzeeb)

Music: Kshitij Kapoor

Photography: Tripod, IIM K's photography club

Anchor: Khushboo Agarwal

After Keshav Pandit, the whole college had been waiting with bated breath for Nikhil Sachan's next production, and he along with the Hazaaron Khwahishein Kaisi (HZK) team, dazzled the Rangmanch stage and how! Featuring, three very different stories, Suhaag Raat (male chauvinism and societal hypocrisies), Hero (the life of a struggling actor), Tehzeeb (ritual of Bachakoshi in Afghanistan), with excellent performances by Himani,Ankur and Astha in each of the acts respectively, was enough to give goosebumps to many. Another aspect of the play, that was a huge hit, was the title track, written by Nikhil Sachan and composed by Nikhil and Kshitij, which one can still hear people humming around the campus.

Trivia:
Ashutosh Vikram featured in a supporting role without any dialogues where he was simply supposed to sit on the stage and get a shave. Apparently, despite memorable roles as Guddu (Keshav Pandit) and Namboo (Kanjoos), many people still come up to him and tell him that this was his finest performance to date.

Rangmanch 7: Toba Tek Singh (Hindi)

Date: 25th July,2012

Script: Adapted by Khushboo Agarwal & Prakhar Prabhakar(BITS Pilani)

Direction: Khushboo Agarwal

Cast: Saurabh Chambare,Gargi Nanjanath,Ajeytaa Agarwal,Tathagat Tripathi,Akshay Anand,Ashutosh Vikram,Ashutosh Singh Kushwaha,Ashish Tickoo,Swati Govil,Ananya Saha



Supporting Cast: Samarth Wadhwa, Kshitij Kapoor

Still photography by: Tripod,IIM K's photography club

Toba Tek Singh by Saadat Hasan Manto is one of the most poignant stories about partition and it was brought to life on the Rangmanch stage by Theatrix as its first production of the academic year. This play also successfully introduced Theatrix to PGP16. It also featured Saurabh Chambare and Ananya Saha on stage for the first time. A special mention of Gargi Nanjanath, Akshay Anand and Ajaeytaa Agarwal who floored the audience with their superlative performances.





Trivia: Unarguably, one of Theatrix's most extravavgant production with a cast of 10 main actors and a budget close to 5k, the play had to go through many difficulties in terms of casting and scheduling to the extent that the director had to sit with a list of PGP15 students to figure out the cast for the play. In a hilarious twist at the end, the director was so overwhelmed that while expressing her thanks to the audience, she forgot the name of a few faculty members.