Naatak Presents its 51st Production

A festival of witty short plays

Mela

મેળો · మేళా · मेळा · মেলা · மேளா · ਮੇਲਾ · मेला

(Each Play is in a Different Language, with Super-titles in English)

Dates: November 14-22, 2015

Venue: Cubberley Theater, Palo Alto, CA

About the Plays

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.

Language: Several Indian Languages (with English supertitles)

Run-times
Nov 20: 90 min (5 plays) + 15 min intermission + 75 min (3 plays) ** Haryanvi play will not be performed in this show **
Nov 21 & 22: 90 min (5 plays) + 15 min intermission + 90 min (4 plays)
Children under 8 will not be admitted