Theatre group marks silver jubilee, celebrates with two-day Festival in Mumbai

Akarsh Khurana’s Akvarious Productions marks 25 years of theatrical brilliance at National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai. From the line up of four exceptional plays— In the Beginning Was the Word, Teen Kahaaniya, The Verdict, and It’s a Wonderful Life , to new initiatives like rehearsed readings, open auditions, and even a theatre cricket tournament, the festival is all geared up to be a power packed and unforgettable experience.

Check out what the Akvarious Productions' 25 years celebration have in store for you

Founder Akarsh Khurana shares what’s new in the festival this year, “Fortunately for us, Akvarious is a fairly busy theatre company. We perform shows all through the year, but this being the 25th year, I was keen to do more. The idea of venue takeovers seemed exciting, where we gave audiences a concentrated dose of all things Akvarious. NCPA was kind enough to be our collaborator on the first ever "micro fest". I also want this year to maintain focus on cultivating new talent (hence the recent open auditions) and some fraternity building (hence the theatre cricket tournament).”

He also shares his views on theatre versus cinema, “Theatre and film making are poles apart, the latter being a very technical process with too many moving parts. I think you have to recalibrate when you move from one to the other. Of course, you take things from one to the other. Like personally I find that theatre has helped me immensely with blocking my scenes for the camera. And filmmaking has perhaps helped my aesthetic sense. But at the very core of it all, both mediums need you to tell a story via actors.”

Akvarious is aiming for seven new plays this year, two of which are Smile Please by Adhir Bhat and The Tragedy of Ham MacLear by Akash Khurana. The plays are all set to open in March and April respectively. Akarsh shared that he is keen to do a musical. The company is also planning to expand its horizons with international collaborations. He also shares, “The dream, of course, remains to have a performance space of our own.”

What: Theatre Festival by Akvarious Productions

Where: NCPA , Mumbai

When: Mar 2, 2025