FT NEWS
Last year has changed the way people have consumed entertainment across the globe. In the current environment, streaming content from the comfort of your home has found a new meaning. Evolving to cater to this sentiment and the increasing need for digital content, the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) and BookMyShow have made their co-production ‘Sea Wall’ available for the audience to stream online.
This critically acclaimed play by Simon Stephens is directed by award-winning director & NCPA Head of Theatre, Bruce Guthrie, and performed by versatile actor Jim Sarbh. The monologue will be streaming on BookMyShow Online, BookMyShow’s streaming platform for live entertainment, between February 27-28 and March 6-7. Theatre-lovers can book tickets to the show, priced at just INR 299, on BookMyShow’s web and app platforms.
Sea Wall marks the return of theatrical performances, as the play starts with Jim Sarbh switching off the Ghost light (a single light on a long stand that illuminates a theatre space with it is otherwise unoccupied or 'dark') before commencing with the monologue. Interestingly, the entire play was shot using a multi-camera set up and in one take without any cuts, retaining the essence of watching theatre live on stage.
Speaking about this initiative, Bruce Guthrie, the Head of Theatre & Films at the NCPA said, “We are delighted to be able to make our production of Sea Wall by Simon Stephens available to people across India, online. This new collaboration between the NCPA & BookMyShow aims to give our audience a unique perspective on this moving piece of theatre. It has been such a pleasure to work with such a committed team in this medium - which is a hybrid of film and theatre. I'm so pleased that audiences across the country will have the opportunity to see this tremendous play with delicate, vulnerable and heartfelt performance by Jim Sarbh."
Talking about Sea Wall, actor Jim Sarbh said, “Theatre is an exciting medium for a variety of reasons, one of the main ones being the intimate feedback loop of live storytelling. Audiences can feel inauthenticity, and they consequently galvanise truthfulness. However, storytelling must adapt to changing scenarios, and in the current one, I am all for adopting a hybrid model: both physical theatre performances and virtual screenings. With Sea Wall being made available on BookMyShow, I am glad that the NCPA is adapting and reaching out to tell stories to an audience sitting safely and comfortably at home.” Adding further on his experience of playing the protagonist, he said, “Sea Wall is a gorgeous, elegant, devastating monologue. Working on it is as rewarding as it is challenging. I hope that I have done it justice, and I hope it reaches a virtual audience in as personal a way as it has reached me.”
Sea Wall captures its audiences’ hearts with Alex’s delicate monologue, completely devastating and beautifully powerful. Alex played by Jim Sarbh speaks directly to the audience about his wife visiting her father in the South of France, having a daughter, photography, and the bottom of the sea. Donning a natural, happy, and engaging tone, with flickers of questions about belief and religion glimpsed under the surface, Alex’s contentment is short-lived before it fades away into deep and heart-breaking grief, crumbling to pieces with a vividness that is incredibly moving.
Stream Sea Wall on BookMyShow Online, anywhere, anytime between February 27th-28th and March 6th-7th with tickets at just INR 299
To book tickets visit https://in.bookmyshow.com/plays/sea-wall/ET00306146
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About NCPA
The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai, is India’s premier cultural institution. Inaugurated in 1969, it was the first multi-venue, multi-genre cultural centre in South Asia. The NCPA is committed to preserving and promoting India’s rich and vibrant artistic heritage in the fields of music, dance, theatre, film, literature and photography, as well as presenting new and innovative work by Indian and international artistes from a diverse range of genres including drama, contemporary dance, orchestral concerts, opera, jazz and chamber music. Today, the NCPA hosts more than 700 events each year, making it India’s largest and most holistic performing arts centre.
In 2006, the NCPA established the Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI), the country’s first and only professional orchestra. Founded by NCPA Chairman Khushroo N. Suntook and violin virtuoso Marat Bisengaliev, who serves as the Music Director, the SOI regularly performs with some of the world’s leading conductors and soloists.
The NCPA Library is the only specialised performing arts library in the city of Mumbai, and as part of its mission to preserve India’s cultural heritage, the NCPA has built up extensive archives of more than 6,000 hours of music and film recorded at the organisation since its inception.
Having celebrated its golden jubilee in 2019 with a multi-genre festival spanning four days, the NCPA, with an ever-expanding list of performances, educational projects, exhibitions, and much more, continues to build on its reputation as one of the leading arts centres in Asia.
In 2020, NCPA introduced the digital series, NCPA@home, with the intent to spread positivity through art in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The series showcase includes exclusive videos and content from Indian Music, Dance, International Music, and the Symphony Orchestra of India from the NCPA's extensive archival library.
About BookMyShow
Launched in 2007, BookMyShow, owned and operated by Big Tree Entertainment Pvt Ltd (founded in 1999), is India's leading entertainment destination with global operations and the one-stop shop for every entertainment need. The firm is present in over 650 towns and cities in India and works with partners across the industry to provide unmatched entertainment experiences to millions of customers. Over the years, the company has evolved from a purely online ticketing platform for movies across 6,000 plus screens, to end-to-end management of live entertainment events including music concerts, live performances, theatricals, sports and more, all accomplished at par with global standards. Some of the key properties that BookMyShow has brought to its markets over the past few years include U2’s The Joshua Tree Tour, NBA’s debut games in India, Disney’s Aladdin, Cirque du Soleil BAZZAR as also international artists such as Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber to name a few.
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