Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Hyderabad
Behind the footlights
|
He defines himself as a complete theatrewallah, working backstage on productions, with writers, even walking on for a non-speaking part
|
Theatre is a habit. You need something to sustain that habit Quasar padamsee
LIVING A DREAM Quasar Padamsee: `If you breathe, your blood type is theatre positive' Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.
Both his parents, Dolly Thakore and Alyque Padamsee, have been well-respected theatre artistes but Quasar Thakore Padamsee's earliest memories of the theatre are only traumatic. "I used to be dragged to plays and, sitting in a light-room, I'd fall asleep only to wake up and wonder where my mum was... then I'd look through the window and see her on stage," he remembers. "I have a very strange memory of sleeping on the Prithvi theatre jute carpet which was prickly and really uncomfortable. But I don't have any memories of waking up and watching someone perform and thinking "I want to be that". I have only trauma memories. My love for theatre came out completely independent of my parents."
It came out while he was in 10th grade, away at Rishi Valley, during a performance of The Glass Menagerie. "That's when I realised that theatre wasn't just about fun, costume, makeup and people laughing at your lines. I remember the way people reacted to it; and I remember thinking this is something I want to hold on to."
At Mumbai's St. Xavier's College, Quasar plunged into its active theatre scene. After directing and acting in some classics while in college — All My Sons, Inherit the Wind and The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail — Quasar, or `Q' as everyone knows him, founded QTP which by happy coincidence stands for Quasar Theatre Productions as well as Quasar Thakore Padamsee.
Formed by a bunch of close friends who quit their regular job when they realised it didn't give them time for their first love, theatre, the company calls itself a "complete theatre solutions firm". It conducts a three-week, three-city festival, Thespo, to promote youth talent.
Q quit advertising after one year to jump headlong into QTP. "Theatre has to be a part of my life, if it wasn't I'd just have to roll over and die. I work 18-19 hour days and every week is completely different. I wouldn't change a thing."
Theatre was always at the back of his mind, though he imagined himself as an actor till he directed Inherit the Wind. Now though, he prefers directing. "I act occasionally for other theatre companies because mine believes I suck," he says dryly. "I'd like to call myself a theatrewallah, which means you do everything; if you breathe, your blood type is theatre positive. It means working backstage on productions, working with writers, even walking on for a non-speaking part, if the play is better for it."
With QTP's establishment as a group that promotes young talent has come Q's own growth as a theatre person. Gradually he's moved from the well-known plays he directed at college, often a compelling U2 track defining their mood, to lesser-known theatre which he attempts to contextualise and adapt to modern sensibilities. "I now have the opportunity to spread my wings and try different things; push and shove whatever's tried and tested," he says.
His current production Khatijabai of Karmali Terrace is one such attempt, contemporising a Stella Kon play with Indian themes of motherhood, familial ties and a changing cityscape. His parents are always present on opening night, and send him hate mail if they don't like his plays; but no interference or advice while work is in progress. Dolly Thakore has acted in two plays under the QTP banner, including one he directed. "It's very hard to switch off for her because by being my mum she's also mum to everyone else in our company," Q explains. "We used to rehearse on our drawing room floor and if someone would say, `I'm thirsty,' she would go off to get water. We'd have to remind her that she's on stage now and finally we had an agreement: the moment the first actor walks through that door, it stops becoming her home and becomes a theatre space."
Although initially nervous when he quit his job without even telling them, both parents are now confident about what he does. "Theatre is a habit," he explains simply. "You need something to sustain that habit. My parents come from the era where you work during the day and do theatre in the evening. They were worried that I would stay in bed till two in the afternoon. But they're not scared anymore, they know this is serious; they've seen the work we do."
Years ago, Q watched someone get on stage before a performance and touch it reverentially. It seemed odd to him then, but now after nine years of an overwhelming affair with the stage, he understands the gesture. "The stage is our rozi roti," says this theatrewallah. "You're thankful it's there; it's what feeds you." And staging a play at Ranga Shankara recently, Q found himself going instinctively to centre stage, and touching it.
This column features all those who go against the grain in pursuit of their beliefs.
HEMANGINI GUPTA
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Hyderabad
|
