St. Andrew's Centre for Philosophy & Performing Arts

St. Andrew's Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts 

and 

Metamorphosis Theatre and Films

presents 

TEXT AND THE BODY

A Production-oriented Workshop for Actors and non-Actors!

An Intensive workshop designed for those who wish to explore their body with text, images, and poetry. The workshop aims at opening up the body to communicate and be able to perform a complex text. The course will conclude with a full-fledged play.

COURSE CONDUCTED BY: DR. OMKAR BHATKAR

COURSE DATE AND TIME: 27TH JULY - 9TH AUGUST 2023

COURSE DURATION: 14 DAYS

COURSE FEE: Rs. 12,000/-

VENUE: SAPP, BANDRA

For queries, please connect via WhatsApp on: +91 9833647641

Department of German, University of Mumbai

in association with

St. Andrew's Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts 

presents

NAAV:  A Marathi translation by Shrikant Pathak of Daniel Kehlmann's 'RUHM' (FAME)

(Book Discussion)

Fame (Ruhm) is a 2009 novel by the Austrian-German writer Daniel Kehlmann. The narrative consists of nine loosely connected stories about technology, celebrity and alienation. The book has the subtitle "A novel in nine episodes" ("Ein Roman in neun Geschichten"). 

Translated to Marathi by: 

Srikant Arun Pathak

July 30th, 2023 | 5:30 pm 

at SAPP Bandra

QTP 

presents

A PEASANT OF EL SALVADOR

(Play Performance)

 A powerful story of a land farmer and his family in Central America during the 1970's - where the sweat is salty, the feuds are bitter and the corn is sweet.
 

The story of A Peasant of El Salvador stayed with us for many years after we first read it, compelling us to finally stage it. We felt - and still feel - that the Indian agrarian economy and society are a few years away from the kind of chaos and anarchy that the peasants in El Salvador faced.
 

With one marked difference….

The violence in India has also been turned inward; evidenced by countless instances of farmers dying by suicide. Changing economic conditions and diktats, loss of ancestral land, the ever increasing use of unsustainable GM crops, a corrupt and myopic bureaucracy and government are some of the leading causes of bankruptcy, which drives famers to this unfortunate choice. 

The Peasant of El Salvador is an incredible story about a farmer simply trying to get by and provide for his family. Along the way he encounters the military junta, the activist priests, and even revolutionaries. All he really wants to do is till his land, pick flowers and watch his kids play football in the street. 

Written by: Peter Gould and Stephen Stearns

Directed by Q

July 27th, 2023 | 7 pm

July 28th, 2023 | 7 pm

at SAPP, Mumbai

Dot Line Space Art Foundation

Nine Fish Art Gallery

in collaboration with

Metamorphosis Theatre and Films

“And she frequently forgot,

That her body (all our bodies) is a house of sand.

That it had shattered and is shattering still.

Slipping stubbornly through fingers."

- Han Kang, The White Book 흰

From the winner of the Man Booker International Prize for `The Vegetarian` comes a book like no other. `The White Book` is a meditation on colour, beginning with a list of white things. It is a book about mourning, rebirth, and the tenacity of the human spirit. It is a stunning investigation of the fragility, beauty, and strangeness of life. `A brilliant psychogeography of grief, moving as it does between place, history, and memory... Poised and never flinches from serene dignity... The White Book is a mysterious text, perhaps in part a secular prayer book... Translated from the Korean by Deborah Smith succeeds in reflecting Han`s urgent desire to transcend pain with language`.

Omkar Bhatkar has designed an aesthetic experience of `The White Book`, blending movement, colour, design, visuals, voice and music.

In this age of instant gratification and speed and short span of attention, the white book gives you an entirely different experience, Dr. Bhatkar`s work is complex, and may not be easy for some to comprehend but he is always saying something very meaningful.

- Vidyadhar Date, Columnist and Art Critic

 The White Book` is a dramatic installation piece of theatre by Omkar Bhatkar, among the most unusual voices of Mumbai`s theatre world which leaves an enthralling effect.

- Meher Pestonji, Poet and Novelist. 

An Experience Designed and Directed by Dr. Omkar Bhatkar

Tue 25th July 2023, 6 pm

The Great Eastern Home: Mumbai

This is the closing show at a venue, which is very much like The White Book, it's also Free, but only RSVP if you're surely coming

Metamorphosis Theatre and Films

in association with

St. Andrew`s Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts

presents

Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) was probably the greatest and certainly the most prolific of twentieth-century Latin American poets. He brought out his first collection at the age of seventeen, and quickly developed an assured and distinctive poetic voice. 

This poetic evening draws from the poems that are the heart of the film Il Postino, a cinematic fantasy spun from an apocryphal incident in the life of the Chilean poet and Nobel laureate, Pablo Neruda. Few writers of any age have described the pleasures and torments of erotic love with such unsentimental directness and sensual precision. This poetic experience is an amalgamation of the famous early collection Twenty Love Songs and a Song of Despair (1924) to the key works of his maturity, Residence on Earth (1935), Elemental Odes (1954), and the autobiographical Memorial de Isla Negra (1964), all suffused in the film Il Postino.

This poetic experience is designed by Dr. Omkar Bhatkar using movement, music, and visual aesthetics along with the text.

