The best of the best

Class of 84, written and directed by Rahul da Cunha has Rajit Kapur, Shernaz Patel, Radhika da Cunha, Sohrab Ardeshir, Dipika Roy, Joy Sengupta, Rituuraj and Zafar Karachiwala.
The play, about seven college (St Xavier''s) pals who assemble at the beach house of a wealthy couple after many years, to mourn the death of their common friend, moves in a perfectly predictable pattern.
In the first act everybody''s tensions surface, they bitch and squabble, then an ''outsider'' (the dead man''s new friend) comes in and holds up a mirror to their inadequate lives full of dishonesty and compromise; now facing the usual with mid-life fears.
What a pathetic bunch, the play seems to say, but hey, they will survive. If this were a film, one would have called it "commercial"-nothing novel in content, but it delivers some good performances, witty lines and snazzy production values.
Some time ago, Ramu Ramanathan had organised a very interesting and unusual workshop on King Lear, at the Kamala Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture. There were feature films and documentaries, talks and interactive sessions on various issues - all centred around the Shakespeare play.
According to Ramanathan, the workshop culminated in a 20-minute film overseen by Sunil Shanbag, four ''sound-scapes'' on the King Lear films overseen by Nandu Bhende and a 14.30-minute stage presentation of the entire play.
Four sets for King Lear were also created, conceptualised by four theatre directors - Rahul da Cunha, Sunil Shanbag, Vijay Kenkre and Makrand Deshpande. Says Ramu, "We have had actors'' workshops and sometimes playwrights'' and directors'' workshop, but very rarely a set design session."
Now, on Monday (March 10, 8 pm, Prithvi Theatre), there will be a presentation of the four set designs and set models based on discussions with the four directors. Entry is free and open to all.
February 28 marks a special day on the Prithvi Theatre calendar. On this day Zakir Hussain performs there, to commemorate Jennifer Kapoor''s birthday. Over the years, the concert has become a joyous experiment in fusion, with several percussionists jamming with Hussain.
This year, the show was stolen by the drummers from Manipur. Spotted at the show were a lot of theatre enthusiasts and of course, Shashi Kapoor. Always an evening to cherish.