Shakespeare comes to Bundelkhand through this ageless comedy. Baptista Minola has two daughters – one a paragon of virtue, the other given to biting off a man's head at the slightest provocation. Can this 'shrew' find a man equal to the challenge of being her husband? Once she is out of the way, will her younger sister be able to marry the man she loves? We invite you to be part of the first Shakespearean play in Naatak's 20-year history!

Winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire is a play about a family’s attempts to come to terms with a tragic loss. Set at a time well after the bereavement, the play examines the lives of 5 people directly impacted by it, as they try to relive their past and reconstruct their future. Rabbit Hole is an unsentimental, witty and improbably funny exploration of grief and is widely regarded as one of the best scripts in this genre. It was also made into a film starring Nicole Kidman, who received nominations for an Oscar and a Golden Globe.

n 2014, Bollywood’s dream girl Hema Malini became Member of Parliament from Mathura. When visiting a widow-home in Vrindavan, she suggested that Vrindavan widows should remain in Bengal instead of coming to over-crowded Vrindavan. The uproar that followed involved many actors – NGOs, the BJP, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and Hema Malini. This incident provides the inspiration for Vrindavan, City of Widows, in which 12 feisty widows live in raucous celebration until a Bollywood actress arrives to disrupt their lives. Vrindavan is a grand musical, juxtaposing the colorful love of Radha and Krishna with the stark existence of Vrindavan widows, and told through humor and wit, the songs of Meera Bai and the gyrations of Bollywood songs. The play features spectacular sets, costumes and lights, along with live music by Nachiketa Yakkundi and his team, choreography by Guru Bandana Sen, and dance by Dipanwita Sengupta and her students at California Nupur Dance Academy. This is Naatak’s 50th play. As befits a milestone production, it will be staged on a grand scale, with much media coverage, and as many as 9 shows for a large audience. A news item on the incident that became the genesis of this play: http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/widows-from-bengal-bihar-stay-there-why-crowd-vrindavan-hema-malini-667204

Over 20 years, we have staged plays in Hindi, English, and Tamil. In November, we celebrate India’s heritage by staging a bouquet of short plays, each witty and humorous, each in a different Indian language. The scripts are by playwrights all over the world, including masters such as Satyajit Ray, Anton Chekhov and Dorothy Parker. Each show will consist of nine short plays staged in quick succession, and will have super-titles in English.

1. Here We Are (English) Written by Dorothy Parker, directed by Kamala Subramaniam On their honeymoon, a newly-wed couple fight, annoy, amuse, and exasperate each other.

2. சாரி ராங்க் நம்பர் (Tamil) - SORRY WRONG NUMBER Written by Lucille Fletcher, directed by Savitha Samu Crossed phone lines reveal a plot to kill a bed-ridden woman, who must now protect herself.

3. एक एप्रिल (Marathi) - 1 APRIL Written by Yogesh Soman, directed by Niranjan Page Four hostel room-mates play a prank on a fifth one, and more is shared than planned.

4. বারীণ ভৌমিকের ব্যারাম (Bengali) - BARIN BHOUMIKER BERAM Written by Satyajit Ray, directed by Abhishek Das A thief comes face to face with the man he stole from years ago.

5. ਮਾਮਲਾ ਗੜਬੜ ਹੈ (Punjabi) - THE PROBLEM Written by A R Gurney Jr., directed by Sareeka Malhotra A wife tells her husband she is pregnant and the child is not his. The husband has secrets of his own.

6. छोटी छोटी बातें (Hindi) - TRIFLES Written by Susan Glaspell, directed by Neha Goyal A man has been murdered. Men investigate, but the women conduct their own, very different, investigation.

7. పంటి నొప్పి (Telugu) - TEETH Written by Tina Howe, directed by Bharadwaj Pudipeddi A neurotic woman with a toothache is treated by an over-zealous dentist who is also an NTR fan.

8. મનુ લાવ્યો માંગુ (Gujarati) - THE PROPOSAL Written by Anton Chekhov, directed by Pratiksha Rao A marriage proposal leads to a hilarious quarrel about land and cattle.

9. भूख लगी है, खाना दो (Haryanvi) - OUT AT SEA Written by Slawomir Mrozek, directed by Surender Singh Three men starving on a life raft must determine which one is to become dinner for the other two.