OFF THE GRID
Jimish Thakkar of experimental Dubai venue The Hive talks of theatre’s role in a world of streaming services.
Tell us how The Hive came to be?
The Hive is my wife Darshana’s brainchild. A bunch of us were sitting at home, trying to figure out to a place to rehearse our next play. Ever since I started doing theatre in 2002, finding a rehearsal space that was within our means and methods was impossible – I had used everything from parks, offices, warehouses, corridors, schools, cafes and even our living room. Sensing my frustration she suggested we set up a place for rehearsals. We opened doors to the public in January 2015.
Is there a full-time job that takes up your time when you’re not busy directing productions or conducting workshops at The Hive?
Yes, I also run a graphic design agency. Which, incidentally is now getting increasingly busy designing publicity, marketing and promotional collaterals for The Hive.
Could you give us an example of how drama education helps kids build life skills?
We’ve seen kids discover themselves through drama – it starts from them making eye contact and speaking up in front of strangers with confidence. Over the years we’ve seen them develop language, numeracy and even negotiation skills. Drama has helped them laugh, learn and grow together with their peers week after week after week.
What sets The Hive apart as a creative space from others of its ilk in Dubai?
The Hive was conceptualised to be a place perfect for intimate, unconventional and experimental art experiences where performers could rehearse, learn, perform, jam, meet, entertain and showcase under one roof. While drama workshops, productions and prepping kids for Trinity College London Speech and Drama exams remain our core activity, we’ve conducted everything from Kallari and Mohiniattam performances, salsa, photography and make-up workshops as well as book-swap afternoons, and stand-up comedy nights. You’ve dabbled in other creative mediums – television, short films and radio commercials. Which of these did you truly feel at ease in?
While each medium is fun, I found none of them to be quite like performing for a live audience and never quite got hooked to any. For a play, we rehearse for months, create characters, locations, time periods, situations and a world that exists only during showtime. The best part is the immediate feedback from the audience – to be able to hear them gasp, sigh, cry, laugh, applaud and even occasionally yawn is priceless. We know if the show is a hit or a flop by the time we line up for a curtain call.
What, if any, is your most memorable moment of breaking down the fourth wall?
When we were staging Danish playwright Henrik Ibsen’s Pillars of Society, about five minutes before the climax, the stage lights tripped and the auditorium went pitch black. Instinctively, we continued to perform in darkness expecting the lights to come back on in a few seconds. However, after about a minute of performing in total darkness someone in the audience took her mobile phone and switched on her flash-light to see the play. Seconds later, most people in the audience followed suit, lit the stage using their mobile phones and helped us finish the performance. That was a surreal experience because the fourth wall (the audience) decided to take itself down.
In a world where cinema – and more recently with streaming services – reign supreme, what role do you think theatre plays?
Streaming services are making it incredibly easy for people to not leave the comfort of their sofas and blankets. Theatre’s role in today’s world is one of subtle power as it gives people a reason and opportunity to gather, witness, contemplate and interact outside the boundaries of a silly smart phone or a tablet. The very fact that humanity is at the absolute centre of theatre, in tangible flesh and blood, means there is intrinsic beauty in that art form.