Head to Punyah Theatre in Bengaluru for the first performance in the space, featuring a double bill presentation

The North of Bengaluru, especially the North East of the city and the newer areas like Nagawara and Ramamurthy Nagar aren’t necessarily considered heartlands for  culture. But with schools like the Upadhye School of Dance flourishing in NRI Layout — the focus has shifted and how! The latest news is the launching of a brand new performance space, Punyah Theatre, right next to the school and the first performance will feature solo presentations by dancers Parshwanath Upadhye and Adithya PV. We catch up with Parshwanath to find out more about this brand new space.

“It’s not been too long since we decided to create a space like this. We have dance school and a studio in NRI Layout (Ramamurthy Nagar) and right next to that, there was some space available. We realised that the space was being used to house a godown of sorts and decided to convert it into a performatory space instead. So, we rented it out and worked on it, to create an auditorium kind of set up and it’s now finally ready,” begins Parshwanath. With spaces dedicated to the arts lacking in the neighbourhood, Punyah Theatre is positioned to become popular in no time. But did it require a lot of work.

“We had to redo quite a bit. The seating style is based on western theatrical styles, so it is on ascending raised platforms, ensuring everyone gets a proper view. We had to also soundproof the whole space. It can seat around 170 people comfortably and we built it keeping in mind what we as performers need. We artistes often keep saying we need specific kinds of spaces that are suited to our art forms and this space aims to be just that. We’re going to ensure that it can be used by anyone and everyone who needs a stage for their art in this side of town. There are spaces, but we have to rent everything separately, whereas here the idea is that all that infrastructure will already be present. It will also be very affordable, so that students can also access it and use it,” the dancer further explains. This isn’t the inaugural performance, but it will be the first at Punyah Theatre. “It’ll be our way of putting our efforts to test. Our actual inauguration, however, will be later in January,” he concludes.

Tickets on punyahdancecompany.com

January 1, 6 pm onwards. At The Punyah Theatre, NRI Layout.

Email: romal@newindianexpress.com

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