Designed and Directed by Dr. Omkar Bhatkar

A Metamorphosis Theatre and Films Experience

July 20th, 2023 | 4:30 pm

at Godrej Dance Theatre, NCPA 

Passes on BookMyShow

AND ON

July 21st, 2023 | 7 pm &

July 22nd, 2023 | 7pm 

at SAPP Bandra

Tickets on BookMyShow

 Nine Fish Art Gallery 

Dot Line Space Art Foundation

in association with 

Backwaters Collective

Metamorphosis Theatre and Films

presents

THE DIVINE LEELA:  NARAYANA GURU'S VERSES TO THE GODDESS

(Play Performance)

 O Mother, Your sacred limbs precede the earth,

So say the silent sages. They are unable to say

anything else, and Your new word now comes to me

at this silent state and reverberates here.

Narayana Guru (1854 - 1928) composed a compact body of writing in prose and verse of exceptional potency. These are stimulating, deep and original explorations, entryways into a profound appreciation of the human condition. Though he wrote poems exploring diverse themes ranging from the soul to Shiva. The Divine Leela is delicately crafted by hand-picking his poems on the goddess described through the idea of elemental, existential and mystical poems talking about the luminous play of the self and the Song of Kundalini. The evening flows with hymns offered to the eternal goddess creating a mélange of music, movement, poetry, and mysticism.

The experience is designed and directed by Omkar Bhatkar based on the newest translation of Narayana Guru’s poems titled ‘A Cry in the Wilderness’ by Vinaya Chaitanya.

Designed and Directed by Dr. Omkar Bhatkar 

July 8th, 2023 | 7 pm

at SAPP, Bandra

Tickets on BookMyShow

AND ON

July 9th, 2023 | 6 pm

at Nine Fish Art Gallery, Great Eastern Home, Byculla (East)

Passes on BookMyShow

Metamorphosis Theatre and Films

in association with

St. Andrew's Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts 

presents

THE WHITE BOOK, BY HAN  KANG

(A reading designed by Dr. Omkar Bhatkar)

From the winner of the Man Booker International Prize for The Vegetarian comes a book like no other. The White Book is a meditation on colour, beginning with a list of white things. It is a book about mourning, rebirth, and the tenacity of the human spirit. It is a stunning investigation of the fragility, beauty, and strangeness of life. 'A brilliant psychogeography of grief, moving as it does between place, history, and memory... Poised and never flinches from serene dignity... The White Book is a mysterious text, perhaps in part a secular prayer book... Translated from the Korean by Deborah Smith succeeds in reflecting Han's urgent desire to transcend pain with language'

Conceptualized and Directed by 

Dr. Omkar Bhatkar

July 1st, 2023 | 7pm  &

July 2nd, 2023 | 5:30pm

at SAPP, Bandra 

Metamorphosis Theatre and Films

in association with

St. Andrew's Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts 

presents

THE WHITE BOOK, BY HAN  KANG

(A reading designed by Dr. Omkar Bhatkar)

From the winner of the Man Booker International Prize for The Vegetarian comes a book like no other. The White Book is a meditation on colour, beginning with a list of white things. It is a book about mourning, rebirth, and the tenacity of the human spirit. It is a stunning investigation of the fragility, beauty, and strangeness of life. 'A brilliant psychogeography of grief, moving as it does between place, history, and memory... Poised and never flinches from serene dignity... The White Book is a mysterious text, perhaps in part a secular prayer book... Translated from the Korean by Deborah Smith succeeds in reflecting Han's urgent desire to transcend pain with language'

Conceptualized and Directed by 

Dr. Omkar Bhatkar

July 1st, 2023 | 7pm  &

July 2nd, 2023 | 5:30pm

at SAPP, Bandra 

Metamorphosis Theatre and Films

in association with

National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA)

presents

THE WHITE BOOK, BY HAN  KANG

(A reading designed by Dr. Omkar Bhatkar)

From the winner of the Man Booker International Prize for The Vegetarian comes a book like no other. The White Book is a meditation on colour, beginning with a list of white things. It is a book about mourning, rebirth, and the tenacity of the human spirit. It is a stunning investigation of the fragility, beauty, and strangeness of life. 'A brilliant psychogeography of grief, moving as it does between place, history, and memory... Poised and never flinches from serene dignity... The White Book is a mysterious text, perhaps in part a secular prayer book... Translated from the Korean by Deborah Smith succeeds in reflecting Han's urgent desire to transcend pain with language'

Conceptualized and Directed by 

Dr. Omkar Bhatkar

June 29th, 2023 | 4:30pm 

at Godrej Dance Theatre, NCPA

Metamorphosis Theatre and Films

in association with

St. Andrew`s Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts

presents

WHAT'S ON A MAN'S MIND?

(Play Performance)

The anthology of stories written long ago by Woody Allen.

The Lunatic`s Tale

Dr Francis Dimello, who has all he needs for a good life, swaps the brain of his wife with that of his girlfriend in the pursuit of true love. After a few years of joy with his dream woman, he finds himself at a crossroads. See the surgeon turned lunatic tell his story to find out why and what happens next.

Retribution

Rustom Bilimoria, a 28-year-old aspiring dramatist is afraid of falling for his girlfriend`s quite flirtatious sister. Fortunately, he doesn`t. Instead, he falls for someone you can`t imagine, leading to a lot of bizarre twists in the unreasonable assigning of roles that occur in all of the emotional dramas of our relationships.

Directed by Vishal Singh

Supported by Metamorphosis Theatre and Films

June 17th, 2023 | 7pm

at SAPP, Mumbai

Metamorphosis Theatre and Films

in association with

St. Andrew`s Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts

presents

THE DIVINE LEELA:  NARAYANA GURU'S VERSES TO THE GODDESS

(Play Performance)

 O Mother, Your sacred limbs precede the earth,

So say the silent sages. They are unable to say

anything else, and Your new word now comes to me

at this silent state and reverberates here.

