Curtain up in Bengaluru as theatre takes centre stage again

MUMBAI: The house lights dimmed, the applause swelled and Bengaluru proved, once again, that theatre still knows how to steal the show. The second edition of the Bengaluru Theatre Festival wrapped up with ringing acclaim, turning December 5 to 7 into three days of sold out halls, sharp storytelling and star turns that kept audiences leaning forward in their seats.

Staged across two of the city’s most respected venues, Good Shepherd Auditorium and the Prestige Centre for Performing Arts, BTF Season 2 brought six plays to the city, blending wit, philosophy, satire and introspection. Building on the momentum of its debut edition, the festival leaned confidently into scale, craft and recognisable names from Indian theatre and cinema.

The opening act set the tone. Lillete Dubey, Ira Dubey and Joy Sengupta kicked off the festival with Vodka & No Tonic, a clever, conversational look at love, ageing and modern relationships that mixed humour with uncomfortable truths. From there, the programme moved seamlessly between genres and moods, keeping audiences guessing and engaged.

Rajat Kapoor’s Nothing Like Lear, featuring Vinay Pathak, offered a playful yet poignant riff on Shakespeare, blending laughter with quiet reflection. That introspection gave way to sharper satire in Dhumrapaan, where Kumud Mishra, Shubhrajyoti Barat and the ensemble unpacked the absurdities of urban corporate life, prompting laughs that lingered long after the curtain call.

At PCPA, the festival turned cerebral with Naseeruddin Shah’s Einstein, a performance that balanced intellectual brilliance with emotional vulnerability, bringing the famed physicist off the textbook page and onto the stage as a deeply human figure. The festival closed on an intimate note with Anupam Kher’s solo act Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai, a reflective, humorous exploration of life’s unpredictability that struck a personal chord with many in the audience.

The Bengaluru Theatre Festival forms part of Alchemist Live’s wider theatre circuit, which also includes the Delhi Theatre Festival and the Hyderabad Theatre Festival. With packed houses across all three days and strong word of mouth following every performance, BTF Season 2 did more than entertain. It reaffirmed Bengaluru’s appetite for live performance and raised expectations for what the next curtain up moment might bring.