Mumbai: Theatre has incorporated music in many forms- background score, effects to song-and-dance sequences. And some of the best names in the music industry have been associated with stage. Theatre offers huge scope for experimentation and innovation where one’s creativity can be fully exploited.

A new comedy play ‘Blame it On Yashraj’ (BIOY) from Ashvin Gidwani Productions (AGP) has the indomitable Louis Banks handling the music and intends to bring back the pizzaz and music on stage.

In a free-wheeling chat with Radioandmusic.com, play director Bharat Dhabolkar enlightens with the importance of music in theatre and its place in India’s entertainment industry.

Excerpts:-

Can you tell us a brief about the play?

BIOY is a comedy where a girl from a Punjabi-Bengali family wants to marry a Muslim boy. The play presents the changes in Indian society regarding marriages and relationships. Additional, it also highlights the influence of Bollywood- especially Punjabi music and Hollywood in our psyche.

The play has a lot of music and the last 15 minutes is all about choreographed ‘sangeet’ with songs. We wanted to bring back the glamour, music and humour in theatre, something that has been missing for a while. Over the last few years, most of what is on offer are straight plays or Broadway shows. What we are adding is a mix of glamour and humour.

Tell us about the musical component in BIOY.

The music is a take-off on Bollywood film songs and Broadway music. There are a number of background scores to accentuate the scenes. The music comprises of reworked Hindi pop songs recorded in English, but title song is original.

How was working with Louis Banks? What does he bring to the table?

I have always worked with Louis Banks, out of the 32 plays; Banks has done the music for 22 of them. He is a great guy with a sense of humour. When we do a brief for a number, he can create a tune, and his touch that makes the song so much nicer.

Where does theatre stand in India’s entertainment landscape dominated by films and television?

The problem is the limited number of halls and English plays are staged only 4-6 times a month. But live performance has its own charm and our plays have an audience in India and overseas. There is also great scope for innovation.

There is an audience for theatre- mainly in the vernacular medium. Our plays are staged in cities (apart from Mumbai) like Nagpur, Kanpur and Delhi and also London. There is also great scope for innovation.

Can you tell us about the production costs of putting up a play like BIOY?

I don’t have any idea about the cost of production, but it must be costing (AGP) quite a packet. An actor can earn more from one (TV) episode . But money is not a criteria for actors- there is a charm in performing for a live audience.

BIOY’s cast includes Anant Mahadevan, Jayati Bhatia, Anchal Sabharwal, Punit Tejwani, Gaurav Sharma, Palash Dutta,  and Smita Hai. Blame it on Yashraj will be staged at the NCPA on 25 January at 7 PM; at St Andrews on 3 February at 7.30 PM; Sophia Bhabha Auditorium on 17 February at 7:30 pm; Tata Theatre on 24 February at 7 pm.