Narayana Guru (1854 - 1928) composed a compact body of writing in prose and verse of exceptional potency. These are stimulating, deep and original explorations, entryways into a profound appreciation of the human condition. Though he wrote poems exploring diverse themes ranging from the soul to Shiva. The Divine Leela is delicately crafted by hand-picking his poems on the goddess described through the idea of elemental, existential and mystical poems talking about the luminous play of the self and the Song of Kundalini. The evening flows with hymns offered to the eternal goddess creating a mélange of music, movement, poetry, and mysticism.

The experience is designed and directed by Omkar Bhatkar based on the newest translation of Narayana Guru’s poems titled ‘A Cry in the Wilderness’ by Vinaya Chaitanya.

Designed and Directed by Dr. Omkar Bhatkar 

June 10th, 2023 | 7pm

at Little Theatre, NCPA 

Passes on BookMyShow

AND ON

June 11th, 2023 | 5:30pm

at SAPP, Bandra

Tickets on BookMyShow

St. Andrew's Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts

presents 

IN SYNC: A FORUM FOR INTERFAITH DIALOGUE THROUGH INDIA'S SYNCRETIC ARTS

( India’s first ever Interfaith Art and Dialogue forum )

As a people, we've forgotten to listen. 

We are forever ready with a retort on how the other is wrong. We've forgotten to see people as wholes. We've forgotten that they are more than their just their singular identities. We've forgotten about their humanity, about the things that make us more similar than different. We snarl with impatience at those unlike us, and with each year, the chasms grow wider.

But we have history on our side. And hope.

Before we drift too far from each other, it is time to redeem our common ground, our legacies of love and harmony. It's time to revisit our past, which testifies how India's different faith communities have eaten, prayed, and made art together for centuries. We've witnessed and produced countless syncretisms, with our religions, languages, and cultures fusing into each other. 

Despite the challenges of our pluralism, we've created the most wonderful tapestries of culture, be it music, dance, food, theatre, poetry, architecture, the fine arts, you name it... 

In Sync - A forum for interfaith dialogue through the syncretic arts of India, is meant

to remind us of some of the wonderful things co-created by India's different faith communities throughout history. Conceptualised and curated by Urmi Chanda, a Mumbai-based peacebuilder and interfaith scholar, it is meant to help us remember that we have worked and played together before, and to know that we can do it again. The hope is that this exhibition of syncretic and intercultural art forms will help us bond over shared beauty, engage in mutually respectful interfaith conversations, and inspire understanding. Here is to coming together, and learning to be In Sync.

Curated by

Urmi Chanda

June 2nd, 3rd & 4th, 2023

at SAPP, Mumbai

Metamorphosis Theatre and Films

in association with

St. Andrew`s Church, Bandra 

presents

MORNING STAR: THE EARLY LIFE OF MARY

(Play Performance)

`Morning Star` ends with the Annunciation and rather goes back to trace her life as the Immaculate Conception.

Mary is known from biblical references, which are, however, too sparse to construct a coherent biography. Morning Star is an attempt to create a biopic of the life of Mary on stage.

Drawing from the mystical visions of Saints, private revelations, and artistic depictions in Poems and Paintings, Morning Star brings to the stage the life of Mary right from her conception to the Annunciation in this costume drama. The play is a splendid spectacle of minimalism and evocatively portrays the life of early life of Mary through delicately crafted scenes.

After four eclectic performances on the 27th, 28th, 29th and the 30th of April at SAPP, Bandra, Morning Star continues to shine on. It's the people who have come forward to hold it's light. 

St. Andrew's Church , Bandra has been kind to bring the story of Mary to a larger audience at the St. Andrew's Auditorium, Bandra. 

Written and Directed by 

Dr. Omkar Bhatkar

Monday, May 29, 2023 

7:00pm

REGISTRATIONS FULL! 

St. Andrew's Educational Foundation* and 

St. Andrew's Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts (SAPP)

presents

AWESUMMER 2023, YOUR VERY OWN SUMMER SCHOOL!   

CLASSICAL SANSKRIT PLAYS: AN INTRODUCTION

(short-term course)

CONDUCTED BY: DR. RADHA KUMAR 

 Ancient Indian Literature is a storehouse or a treasure trove of information.

It is an important source to also study the Socio-economic, political conditions of our Ancient civilization.

The blend of prose and poetry is reflected in the writings of Kalidasa, Bhasa, Sudraka to cite a few names gives a holistic study of the epoch. 

In this course, by studying Sanskrit literature we will discover the essence and the beauty of writers who explored through their writings human emotions, conflicts, their trials and tribulations.

The course will focus on four writers and five plays. Viz

BHASA's 

SWAPNA VASAVADATTA  AND URUBHANGA 

KALIDASA's

ABHIJANAN SHAUNTALAM 

SUDRAKA's 

MIRCHHAKATIKA 

BHAVABHUTI's

UTTARARAMACHARATU 

The course is open to all and can benefit theatre enthusiasts, actors, readers, students, working professionals, artists, and everyone interested to explore Sanskrit plays but never had an opportunity to do so.

Course Fees:

Rs. 2,000/-

OPEN TO ALL 

22nd to 26th MAY, 2023 

5PM-7PM

VENUE: SAPP, BANDRA

To Register, contact: +91 9769296630

St. Andrew's Educational Foundation 

and 

St. Andrew's Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts (SAPP)

presents

AWESUMMER 2023, YOUR VERY OWN SUMMER SCHOOL!

