It is launching with a few notable plays including Every Brilliant Thing by QTP and Iti Ninna Amrita (Kannada) by Rangashankara Theatre in July, followed by One on One - Unlocked by Rage Productions, Timeloss produced by Akvarious Productions and Doppelganger by The Company Theatre in August.
“Over the last year, we’ve brought several exciting theatre productions forward including plays by Aadyam, Salim-Suleiman’s Umrao Jaan and storytelling works by Kommune. The launch of Front & Centre reaffirms our investment in strengthening the vibrant theatre ecosystem in our country," says Shreyas Srinivasan, CEO of Paytm Insider.
Paytm Insider is supported on this initiative by Shernaz Patel and Nadir Khan, using decades of their experience to reimagine theatre for the digital world.
“Lockdown and social-distancing provide much disturbance to a form that is meant to be consumed live and is essentially a dialogue between a performer and a live audience. At its very core, however, theatre is about story-telling. Stories that need to be told and need to be heard. With Front & Centre, we’re hoping to provide a home for theatre practitioners to continue doing just that, albeit online for now,” tells Nadir Khan.
"If I had been told three months ago that the internet would be my new stage and the sofa my new auditorium I would have laughed disbelievingly. I am a purist. I thrive on the live and immediate thrill of theatre and shy away from technology. And yet like it or not here we are. I could have hibernated. But Front & Centre came along at the right time and made me embrace this new normal," says Shernaz Patel.