It’s that time of the year again. Sanjna Kapoor is focussing all her attention on her creative baby, the annual Prithvi Theatre Festival. Titled Mumbai Musicals, this season features 12 musicals, including nine premieres. All shows promise to stimulate and delight the audiences visually and intellectually. Kapoor says she has wanted to do musicals for a long time. “Prithvi has always focussed on socially relevant theatre of which music is an integral part. Songs contribute hugely to creating an atmosphere and giving an opportunity to actors to showcase their talent.”

The lack of space for parallel or alternate theatre in contemporary India really saddens Kapoor. “We need more homes for plays. Unfortunately, there are no new theatres coming up. As a result, experimental theatre is not as vibrant as it should be. What’s more, authorities are ruining good spaces like Ravindra Natya Mandir and National Centre of Performing Arts with their corporate mindset.” It’s this sorry state of affairs that prompted Kapoor to subsidise the rent. She confesses that though next year is Prithvi’s 30th anniversary, there is nothing worth celebrating due to the appalling state of theatre in the country. “We need to pause and consider what contribution we’re making to the cultural fabric of the society. We need some good spaces for cultural activity. Unfortunately, the government and society has always perceived us as a fluffy piece of entertainment.”

Kapoor felt the need for a reality check at Prithvi Theatre’s 25th anniversary four years ago when she realised that Prithvi was a mere drop in the sea, an isolated entity. She felt a growing need to connect with other groups and institutions in order to inject fresh life into theatre. This prompted her and other like-minded individuals to come together and create the Theatre Forum in May 2006. “The forum looks at different practical aspects of survival. Next year we’ll be launching our own website. Our goal is to be a lobbying body and voice our opinions.” The forum is also seeking funds from Ratan Tata Trust for three years and hoping to run on membership.

Kapoor is accustomed to being asked whether theatre will survive in the long term as a mode of entertainment. She answers confidently, “Right through history, theatre has faced great challenges but always managed to come up trumps. Despite the emergence of new modes of communication, theatre will continue to have its own dedicated audience because it is quite niche.” But that does not mean theatre aficionados should become complacent. Kapoor feels new forms of experimentation should be explored. Just as art has been experimented with in photography, likewise theatre should be explored through other art forms.

Being a theatre insider, Kapoor is constantly observing actors and playwrights on stage. While Thomas Dupont and William Shakespeare are her favourites, among the present lot she is impressed with Ramu Ramanathan, Manav Kaul and Jaimini Pathak. A compulsive play watcher, Kapoor says nothing thrills her more than realistic theatre. “When I go for a play, I look for something that cannot be found in a television serial or a film. There should be an element of surprise to excite me. Stage is the only art form that uses the principles of time, motion, space and sound and offers something that engages the audience totally.”

Love for theatre runs in the Kapoor clan. While her paternal grandfather Prithviraj Kapoor used his film career to sustain his love for the stage, her maternal grandfather (Jennifer Kendall’s father Geoffrey Kendall) travelled with his theatre group Shakespeareana to different parts of India. “I grew up listening about my grandfather’s adventures. He always told me Indian students were his best audience as they were so receptive.”