 FILM AS PHILOSOPHY 

(Short-term course)

CONDUCTED BY:

Dr. Omkar Bhatkar

Dr. Amita Valmiki

 Film as Philosophy suggests that films themselves can take up philosophical issues, and can contribute to a range of philosophical debates. The prime motive of this course is to read films philosophically and the possibility of confabulating a film from a multi-disciplinary perspective. The course will engage in deep reading of specially curated seven films over the span of the course from a range of diverse genres, cultures, countries, and filmmakers. 

Course Fees: 

Rs 3,000/-

OPEN TO ALL 

9TH MAY - 15TH MAY, 2023 | 5:30PM - 7:30PM | VENUE: SAPP, BANDRA

To Register, contact: +91 9769296630

St. Andrew's Educational Foundation 

and 

St. Andrew's Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts (SAPP)

presents

AWESUMMER 2023, YOUR VERY OWN SUMMER SCHOOL!

LEARN TO READ IN URDU: THE POETRY AND PROSE OF FAIZ AHMED FAIZ, MIRZA GHALIB AND AMRITA PRITAM 

( Short-term course)

 CONDUCTED BY: Ms. SHIRLYN GALBAO

 In today’s fast-paced and ever changing world India is in the unfortunate process of losing her indigenous or regional languages. It’s extremely disheartening as India is a repository of varied and exceptional regional languages such Kannada, Tamil, Marathi, Oriya etc. However, the one language that is synonymous with love, poetry, passion or Ada is our very own Urdu. Even though today not many people are attempting to learn this beautiful language, its heart still beats in our movies, songs, poetry and literature. It is inextricably intertwined with our people and our culture. This course is specially curated for those who love Urdu or Hindustani language. The course will, through a journey of approximately 10 hours, endeavour to talk about the nuances of the language and help with Urdu poetry recital. It will also help those who wish to learn dramatised story reading. Aspiring actors, students as well as media personnel will benefit from this course. 

Course Fees:

Rs. 2,000/-

OPEN TO ALL (STD. XII & ABOVE)

13TH TO 27TH MAY, 2023 | 4PM-6PM | (SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS ONLY)

VENUE: ST. ANDREW'S COLLEGE CONFERENCE HALL, BANDRA

To Register, contact: +91 9769296630

St. Andrew's Educational Foundation* and 

St. Andrew's Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts (SAPP)

present

 AWESUMMER 2023, YOUR VERY OWN SUMMER SCHOOL! 

 WRITE YOUR OWN PLAY 

( Short-term course)

CONDUCTED BY

Dr. Omkar Bhatkar

Theatre is one of the most visceral forms of
storytelling, a living and breathing collaborative art-form.  At the heart of all play is conflict. Whether you’ve never written anything before, you’re experienced in any form of writing, or you’re a playwright looking to sharpen your skills, “Write Your Own Play” offers clear, step-by-step guidance in characterization, conflict, and structure, setting, knots of tension, codes of character, dialogue, and formatting.
Towards the end of this course, the participants will have finished writing a play or at least gained the knowledge to write one. 

COURSE FEES:

Rs. 4,000

OPEN TO ALL 

13TH MAY - 4TH JUNE, 2023 

9AM-11AM

(SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS ONLY)

VENUE: SAPP, BANDRA 

To Register, contact: +91 9769296630

Ramblers Essential Theatre

presents

 WHERE IS MY MIND?

(Play Performance)

 Written and Directed by Rohit Chauhan 

 “I have been living moments with a feeling of no feeling. Is this a void or emptiness in which I am just sinking in? I see people moving in their rhythm. What’s my tune? Or am I just a distorted musical note sticking out from their composition? 

I grasp things so I can be whole. Just how you all are. Why do I choke? Why is it suffocating when these things clutch back on me?

What is it to be free? Is it the death of your thoughts or is it death from your thoughts? Maybe I was not born for this pattern of a suitable pattern. It was passed on to me like a baton”.

13TH MAY, 2023 | 7PM 

at SAPP

Metamorphosis Theatre and Films

in association with

National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA)

presents

BLUETS, BY MAGGIE NELSON

(A Reading designed by Dr. Omkar Bhatkar)

Bluets by Maggie Nelson winds its way through depression, divinity, alcohol, and desire, visiting along the way famous blue figures, including Joni Mitchell, Billie Holiday, Yves Klein, Leonard Cohen and Andy Warhol. While its narrator sets out to construct a sort of ‘pillow book’ about her lifelong obsession with the colour blue, she ends up facing down both the painful end of an affair and the grievous injury of a dear friend. Bluets is an extremely unusual book. Though it is about Nelson’s obsession with, love for, the color blue; it is also about a love affair that has ended; it is also about Nelson’s life, in a jumping-in-and-out way. It is about pain and loss, and always about blue. It takes the form of 240 “propositions". About 200 propositions from the book shall be read by an eclectic mix of readers interspersed with sounds of an acoustic guitar to create the blue effect.

The book reading is conceptualised by Dr. Omkar Bhatkar. He writes and directs plays and makes independent feature films and documentaries. He has been teaching Film and Aesthetics and involved in theatre making, poetry, and cinema for a decade now and hopes to die painting. He is the artistic director of Metamorphosis Theatre and Films and the co-founder and Head of St. Andrew’s Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts. 

Conceptualized and Directed by 

Dr. Omkar Bhatkar

Wednesday, 17th May, 2023 

4 :30 pm 

at Godrej Dance Theatre, NCPA

Admission on a first-come-first-served basis.

Metamorphosis Theatre and Films

in association with

St. Andrew`s Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts 

presents

BLUETS, BY MAGGIE NELSON

(A Reading designed by Dr. Omkar Bhatkar

What do you mean when you say `I`m feeling blue?`

Does it mean that you`re sad and lonely, if it is so then why don`t we say `I`m feeling lonely?`

What exactly is this feeling of being Blue? Blue and the zillion emotions associated with it.

