It's Showtime!

Finally we found something on Facebook that made us smile! Something that we were yearning for since last three years and that thing is ‘company’. Company to watch plays, comic or intense. It’s rather odd, but true, that in a city like Mumbai it’s still tough to find people who would willingly accompany you for watching a play. We are not the ones to take our friends to plays gunpoint; the same friends that would willingly pay through the nose for a mindless Bollywood flick at an expensive multiplex! If your countless attempts to tempt your friends to watch a play have failed then ‘Its Showtime’ is your saviour. Its Showtime, a Facebook group has been founded by Salonee Sanghvi Doshi, a Mumbaikar who is undoubtedly in love with theatre.

“I enjoy watching plays but unlike movies it was dreadfully difficult to find people who enjoyed them as well and so barely landed up watching any”, says Salonee. Its Showtime was born when she met a few people who were facing similar problems. It was initially formed as a platform to connect people who love watching plays but couldn’t find the company to watch them. But today its not only avid theatre fans but also people who have never watched a play that are becoming members of this group. It’s helping those who wanted to try out plays but never did, as they were not very eager to watch them alone.

It’s a young group, formed in May this year and has over 150 members so far, a fair mix of hard core theatre fans and people looking to experiment with theatre. So far the group has been to 6 plays, the last one being One on One at Prithvi Theatre, Juhu. Plays are selected by a poll on member nominated plays. There’s no restriction on the genres, you can nominate plays from any genre. “There has been a bias towards comedies since a lot of people aren't accustomed to the pace and style of theatre. The aim is to slowly start including some serious pieces as well”, says Salonee.

Backend stuff like arranging the tickets is handled by Salonee. She gets the tickets for all the members who have given a confirmation on the groups Facebook page. Members are also free to get their own tickets if they want to. To ensure a safe environment membership is restricted, someone from the group must know you for you to become a member. You get blacklisted if you cancel tickets twice after confirmation.  

A pic of the cast of 'Dinner with Friends'

The groups next play is ‘Dinner With Friends’, at Prithvi Theatre. So if you are a theatre fan or someone looking to give it a try then you should join the group on their Facebook page and you will never have trouble finding company for a play again! This reminds us of the famous Liverpool Football Club anthem, “You will never walk alone!” It’s Showtime!

You can check out the group web page - here