An evening of Shakespeare

HYDERABAD: It was a stimulating evening of Shakespeare on Monday night as the city witnessed the opening of Indian theatres' first Shakespearean production between the renowned Footsbarn Theatre from France and the Hyderabad's very own Qadir Ali Baig Theatre Foundation.Conceptualised and designed by theatre scion Mohammad Ali Baig, the play had a novel and a dramatic beginning with the actors Paddy Hayter (from France) and Mohammad Ali Baig entering the stage, riding an autorickshaw through the audience, to a thundering applause.Comic acts, mime, video clippings, text and performance formed the crux of ‘Forty Winks’.On their collaboration with the Qadir Ali Baig Theatre Foundation, Paddy Hayter, the artistic director and actor of Footsbarn Theatre says, “It was a union of two legacies, two theatre families from two different parts of the globe.” He further adds, “My father, late Richard Hayter did Shakespeare all his life in England until a day before he died.And talking about Mohammad Ali Baig, his father was known for Moliere and he died young.It was with this great sentiment that we got into this collaboration.” Footsbarn and Qadir Ali Baig Theatre Foundation conducted a workshop in the city earlier this year and will be performing the “Indian Tempest” later next.Hayter has played various Shakespearean characters like Macbeth in 'Macbeth', Bottom in ‘A MidSummer Night’s Dream’ and Hamlet.In the enactment of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ he played Mercutio while Mohammad Ali Baig played Romeo with aplomb.In their comic act together for the opening of ‘Forty Winks’, they had the audience in splits with their tuning and interplay on stage which also involved mime.‘Forty Winks’ has been invited to be performed in the cities of Durban in South Africa later this year.