Let's play this weekend

Wed, Jul 16 01:45 AM

It's Delhi's reply to rising auditorium rates and all the trouble that goes into a big production -weekend performances at friends' drawing rooms. It's known as chamber theatre and these are professional performances, though there is no money involved.

Theatreperson Kuljeet Singh, who teaches English at KhalsaCollege, started the weekend meetings with his friends about three months ago. He works with Atelier Theatre Group and says that chamber theatre was invented out of compulsion.

"It's expensive to book an auditorium every time you want to have a performance. One day, a friend and I decided to meet at her place and perform.

She called her friends and we had our own little chamber for theatre." Started on a casual note, these performances are now a consistent weekend feature for the group.

Gaurav Sehgal, 27, marketing manager at Birla Sunlife Mutual Funds, who loaned his chamber (drawing room) for the performance, says, "I had about 17-18 people over and it was great fun. The best thing is that you don't need many resources.

Just clear the biggest room and be creative." Singh seconds the view.

"Chamber theatre doesn't need much. There are times when we perform with just three torchlights.

" Another striking thing is the use of live music. "We invite people to play music, a little orchestra," says Ravinder Singh, a member of the group.

The simplicity of the form is catching on, says Singh. "We had a show at a BPO worker's home.

She invited her boss and colleagues. It was exciting because these people had no idea what theatre was like.

Some of them thought it would be like Ramlila," he adds. Chamber theatre has now become a medium to create new audiences.

"Post-performance, the group discusses the play over coffee and snacks," says Sehgal. "It is two hours of pure fun.

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