In 1975, William Glass wrote a book titled `On Being Blue - A Philosophical Inquiry`

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe published his Theory of Colors in 1810. He wrote “We love to contemplate blue,” Goethe wrote, “not because it advances to us, but because it draws us after it.”

Exactly a century after Goethe, the great Russian painter and art theorist Wassily Kandinsky examined the psychological and spiritual dimensions of art through the lens of form and color. In Concerning the Spiritual in Art , Kandinsky devotes an especially impassioned section to the color blue and writes `the power of profound meaning is found in blue`..........The inclination of blue to depth is so strong that its inner appeal is stronger when its shade is deeper. Blue is the typical heavenly colour… The ultimate feeling it creates is one of rest… "

In 2009, Maggie Nelson wrote an unusual book called Bluets.

Sometime in the final years of WWII, the trailblazing Scottish mountaineer and poet Nan Shepherd began composing what would become The Living Mountain — her poetic inquiry into the interconnectedness of nature and human nature. “Place and a mind may interpenetrate till the nature of both is altered,” Shepherd wrote. She found the most powerful transmutation agent of that alchemy in the singular blue of the mountain air.

To bring Blue through Literature, Poetry, Music, Arts, and in life is the attempt of this performance piece.

But what exactly is this piece Bluets?

Philosophy, philology, monologue, prosody, a mere performance? All of these? None of these?

To put it simply, Bluets is a panegyric to the splendor of language, an obsession of the playwright/director Omkar Bhatkar, and is his acuity for metaphor.

Bluets winds its way through depression, divinity, alcohol, and desire, visiting along the way with famous blue figures, including Joni Mitchell, Billie Holiday, Yves Klein, Leonard Cohen, Andy  Warhol, Virginia Woolf, Titian. Bluets is a spatial experience Though it is largely based on Maggie Nelson’s obsession with and love for, the color blue; it is also about a love affair that has ended; it is also about Nelson’s life, in a jumping-in-and-out way. It is also about the director Omkar Bhatkar and his longing for the color Blue. Of the several plays that he has written, three of the plays include the word Blue in their title, such as Desires Blue, Song of the Blue Sea, and Blue Storm. Blue Storm was also selected for the Asia Playwrights Festival 2020 held in Incheon, South Korea.

Bluets is a delicately crafted experience of the color blue. In short, it is about pain and loss, and always about blue.

Conceptualized and Directed by 

Dr. Omkar Bhatkar

Saturday, 20th May, 2023 | 7:00pm |

Sunday, 21st May, 2023 | 5:30pm |

at SAPP

Dept of German, University of Mumbai

Metamorphosis Theatre and Films, SAPP

presents

THE BOOK OF HOURS: Echoes of Rainer Maria Rilke

(Play Performance)

Written and Directed by Omkar Bhatkar

"I live my life in widening circles

that reach out across the world.

I may not even complete the last one,

but I give myself to it.

I circle around God, the primordial tower.

I have been circling for thousands of years,

and I still don`t know: am I a falcon,

a storm, or a great song?

- Rainer Maria Rilke

One night after watching Tarkovsky’s film, Andrei Rublev, the young poet goes to sleep only to be visited by Rilke`s angel in his dreams. The poet, in his awakened sleep, listens to the echoes of Rilke’s elegies, raising existential questions about his own inner life, his struggles toward comprehension, and, above all, his perils as a poet.

The young poet starts reading Rilke`s `The Book of Hours` and sees himself falling deeper in love with Rilke`s icon painter-monk. He now wonders if Tarkovsky`s Rublev is the unnamed monk in Rilke`s apotheosis of art. The night is a surreal meeting of these monks in the young poet’s mind. It results in an indescribable poetic affair that lasts until the sun rises and disappears into the void, leaving no trace as if the night was real and everything delusional or vice versa.

The play is an attempt of a modern (hu)man to orientate himself within his chaotic world, undertake the quest of a beloved, and embark on the journey in search of truth and the promise of a better life. In this long loneliness, the young poet`s reading of ‘The Book of Hours’ brings together poets, mystics, artists, and seers to confabulate the meaning of life.

The play opens for a Q and A after the performance for those interested to discuss the play with the team.

THU 6th April, 2023 | 2 PM

at Pherozeshah Mehta Auditorium, 

University of Mumbai, Kalina Campus 

ENTRY FREE 

SEATING ON A FIRST-COME BASIS   

SAPP

presents

Dhi V: At the Intersections of Family and Filmmaking

(Short-term course)

With

Dr. Omkar Bhatkar

Dr. Amita Valmiki

Many of prolific filmmakers often return to screen with films on their childhood experiences or largely about their family amidst the world of arts and cinema. Family on one hand and Filmmaking on another, how does one affect the other? How does family influence filmmaking and vice versa? What is the process of making a film? What does it take to keep a family together? Does filmmaking have a role to play in reconciliation? Do filmmakers often turn to semiautobiographical narratives to tell such stories about the matrix of living in a family and the pursuit of filmmaking or arts? 

The Intersections of Family and Filmmaking aims at answering such questions by exploring the gamut of filmmaking and the attempts of keeping a family together.

This course will dwell on the intersections of family and filmmaking, exploring the ritualistic and the chaotic, the sacred and the every day, the repressive and the cathartic process that can make or break an artist. 

