Ghosts, gags and Sherlock Holmes: International performers at Mumbai Fringe

As the Mumbai Fringe Festival gears up to welcome international performers two distinct theatrical worlds will unfold on stage a nostalgic Sherlock Holmes tale and a playful horrorcomedy mime British performers Nigel MilesThomas and David Hoskin spoke to middaycom about their shows the spirit of fringe festivals and what audiences can expectA haunted house with comedy horror and mimeDavid Hoskinrsquos show Haunted House blends comedy horror and physical theatre inviting audiences into a classic gothic scenarioldquoHaunted House is a comedyhorrormime show so something for everyonerdquo David shares ldquoThe audience arrives at this Haunted House after their car breaks down outside Itrsquos a very classic horror movie trope A strange caretaker offers them shelter from a storm and then gives them a tour through an ancient mansion where you see the dead the living and everything in between that occupy the houserdquoThe show mixes theatrical traditions with physical storytelling ldquoItrsquos meant to be a little bit thrilling and have moments that are slightly scary and sometimes very strangerdquo he explains ldquoBut itrsquos fundamentally comedy driven with gags character comedy and things in the tradition of European clown There are also sections told purely through physicality and mimerdquoThe show has already found audiences at major venues ldquoAudiences loved it at the Edinburgh Fringe I recently performed it at Soho Theatre in London and it was received really wellrdquo he adds referring to the place where the Fringe festival was originatedWhile the show will remain largely the same for India a few tweaks are inevitable ldquoItrsquos going to be pretty similar to what it is in the UKrdquo David says ldquoTherersquos a reference to a theme park in the UK that people outside the UK might not know so Irsquoll change a couple of things But Irsquom kind of resting on good faith and a little cultural exchangerdquoSherlock Holmes returns to Baker StreetMeanwhile Nigel MilesThomas brings a more reflective theatrical experience rooted in the classic world of Sherlock Holmes His show begins at a poignant moment in the detectiversquos lifeldquoWe find Sherlock Holmes more or less at the end of his life when he goes to the funeral of his great friend Dr Watsonrdquo Nigel says ldquoHersquos in retirement and doesnrsquot live in Baker Street anymore but after the funeral he returns to the famous 221B Baker Street That opens a whole chapter of memoryrdquoThe performance revisits the detectiversquos past cases and characters ldquoAll the cases they solved together all the characters they met in their life together mdash which can be amusing and also very sadrdquo he explains ldquoI play Sherlock Holmes predominantly but I also create quite a lot of the characters involved in these Arthur Conan Doyle storiesrdquoWhile many adaptations of Holmes exist Nigelrsquos version leans towards tradition ldquoThe writer and director wanted to root this firmly in the traditional Arthur Conan Doyle stylerdquo he says ldquoSherlock Holmes has an enormous worldwide audience People love new interpretations but they also feel very safe when theyrsquore in the hands of traditional Sherlock HolmesrdquoThe fastpaced world of fringe festivalsFor both performers fringe festivals offer a unique space for experimentation and discovery ldquoFringe festivals are incredibly useful for performers and great for audiences as wellrdquo David says ldquoEdinburgh Fringe still wears the crown as the biggest international arts festival but itrsquos not the beall and endall anymorerdquoHe notes that smaller festivals around the world are gaining importanceldquoThere are festivals outside the UK where the reputation is really building Prague Fringe is a great example Adelaide Fringe Perth Fringe mdash audiences are starting to take noticerdquoHe believes Mumbairsquos festival shows similar promiseldquoMumbai Fringe is an example of this Itrsquos already demonstrating it has the right attituderdquo he saysNigel agrees that performing at fringe festivals demands flexibility ldquoYou have to be very flexiblerdquo he says ldquoYou donrsquot get much preparation time because venues have shows every hour Sometimes you only get 15 minutes to get readyrdquo The pace can be intense but performers thrive on itldquoItrsquos fast moving and a little dangerousrdquo he says with a laugh ldquoBut I think most performers kind of like thatrdquoAbout Mumbai Fringe FestivalThe Mumbai Fringe Festival will make its India debut from March 10 to March 15 opening at the iconic Tata Theatre in NCPA before unfolding across Bandrarsquos creative circuit including Khar Comedy Club 3 Art House and indifferent Gharonda Over six days and nearly 60 performances the festival will transform the neighbourhood into a dynamic cultural map where audiences move between venues discover new voices and experience comedy theatre poetry storytelling and experimental work in its most immediate formThe festival will feature artists such as Rohan Joshi Kanan Gill Varun Grover Aakash Gupta Priya Malik Amandeep Khayal Urooj Ashfaq and Amit Tandon alongside acclaimed global works including Nigel Miles Thomasrsquos awardwinning solo performance Sherlock Holmes The Last Act a striking solo adaptation of Macbeth presented by UKbased theatre company The Shakespeare Edit and David Hoskinrsquos Haunted House a genreblending mix of mime comedy and storytelling True to the Fringe ethos the programme is intimate inventive and unafraid to take creative risks