Prithvi Theatre
| Formation | 1951 |
|---|---|
| Type | Theatre group |
| Location | |
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Notable members
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Shashi Kapoor Jennifer Kapoor Kunal Kapoor Sanjana Kapoor |
| Website | prithvitheatre.org |
Prithvi Theatre is one of Mumbai's best known theatres. It was built by Shashi Kapoor and his wife Jennifer Kapoor in memory of Prithviraj Kapoor, Shashi's father, who had dreamt of having a "home" for his repertory theatre company, Prithvi Theatres, belongs to the Kapoor family, one of the most influential actor and director families in Bollywood. Prithviraj Kapoor founded 'Prithvi Theatres', a travelling theatre company in 1944. The company ran for sixteen years. Ved Segan was the architect who designed and built the Theatre with the supervision of Jennifer Kapoor. Jennifer, (Trustee) supervised the building and running of the theatre until her death in 1984. In 1978 Prithvi Theatre opened in Juhu, Mumbai. Shashi Kapoor is the Managing Trustee, the daily affairs are looked after by Kunal Kapoor (Trustee) with a small but efficient team. Prithvi Theatre has shows every day of the year (closed Mondays), hosts an annual Summertime programme of workshops and plays for children, the Memorial Concert on 28 February, an annual Theatre Festival in November, and many partnership programmes promoting language, poetry, international cinema & documentaries, performing arts – which are free to the public.
Prithvi Theatres was founded in 1942, by Prithviraj Kapoor, as a travelling troupe with 150 members, which staged productions across India. Its maiden performance was Kalidasa's classic "Shakuntala". In subsequent years the theatre staged some 2,662 plays such as "Deewar" (Wall), "Pathan" (a community comprising Hindus and Muslims of North India), "Ghaddar" (Traitor), "Aahuthi" (Offering), "Kalaakar" (Artist), "Paisa" (Money) and "Kisaan" (Farmer). Prithviraj starred as the lead actor in every show. His work in the Indian film industry funded the activities of the company
Prithviraj Kapoor's youngest son Shashi Kapoor, who had trained as an actor and director in the Prithvi Theatres, married Jennifer Kendal, daughter of Laura and Geoffrey Kendal, and the leading actress of their theatre company, Shakespearana. Shashi and Jennifer toured with both their parent’s companies – Prithvi Theatres and Shakespeareana, and shared a deep passion for theatre, and a great respect for Prithviraj's dream for Indian theatre.
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