Synopsis

Pandemic times. Ban on going outdoors. Isolation.

Guddu sits playing in his balcony in a multi-storeyed tower, flying paper planes.

He strikes up a conversation with a ‘friend’ across the balcony. Only to discover a great chasm between them.

Undeterred, they chat across the divide, unravelling different worlds of perception.

Superman ka Best Friend is a play about children not being mute witness to the outside world even if they remain unheard. The performance creates a space for both children and adults to deepen a conversation around “development”  and reimagine a better world.

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Performance Schedule

February 2023

Pune

​​Goa

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Act as a Host!

Would you like to attend a performance?

Why not host one too?

In an intimate theatre format, we would be happy to perform for small gatherings in your home, neighbourhood, workplace, academic institutions and even alternative performing spaces.

Please email or call Prabir +91 94224 73781

In The Media

“Superman ka Best Friend is the bitter-sweet pill that is a must-have in a post-pandemic world” ​writes Divyani Rattanpal in Mumbai Theatre Guide

Superman ka Best Friend: a pandemic conversation between two youngsters
​writes Reema Gowalla in TheatreRoom

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The ‘Superman ka Best Friend’ team! (l to r) Aditya, Sobita, Anju & Prabir 

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Our Journey So Far

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January 22, 2023
Saligao Institute, ​​Cantare, Goa
​Performance

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January 21, 2023
Carpe Diem, Majorda, Goa
​Performance

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November 12, 2022
Dnyanprassarak Mandal’s College and Research Centre, Assagao, Goa
Performance, followed by discussions

The stage was set. And just then two young children stepped onto the stage. They were curious, with no inhibitions, no fear of being judged and willing to take risks. Its been a humbling experience to observe and interact with Aadhya & Mangirish.

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October 9, 2022
Museum of Goa (MOG), Pilerne, Goa
Performance, followed by discussions

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September 18, 2022
Bangalore International Centre (BIC), Bangalore
Performance
​https://bangaloreinternationalcentre.org/event/superman-ka-best-friend

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September 18, 2022
Maraa, Bangalore
Performance
https://instagram.com/maraacollective?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

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September 17, 2022
Our Theatre Studio, Bangalore
Performance
Entry Free (by RSVP only)

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September 16, 2022
Azim Premji University, Bangalore
Performance

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September 11, 2022
Studio Tamaasha, Mumbai
Performance
Tickets available at BookMyShow

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September 10, 2022
Manjari Sansthan (with support of Unicef Rajasthan and ARAVALI), Jaipur
Performance

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August 14, 2022
Defence Colony, Goa
Performance

Thank you Anjali Monteiro and KP Jayasankar for opening your beautiful home to host a performance of ‘Superman ka Best Friend’ and bringing together a delightful audience. We believe it to be a culturally conscious step to counter and challenge the alienation being created in a fragmented world, most evident in the relationship between humans and nature.

The insightful feedback of the audience members will surely help us improve our production.

We had a wonderful time and hope many more homes will open their doors to artistic expression and meaningful conversations. Waiting for the invite!

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May to July 2022
Goa
Rehearsals

A young cast - Sobita Kudtarkar and Aditya Verma, a new look and feel of the production, and a renewed enthusiasm for exploring alternatives

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April 20, 2022
Goa
Performance

After a long, long wait… finally its launch time!

We (Anju and Prabir) were delighted to be part of the closing ceremony of BOUNDARIES, an exhibition of Sunaparanta Art Centre in collaboration with Goa Open Arts Festival.

The venue was Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts, Panaji, Goa.

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December 23, 2021
Ahmedabad
Performance

We (Anju and Prabir) have been co-facilitating a week-long course - Participatory Theatre for Development - at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) for the last 10 years.

The performance of ‘Superman ka Best Friend’ was an apt choice to provoke a discussion around “unsustainable” development.

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December 13 to 17, 2021
Bengaluru
Presentation

As participants of “Thinking through Process”, a dramaturgy workshop by Rustom Bharucha - a Bangalore International Centre Masterclass, we (Anju and Prabir) got to share about our process of play-making as also perform few scenes from ‘Superman ka Best Friend’.

We received an encouraging response from Rustom and the co-participants.
December 3 to 7, 2021
Deolali, Maharashtra
Performance

The pandemic didn’t allow us to host our annual workshop last year. And in the given situation we weren’t quite sure about this year too. But one thing we were sure about - not shifting our residential, on-campus, physical workshop to an online platform. We kept our fingers crossed.

And what a rewarding experience! Our triennial, residential workshop - Facilitating Participatory Theatre - brought together participants from across the country. Over the period of five-days, we practiced play-making, performed in different languages and stirred feelings too.

We (Anju and Prabir) performed ‘Superman ka Best Friend’ and the ensuing discussions and activities explored how form and content are inextricably linked.

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October 1 to 14, 2021
Mumbai
Theatre Residency

In October 2021, we (Anju and Prabir) stepped out after a long pandemic-induced hiatus and took our script to Harkat Studios in Mumbai where we got selected for चौदहवींका चाँद (Chaudhvin Ka Chand), a fortnight-long theatre residency.

The residency helped kick start the “making” process and culminated with a “zero- performance” of ‘Superman ka Best Friend’ where we explored and experimented with projected images, videos and the aural possibilities.

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November 2020 to October 2021
Goa
The Script

Drawing from our personal experiences, we (Anju and Prabir) began the process of scripting. It brought us back to Brecht,
     “In the dark times
     will there also be singing?
     Yes, there will also be singing about the dark times.”

To us, the dark times are not just the current pandemic, but also the failure to collectively reimagine a future.

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April to October 2020
Noida
The Lockdown Experience

The confines of an apartment in a gated community was suffocating. Every time we (Anju and Prabir) stepped out onto the balcony and looked around, all that we could see were towers with apartments wearing an equally desolate look. There was a sense of urgency to be able to see someone, anyone. On occasions we just waved, hoping someone is on the other side, and that someone is on the lookout for company too.

Just then something lying on the ground below caught our eye. A paper plane! Oh, there were more of them - lying strewn all over the pathway, the park and a couple of them still floating in the swimming pool.

We once again scanned the balconies around, eager to locate the source. Who could it be? A child? How old is she? Is she oblivious of the gloom around? How then could she be so absorbed in making and flying paper planes? Are her paper planes carrying some message? Or is the very act of making and flying paper planes the message?

An inexplicable sense of urgency enveloped us. We still couldn’t see anyone, but undeterred we made some noise and called out to no one in particular. On one such occasion, to our pleasant surprise, a voice responded back. Or was it our imagination?

And thus began the story…