What is life without emotions? Nothing but a bizarre circus. A rightful pinch of romance, as much of tragedy and sufficient amount of fun are enough to keep us standing between the curtains. William Shakespeare, who calls this world a stage, envisioned these key ingredients of life and wrote for it in the most exceptional manner 400 years ago, while rarely in the world wrote about love, tragedy and comedy. 400 years ago Shakespeare wrote timeless stories, built characters for every sphere of the world to connect to.
Nepal-Britain Society’s New Shakespearewallah is now bringing life to the words of Shakespeare with a physical performance to Shakespeare’s noted play A Midsummer’s Nights Dream in Kathmandu. Adapted and directed by Greta Rana MBE, an eminent author, poet and founder of ICIMOD Nepal, this play is being staged at The British School in Sanepa on November 18, 19 and 20 at 5:30 pm.
The play is being co-directed by noted theatre actors of Nepal, Divya Dev and Akanchha Karki, who are also one of the lead characters in the act. Other actors in the play include the household names of drama such as Aashant Sharma, Saroj Aryal, Gunjan Dixit, Utpal Jha, with non-actors starting off with this play such as Sanguna Shah, Avash Karmacharya, Manoj Basnet, Chirag Bangdel, Ajit Sharma, Umesh Moktan, Chandra Prakash Budha Magar, Kalpana Kulung, Ilisha Gurung, Lojee Limbu and Ava Subedi.
“We are doing this play to establish New Shakespearewallah under Nepal-Britain Society to bring Shakespeare’s plays to Nepal and contribute to the education of disadvantaged children of Nepal from the proceeds of the play. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of the best plays by Shakespeare. This play not is about romance and comedy but also metaphorically speaks about the climate change. Besides this will also celebrate 400 years of Shakespeare and 200 years of Nepal-Britain relationship,” shares director Greta Rana MBE.
Co-director and actor Akanchha Karki adds, “A midsummer nights dream takes you on a rollercoaster of complex human emotions. I can never not do a Shakespeare play, and I feel morally responsible to put up a quality show because it needs justice. I’ve learnt a lot from helping out as its a relatively large cast compared to 4-5 people plays. Working with professionals and debutantes is a good balance. Theatre is about losing one’s inhibitions and immersing yourself in the process and its nice to see others do that. Fuels my passion for this form.”
Noted actor Divya Dev, who played the lead in the greatest tragic play of Shakespeare – Hamlet last April enunciates, “I played the lead in Shakespeare’s greatest tragic play Hamlet in April this year and now I am in the last week of rehearsals of his greatest comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I feel so fortunate to have gotten both of these opportunities. In this play I will be playing Lysander, a lovesick young man who is madly in love with beautiful Hermia. He is a passionate young lover who does not hesitate to go any distance for the sake of his love. I am very grateful to Greta Rana for this opportunity and trusting me to co-direct this wonderful play. Shakespeare is very close to my heart. For an actor like me who loves rich and intense human emotions, Shakespeare is a gold mine that never runs out of its treasures. It is an absolute honor for me to attempt the master’s work with the group of people so talented and very dear to me.”
The tickets for the play sponsored by Mercantile Traders, Pratima Pande MBE and Hotel Shaligram are available at The Mandala Book Store in Kantipath, Himalayan Java in Tridevi Marg, Manny’s Eatery and Tapas Bar in Jawalakhel, Dhokaima Cafe in Patan Dhoka, The Pilgrims Books House in Thamel, Silver Mountain College of Hotel Management in Lainchaur and at the venue itself during the three days of act.
Don’t miss to watch this love story between the mortals and the immortals and the comedy that drives the play in between.
See the poster below for more details.