The course is a confabulation of artistic processes, the yearning to create art and beauty, the realm of aesthetics to create infectious feelings; it is about nothing less than what it means to be an artist and also what it means to be a 'human'

Course Fees: 

Rs 3000/- (Open to All)

Rs 2500/- (For SAPP Members/Dhi Vol I-IV participants)

10th APRIL to 26th APRIL, 2023

MON & WED

5 PM to 7 PM (IST)

Online/Offline

SAPP &   Center for Study of Society and Secularism 

organize

Becoming Baba Saheb - Birth to Mahad (1891 -1929) by Aakash Singh Rathore

( Book Discussion )

Panelists include

Dr. Gautam More

Mr. Irfaan Engineer

Dr. Kavita Pai

Author: Aakash Singh Rathore

Moderator: Dr. M.T. Joseph

There are many intellectual biographies of Dr B.R. Ambedkar, but until now none has sought to reveal the personality of the man. They will tell you what he thought or what he wrote, but remain silent about who he actually was, his inner struggles, how he felt. They give information about Ambedkar, but do not talk about his interior life, his personal growth or how he came to be the man who left such an indelible mark on modern India's constitutional, political, social and religious landscapes.

The first of an ambitious two-volume biography, Becoming Babasaheb traces Ambedkar's life journey, from his birth in 1891 to the transformative Mahad Satyagraha in 1929. It takes a completely fresh look at Ambedkar's lived experiences and teases out the nature and character of the man behind the legend. It offers an extensive, personality-driven narrative covering Ambedkar's life, along with salient aspects of his contemporary legacy, unfolding as a tale of remarkable tenacity, which it chronicles in all its rich vitality.

All of Ambedkar's books and speeches are publicly available, so large volumes will forever appear interpreting his writings and presenting his ideas. Meanwhile, old myths and inaccurate 'facts' about his thought and life events, even his relationships, persist. Becoming Babasaheb has been written on the basis of entirely original archival research to set the historical record straight. A vivid portrait of the man in his times, both volumes of this biography will present readers with a new Ambedkar, the true Ambedkar.

Curated by :

Dr. Kanchana Mahadevan & Dr. Omkar Bhatkar

THURS 13 APRIL  2023 | 5 : 30 PM

at St. Andrew's Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts (SAPP), Bandra 

SAPP 

present

ITALIAN OPERA: Part I- The Comic Genius of Rossini

( Short-term course)

By

Daryl Arambhan

In 1792, three months after Mozart died, another child prodigy was born in Italy: Gioacchino Rossini.

He is known for the beginnings of “Bel Canto” – the style of 19 th century Italian Opera. A composer of 39 operas in all, it was primarily his stamp on “Comic” opera which exemplified his style. Written at the age of 24 he wrote an opera which was to become his most popular work.

With the aid of images, recorded performances, and Drayl's narrative we will delve into the early life and works of this comic genius, culminating in an in-depth study of that opera.

During this series, Daryl will enable you to discover your unique voice using techniques based on the Italianate Method of Singing which can help release not only your vocal but also your dramatic expression.

24th, 25th, 26th, 28th, 29th APRIL, 2023 

11 : 30 AM TO 1 : 30 PM

at St. Andrew's Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts (SAPP), Bandra 

Metamorphosis Theatre and Films

in association with

St. Andrew`s Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts 

presents

MORNING STAR: From the Immaculate Conception of Mary to the Annunciation

(Play Performance)

Mary, the mother of Jesus, is venerated in the Christian church since the apostolic age and is a favorite subject in Western art, music, and literature. According to the Bible, The first mention of Mary is in the story of the Annunciation, which reports that she was living in Nazareth and was betrothed to Joseph (Luke 1:26 ff.)

This play `Morning Star` ends with the Annunciation and rather goes back to trace her life as the Immaculate Conception.

Mary is known from biblical references, which are, however, too sparse to construct a coherent biography. Morning Star is an attempt to create a biopic of the life of Mary on stage.

Drawing from the mystical visions of Saints, private revelations, and artistic depictions in Poems and Paintings, Morning Star brings to the stage the life of Mary right from her conception to the Annunciation in this costume drama. The play is a splendid spectacle of minimalism and evocatively portrays the life of early life of Mary through delicately crafted scenes.

Written and Directed by Omkar Bhatkar

Performed by a cast of ensemble

27th APRIL to 29th APRIL 2023 at 7 PM

30th APRIL 2023 at 5 : 30 PM

at SAPP

SAPP

present

Dances Of Universal Peace

( Workshop )

By

Vladislav Kirbiatev (Russia)

Yelena Swarana (Latvia)

Christina Lausevic (UK)

Martine Pluchino (France)

Out beyond ideas of wrong and right,

there is a field. I’ll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass,

the world is too full to talk about.

Ideas, language, even the phrase ‘each other’

doesn’t make any sense.

~ Rumi

We collectively immerse into a circle, singing and dancing to sacred mantras from different spiritual traditions. Boundaries disappear, hearts open and we feel into the oneness of all. It doesn't matter where we come from, what tradition we individually practice, what language we speak, what version of god we pray to or choose not to pray to. Singing and dancing, we softly flow into a feeling of spiritual meditative oneness.

Dances of Universal Peace is a simple yet powerful movement practice that invokes an embodied sense of unity, shared presence, and unconditional love.

The Dances are for everyone, easy to learn, easy to sing, and easiest to feel.

Come, be a part of the magic.

Come, celebrate Oneness, Peace, and Love.

FRI & SAT | 10th& 11th | 5 PM TO  8 PM

at St. Andrew's Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts (SAPP), Bandra    

SAPP &  Metamorphosis Theatre Inc.

present

Book of Hours :  Echoes of Rainer Maria Rilke

( Play Performance )

"I live my life in widening circles

that reach out across the world.

