Sanjna Kapoor to leave Prithvi Theatre

MUMBAI: The news that Sanjna Kapoor will be stepping down as director of Prithvi Theatre in April 2012 came as an uppercut for Mumbai's theatre community. As the head of Prithvi, a fiercely active cultural hub, Kapoor is one of the engines of the city's theatre scene. Kapoor is leaving, along with the other pillar of Prithvi, director (programming) Sameera Iyengar, to form 'Junoon', an organization that promotes theatre across the country, especially among the youth.
In a letter to the press, Kapoor writes, "This is a product of our years of work at Prithvi-which has made us realize that there is a huge lacuna in our work field-which we wish to fill ... that of the enabler. The enabler who enables theatre to reach its deserved audience and likewise enables audiences access good theatre - with keen attention to the overall experience for both the theatrewallah and the audience ... this must be a rich experience."
Junoon will also act as an advisor to those interested in setting up theatre venues. "The major part of the work will be through partnerships," Kapoor says. "We will partner with organizations that do children's theatre. We will be the connector, the infrastructure that enables audiences to access theatre and theatre to access audiences."
Prithvi already runs a hugely popular annual children's theatre festival called 'Summertime at Prithvi'. Junoon, Kapoor adds, "takes Summertime and scales it up. We want schools to programme trips to the theatre, have engagements with the arts and develop a value for theatre."
Prithvi will be in the hands of Kapoor's brother Kunal. One of the main activities of Prithvi is its annual theatre festival. In her absence, Kapoor says, new directors will be drafted to curate the festival. "For the last four or five years, I have been exhausted with the festival and toying with the idea of bringing in another festival director anyway," she says. "It's healthy to have another point of view, to have someone fresh every three to five years."
It shouldn't be very long before Kapoor reappears on the theatre scene. Junoon should be in action early next year.