September 2026: It Is Tough Out There
- Aysha Abdulla
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
This month’s picks take us from Mumbai’s streets to family rooms, office cubicles, mountains and even a Ramleela stage. There are gangsters, dreamers, smokers, jesters and plenty of people simply trying to figure out where they belong. Different stories, different worlds, but all with something to say about the wonderfully complicated business of being human.
1. Mezok (English, Hindi, Kannada, Ladhaki) When: Sunday, 1 June 2025 Where: Experimental Theatre, NCPA What: From a corporate slave dreaming of leaving the city behind to marry a pahadi girl and become a potato farmer, to a watchman newly arrived in Mumbai with dreams of making it big, we encounter the stories of multiple characters named Pavitra Kumar. Each is bound to the other by Mezok, the all-seeing fictional mountain.
The play is woven together by the desires and dreams of those who have come to Mezok, and by the question of whether having our deepest wants fulfilled can ever truly bring us satisfaction. Here, the mez is more than a prop. It is a co-actor, becoming a government office table, a potato field, and the place where lovers meet in the mountains.
But beyond the physical mountain, the play is concerned with the insurmountable peaks we carry within ourselves: the yearning to belong, the desire for something more, and the dreams that remain unfulfilled. Mezok is for those of us who find comfort in the silences between words, who carry a quiet longing to belong to a place, a person, or perhaps simply to something that feels like home. The design is stunning and all the performers really speak to you. Know More
2.Dishkiyaoo, Sab Dhandha Hai (Hindi, English) When: Saturday & Sunday 5th & 6th September, 2026
Where: Rangshila Theatre What: In this adaptation of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Arturo is a failed gangster on the streets of Mumbai who uses politicians, business and a carefully crafted narrative to claw his way to power. Dishkiyaao, Sab Dhandha Hai examines how stories are spun, manipulated and sold, and how they can place those unworthy of power in positions of influence.
Directed by Akshay Gandhi and adapted by Gayatri Manish, the play brings together the familiar Bambaiya accent, the unmistakable style of 70s Mumbai and the ever-present influence of social media on the choices we make. As power changes hands, trust is shattered and Arturo's empire expands, the play asks how easily we can be persuaded by the stories we are told.
So, if hearing a Bambaiya accent on the street makes you turn your head, and every bit of drama unfolding on the road feels worth recording, Dishkiyaao, Sab Dhandha Hai might just be your play of the month. Know More
3.Kya Hi Farq Padta Hai (Hindustani)
When: Saturday, 5th September, 2026
Where: Third Bell Studios
What: In Kya Hi Farq Padta Hai, young Ammar has just one dream: to become an actor. But when his aspirations are redirected towards an engineering college in UP, the dream begins to slip further out of reach. After a series of setbacks in engineering, employment and personal fulfillment, Ammar finds himself back at his father’s electronics shop. Then an opportunity arrives: the town’s Ramleela needs an actor. For Ammar, this is a chance he simply cannot let pass.
This tragicomedy follows Ammar’s journey as his innocent, cheerful energy comes up against the forces of a society that decides what people can and cannot be. At its heart, Kya Hi Farq Padta Hai is a story about aspiration, exclusion and the deeply human desire to be seen for who we are, rather than defined by the identities others place upon us.
And if iconic Bollywood references, nostalgic storytelling and a generous dose of humour are your thing, head to Third Bell Studios for Kya Hi Farq Padta Hai.
Know More
4.The Thing with Feathers (English) When: Saturday & Sunday, 14th & 13th September, 2026
Where: Jamshed Bhabha Theatre, NCPA
What:
The play is set in what the French called, La Belle Époque, a beautiful period in history leading up to the 20th century. A period marked by optimism, hope and the beginning of The First World War. A war that changed everything.
Written and directed by Rajat Kapoor, starring Vinay Pathak, Mantra Mugdh and many more, the title of the play, The Thing With Feathers, takes its inspiration from Emily Dickinson’s poem, ‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers. The play travels the world, picking up the lives of people from different countries and cultures, and despite the time period the play is set in, it is not about how war disrupts people’s lives but how people keep on living despite it.
In The Thing with Feathers war does not stop the world from spinning on its axis, humans simply keep finding ways to keep on living, loving and looking for hope.
5.Kheyechish? (English, Hindi, Bengali) When: Sunday, 13th September, 2026
Where: Studio Tamashaa
What: Conversations with my mother often begin with one single question, “Have you had dinner?”. In Kheyechish? this one question opens up a conversation of how hunger, identity and our histories around food contribute to our life.
For a young and struggling theatre artist in Mumbai, a meal is sometimes the only compensation one gets on a rehearsal day and when rehearsals get cancelled, so does dinner. Looking for the comfort of home, our protagonist decides to cook Alu Posto and Phena Bhaat, dishes born from famine, only to realise that she cannot afford the few ingredients she needs. Kheyechish? invites us to the table, not only to share the food but also the stories surrounding it and how it got there.
Inspired by Brecholt’s The Shopper, Meghna Roy Choudhary, who is also the writer and director of the play, cooks a meal on the stage as she narrates this story to the audience. So if a simple and touching story isn't reason enough to hit the theatres, do it for the meal being cooked right before your eyes.
6.Dhumrapaan (Hindi) When: Thursday, 17th September 2026
Where: Prithvi Theatre
What: Dhumrapaan sehat ke liye hanikarak hai- smoking is injurious to health, a disclaimer printed on every pack of cigarettes ever bought, yet when a corporate employee leaves behind their air-conditioned cubicle for the freedom of the smoking area, their worries about promotions, appraisals and deep seated insecurities all take a back seat.
Starring theatre veterans Kumud Mishra and Shubhrajyoti Barat, Dhumrapaan asks whether it is the cigarette that is killing us, or the very reasons we take up smoking in the first place. Set against a rat race that slowly wears us down, the play brings us into the world of mangy office politics, smoke and dark humour. Amidst it all, the one thing these characters have in common is what they put their lungs through in the process.
If you find yourself needing a good laugh about all things corporate, you might need a little Dhumrapaan (we mean the play) in your life too.
7.Manushya (Hindi) When: Saturday, 19th September, 2026
Where: Prithvi Theatre
What:
Phadke believes that there is a jester within all of us, waiting to be let out. In Manushya, he chooses to unleash his inner jester at a time when a clash of political ideologies between a left-leaning niece and her firebrand activist uncle has already begun to strain the family’s relationships. Phadke becomes the clown, the outcast, the one who questions, and his choice is met with incomprehension by those closest to him.
Written and directed by Makarand Deshpande, Manushya asks what it means to be human when the politics around us begin to shape the way we see ourselves and one another. It delves into the contradictions within us, the complexities of identity, and the uncomfortable questions that arise when we challenge what is considered acceptable. In a political climate where tolerance feels increasingly scarce and dissent is often pushed to the margins, Manushya offers a timely reminder of the importance of questioning, even when the answers make us uncomfortable.