I may not even complete the last one,

but I give myself to it.

I circle around God, the primordial tower.

I have been circling for thousands of years,

and I still don`t know: am I a falcon,

a storm, or a great song?

- Rainer Maria Rilke

One night after watching Tarkovsky’s film, Andrei Rublev, the young poet goes to sleep only to be visited by Rilke`s angel in his dreams. The poet, in his awakened sleep, listens to the echoes of Rilke’s elegies, raising existential questions about his own inner life, his struggles toward comprehension, and, above all, his perils as a poet.

The young poet starts reading Rilke`s `The Book of Hours` and sees himself falling deeper in love with Rilke`s icon painter-monk. He now wonders if Tarkovsky`s Rublev is the unnamed monk in Rilke`s apotheosis of art. The night is a surreal meeting of these monks in the young poet’s mind. It results in an indescribable poetic affair that lasts until the sun rises, and disappears into the void, leaving no trace as if the night was real and everything delusional or vice versa.

The play is an attempt of a modern (hu)man to orientate himself within his chaotic world, undertake the quest of a beloved, and embark on the journey in search of truth and the promise of a better life. In this long loneliness, the young poet`s reading of ‘The Book of Hours’ brings together poets, mystics, artists, and seers to confabulate the meaning of life.

The play opens for a Q and A after the performance for those interested to discuss the play with the team.

Team :

Sharmila Veslaskar Kadne, Prasant Nalaskar, Omkar Bhatkar, Hrishikesh Desai, Shubham Pangal, Chair Nair, Harshvardhan Shetye, Viraj Dey.

FRI 10 FEB 2023 | 2 PM

at  National Gallery of Modern Art  (NGMA), Fort, Mumbai. 

TICKETS ARE ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS.

SAPP 

present

Sufi Swirling 

( Workshop )

By

Sunil Sankara

SAT 11th FEB 2023 | 8 : 30 AM TO 9 : 30 AM

at St. Andrew's Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts (SAPP), Bandra 

SAPP 

present

Mystical Worlds Spiritual, Social & Secular 

Author: Amita Valmiki

( Book Discussion )

SAT 11th FEB 2023 | 10 : 00 AM TO 11 : 30 AM

at St. Andrew's Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts (SAPP), Bandra 

FIRST COME , FIRST SERVE BASIS

SAPP 

present

The Principle/s Of "Other Faith" I Appreciate Most

( Plenary Session )

SAT 11th FEB 2023 | 1 : 30 PM TO 3 : 00 PM

at St. Andrew's Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts (SAPP), Bandra 

FIRST COME , FIRST SERVE BASIS

SAPP 

present

"Cosmo-Feminist" Encounters In varkari Poetry : Refletions On Soyrabai, Janabai and Bahinabai

( Guest Lecture )

SAT 11th FEB 2023 | 4 PM TO 5 PM

at St. Andrew's Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts (SAPP), Bandra 

FIRST COME , FIRST SERVE BASIS

SAPP 

present

Religious Imagery From Renaissance To Realism in The Works Of german Painters Some Thoughts And Refelctions

( Guest Lecture )

SUN 12th FEB 2023 | 9 AM TO 10 AM

at St. Andrew's Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts (SAPP), Bandra 

FIRST COME , FIRST SERVE BASIS

SAPP 

present

A Cry In The Wilderness: the Works of Narayana Guru

Author: Vinaya Chaitanya

( Book Discussion )

SUN 12th FEB 2023 | 10 : 00 AM TO 11 : 30 AM

at St. Andrew's Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts (SAPP), Bandra 

FIRST COME , FIRST SERVE BASIS

SAPP 

present

Ganikas And Their Impact On Social Systems Of Ancient India

( Guest Lecture )

SUN 12th FEB 2023 | 11 : 30 AM TO 12 : 30 PM

at St. Andrew's Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts (SAPP), Bandra 

FIRST COME , FIRST SERVE BASIS

SAPP 

present

Incarnation In west theatre And It's Connection With Jesus Figure ( Double Essence )

( Guest Lecture )

SUN 12th FEB 2023 | 12 : 30 PM TO 1 : 30 PM

at St. Andrew's Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts (SAPP), Bandra 

FIRST COME , FIRST SERVE BASIS

SAPP 

present

"Grinding Stories Retold- Songs From Goa" Heta Pandit in Conversation With Dr. Omkar Bhatkar 

( Guest Lecture )

SUN 12th FEB 2023 | 2 : 30 PM TO 3 : 45 PM

at St. Andrew's Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts (SAPP), Bandra 

FIRST COME , FIRST SERVE BASIS

SAPP & METAMORPHOSIS FILMS & THEATRE

present

Seeking Beyond Religion

( Poems Of The Conclave )

SUN 12th FEB 2023 | 4 PM TO 5 PM

at St. Andrew's Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts (SAPP), Bandra 

 SAPP 

 present

Mozart's Final Operas

(Workshop)

By the year 1791, the last year of Mozart's short life, he'd truly achieved success with at least ten operas covering several styles. And then came a work that has been the subject of much debate in terms of its symbolism, mysticism, magic, and even fairy-tale.

With the aid of images, a recorded performance, and a narrative from me, we will look at the historical background of this opera and delve into its orchestral textures, tonal colors and, above all, the vocal writing for its various protagonists. 

How does one unlock one’s true voice? During this workshop series, I will enable you to discover your unique voice using techniques based on the Italianate Method of Singing which can help release not only your vocal but also your dramatic expression. 

