At Covert Theatre in Ponsonby on November 11, 12, 18 and 19
Malini Yugendran
Auckland, October 31, 2022
What happens when a multicultural cast of improvisers from Auckland takes on Bollywood?
A Theatre Group in Auckland has ventured to answer that question.
With the support of the Covert Theatre in Ponsonby, Producers Ambika Ganesh-Kumar and Yoong Ru Heng have produced ‘Improv Masala,’ an improvised show that will be performed on four nights in November, celebrating the Bollywood masala movie in all its glory.
It is an unscripted show, with the audience offering suggestions to inspire the story and the cast will create the dialogue and dance on the spot.
Members of the audience will not be called to the stage.
“We are taking Bollywood and basing it very much in Auckland life, whether as migrants or New Zealand-born. We are adding song and dance to it,” Ambika said.
Our Editor told us that about 55 years ago, he was involved in the production of ‘Evam Inderjit,’ a play written by the late Girish Karnad, which had a similar interaction between the main character and the audience; except that all the actors came from the gallery.
About Ambika Ganes-Kumar
A member of the Covert Theatre for over six years, Ambika has Indian Tamil roots.
She moved to Auckland as a teenager and grew up on a steady diet of Tamil and Hindi films. She is an IT professional by day and discovered improv when she was a stay-at-home mother to two pre-schoolers. Now, her children also do improv at the Covert programmes for children.
“I love improv, and I wanted to do something that puts our diversity front and centre. I want to bring Bollywood masala to the improv audience and bring more South Asians to the improv scene,” she said.
Ambika approached Prayas Theatre since she believes in building connections with different communities and understanding how to celebrate storytelling, not mock it.
She found the insights from Prayas helpful. This connection resulted in the participation of the members of the Prayas Theatre in an improv workshop in September.
About Yoong Ru Heng
Heng is of Malaysian origin and a long-time fan of Bollywood.
She also works in IT during the day.
“I started with improv as a way to build my confidence, and I stayed there for the fun, laughter and creativity,” she said.
Heng has been a Covert member for the past three years and seized the opportunity to join as a Co-Producer.
“The vision for this show is to be inclusive of all ethnic groups and to showcase the sweetness and joy of masala films and make it relevant to the audience in New Zealand,” she said.
With this ethos, the multicultural cast includes Indians, Sri Lankan, Malaysian Chinese, British, Russian-Canadian and Aotearoa New Zealanders.
None of them has a commonly spoken language other than English, which in itself is a by-product of colonisation and generational migration.
According to Ambika, there is much comedy to be mined in the gaps between cultures.
“That is an absolute joy to play with and what has become evident as we play in those gaps is that some things are universal – feelings, relationships, parents,” she said.
About the Covert Theatre
The Covert Theatre is New Zealand’s largest improvised comedy theatre company.
Founded by Wade Jackson in 2001, it opened its venue in 2020. It is home to many genres which are improvised: Shakespeare, Broadway, film noir, murder mystery, and Star Trek.
And now, it makes room for one more: The masala genre, invented by Bollywood, is a mishmash of genres with an Indian twist – hence the name masala, which is a blend of spices.
It includes action, musical, romance, comedy, melodrama, family and, of course, dancing.
“Bollywood is global, and it is adored and consumed by millions around the world, not just South Asians. We invite you to the Covert Theatre in Ponsonby as we serve a Bollywood story on the spot. There will be drama, fighting, dancing, earworms and comedy,” Heng said.
Malini Yugendran is an Indian Newslink Reporter based in Auckland.
