Yatri will showcase its milestone productions in Mumbai

Yatri has completed 30 Years of distinguished, successful and unstinted service to Indian Theatre.

At a time when Hindi theatre was passing through a difficult phase, one man surprised theatre audiences by coming up with an ingenious mix of comedies, social commentaries, satires, classics among others - Om Katare.

In the face of adversity, the never-say-die attitude of director Om Katare, who hails from a small town called Datia in MP, stood him in good stead. Recognizing a need to satisfy his creative urges and keeping in mind the taste of the public, Katare came up with a group, dedicated to the cause of Hindi theatre, called 'Yatri'.

The initial years were fraught with angst and struggle. To carve a niche for himself in the crowded Hindi theatre field - a daunting task indeed - Om Katare relied on his abilities and his close group of associates. With no funds or sponsors, he went on to produce and direct his first play 'Ek Tha Gadha' way back in 1979.

Prithvi Theatre proved to be the turning point in his life when he saw a new concept in theatre, where the audience was interacting and very involved with the performance due to the informal atmosphere of Prithvi Theatre. It was his good fortune to have got encouragement from the late Jennifer Kapoor and Dharamsey Merchant (the manager of Prithvi Theatre at that time).

It was the dream of the late Mrs. Jennifer Kapoor to see theatre flourish. To realize this dream she started the tradition of holding a festival of plays for the existing groups. It is a rejuvenating and re-energizing experience for actors and audiences alike. Yatri seized this opportunity to showcase its diverse talents and started its own festival of plays way back in 1981. It has been received with great enthusiasm year after year, thereby boosting the morale of the highly motivated group.

And the festival is here once again in Mumbai.

All thru the year, Yatri has decided on a Year Long celebration of theatre and liberty.

From January 2009 to January 2010, there will be 100-show Celebration for a whole year, in 6 theatres of Mumbai,. Not only that, Yatri will premiere 4 new plays during this period, taking the tally to a total of 12 different plays. These will be presented through 3 major Festivals throughout the city of Mumbai . Opening Festival Jan 2009 (20 shows) Childrens Play Festival April/May/June 2009 (16 shows) Closing Festival Jan 2010 (20 shows)

The opening Festival of 20 shows at Prithvi theatre will be as follows:

One show of Sakharam Binder(New play) will be on 24th Jan’08 at 9 p.m.

Two shows of Chhoomantar will be on 25th Jan’08 at 6 & 9 p.m

Two shows of Hadh Kar-di aapne will be on 26th Jan’08 at 6 & 9 p.m

Two shows of Sakha ram Binder will be on 27th Jan’08 at 9 p.m.

One show of Kaal Chakra will be on 28th Jan’08 at 9 p.m.

One show of Kaal Chakra will be on 30th Jan’08 at 9 p.m.

One show of Dekho woh Aa Gaya (New play) will be on 31st Jan’08 at 9 p.m. Two shows of New play will be on 1st Feb’08 at 6 & 9 p.m

Two shows of New play will be on 2nd Feb’08 at 6 & 9 p.m

Two shows of New play will be on 3rd Feb’08 at 6 & 9 p.m

Source: http://www.buzzintown.com/