Conducted by Daryl Arambhan, Operatic Tenor and Voice Coach 

14th to 19th NOV 2022

11:30 AM to 1:30 PM

at SAPP, Bandra

Metamorphosis Theatre Inc 

present

Hope, Hamartia and Books

( Play Performance)

Which is more painful? The moment when something absolutely beautiful leaves your life without giving you a chance to even attempt to hold on to it … or the moment when you realize that you have to make a choice to leave something absolutely beautiful?

Hope, Hamartia and Books is a play about ‘life and its fragility’ set in five countries like Japan, France, Estonia, the Czech Republic, and Spain.

A writer sitting in Paris decides to write a novel on the most fundamental purpose of our existence: Death. However, is it Death or Love that is the sole purpose of our existence? While finding answers to these questions of life, he sketches characters of those around him, only to realise later whether the novel is been written by him or is it the novel writing his story of life!

The novel travels on the path of love to reach its destination (death). On this journey, dreams, desires, and reality gets entangled in such a way that each character in the book finds themselves in a surreal book house, reading this devastatingly beautiful book Hope, Hamartia and Books

Hope, Hamartia and Books is a journey through the labyrinth of life, weaving a kaleidoscope of tragic characters from Milan Kundera, Haruki Murakami, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s novels reaching a cataclysmic conclusion. To those entangled in love, the play breaks your heart excruciatingly to set it free.

The play was officially selected for the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2018.

Written and Directed by Omkar Bhatkar

A Metamorphosis Theatre Inc. production

26th NOV -  7:00 PM

27th NOV - 5:30 PM

at SAPP, Bandra    

SAPP

present

Existentialism & Beyond....

(Short-Term Course)

This course will introduce its participants to key thinkers and themes in existentialist literature and philosophy.  There is a tendency to think of existentialism as a bygone post-Second World War European cultural phenomenon, especially so in the light of post-structuralist interventions.  

This course follows Thomas Flynn in arguing that this is a mammoth misconception.  There are entanglements and continuities between existentialists and post-structuralists such as Irigaray, Lyotard, Foucault, Derrida, and Butler.  This course examines how existentialism investigates the sustainability of freedom against inflicted rigidities of situations and stereotypes of gender.  It focuses on the writings of twelve thinkers, men, and women from diverse European locations;  namely, Albert Camus, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Franz Kafka, Soren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Jaspers, Jean-Paul Sartre, Martin Heidegger, Simone de Beauvoir, Milan Kundera, Miguel de Unamuno, and Edith Stein.  It engages with their work from the Indian context in the 21st century.  This course attempts to demonstrate that their explorations of human freedom, emotions, and creativity, in collective and individual modes, reveal that existentialism remains pertinent in contemporary non-European contexts as well.

Course Faculty: Dr. Kanchana Mahadevan, 

Dr. Omkar Bhatkar, Dr. Amita Valmiki, Dr. Meher Bhoot, Ms. Aarti Valia and more...

This is the Registration link Open to everyone.

College and University students have to drop in a WhatsApp message with their ID on 9833647641 to avail of the fees subsidized,

Every Sunday

20th NOV 2022 to  29th JAN 2023

9:30 AM to 12:30 PM

at SAPP, Bandra   

 SAPP 

 presents

Guardians of Goa : Vetal Shrines in Villages

(Talk)

Goa is the home of Vetal shrines in India, it is only in Goa and Sindhudurg that one can find

independent temples and places of worship of Vetal. The deity was most likely worshipped by

the Austric Gauda tribe, Goa’s earliest settlers, and later embraced by the Nath Panthis

between the 10th & 13th C. Eventually it came to be absorbed into the larger Hindu pantheon.

Almost all sculptures of Vetal are naked, some of them roofless guarding the forest, and some are

in temples. Goa is the only place in the world where Vetals are widely worshipped and about fifty ancient Vetal sites in Goa have survived the iconoclasm by the Portuguese.

An evening of a decade of photo documentation, narratives and research in the search of vetal

A talk by Dr. Omkar Bhatkar

The Talk is free and open to all - seating on a first come first served basis, so do come on time and compulsorily Register as follows

Sat 1st  Oct 2022

7:00 PM

at SAPP, Bandra

Metamorphosis Theatre Inc 

present

blue oblivion

(Bilingual Play Performance)

 “I can only note that the past is beautiful because one never realises an emotion at the time. It expands later, and thus we don`t have complete emotions about the present, only about the past.”

― Virginia Woolf

Tara and Tarun on a usual evening answer a blank call and what follows after the call is a litany of brief moments spent with someone, they thought they knew well.

Oblivion is a journey of Tara and Tarun down memory lane in a restless attempt to put pieces of themselves together, somewhere left behind in the past. Inspired by true events, blue oblivion is a story of a rainy evening that goes back several years ago in search of scattered images and faint memories.

The play is bilingual. Part of the play is in Marathi and part of it, is in English.

Written and Directed by Omkar Bhatkar

Translated by Pratibha Joshi

Fri 7th & Sat 8th Oct 2022

7:00 PM

at SAPP, Bandra    

Intimacy for Actors

present

Vrittant

(Hindi Play Performance)

A play that transcends the barrier of time and weaves multiple stories coherently while also rendering it very contemporary, Vrittant is one of those few plays written by Siddharth & Kashan in Hindi that allows room for intimacy to be shown on stage. 

It doesn`t necessarily tell you the difference between right & wrong but it implores you to question the binaries that have existed in our Indian society since time immemorial.

The Event is free and open to all - seating on a first come first served basis, so do come on time and compulsorily RSVP on 9820380105

Sun 9th Oct 2022 

5:30 PM

at SAPP, Bandra