The play Belle Curv brings a dash of humour and romance to Hyderabad

A still from the play
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Chennai-based theatre group Thespian En brings a dose of comedy with Belle Curv, their English play with a dash of Hindi that gives a peek into the betting scandal that hit cricket but with a touch of romance and playfulness. “It is a jolly play with a lot of intellectual humour in it,” says founder and director Ajit Chitturi, who also plays Don, the kingpin of a betting racket. The others actors include Rudhvir Vadhan, Adithya Vora, Jothi Kriplani, Ramakrishna D and Gunavandhan.

Written by Chetan Shah, the one-hour production was first staged in Chennai in 2018. “Without naming anyone, the story deals with betting and its underworld connections with wit and humour,” shares Ajit.

Alongside, a romantic story unfolds between Don’s girlfriend and a software engineer who creates a program to predict the outcome of matches. The play also sees a 17-year leap when the jury enters the scene; the scenes will keep the audience riveted, promises Ajit.

Calling Chetan an ultra-modern writer who introduces different elements, Ajit says, “Different storylines run parallel in the play, making it exciting. Don’s monologues, betting scandals, and romantic stories come at different points. Relevant cricket audio-visuals from actual games and incidents are shown on stage even while the action on stage is still going on.”

Ajit had acted, produced and directed the play when it made its debut five years ago. The script was later edited when the writer felt it had too much cricket.

“Back then, Chetan had written Don’s role keeping me in mind,” he says. From the early days of being a stage manager to Chetan’s play Lizard Waltz in 2000, Ajit had a two-decade association with Chetan.

With Sutradhar Theatre lending its support, Thespian En chose to bring it to Hydrabad.

“The play has to travel; After Hyderabad, we will check out Bengaluru and if Chennai’s Museum Theatre renovation is not complete, we will stage it at Anna auditorium for our hometown theatre lovers,” concludes Ajit.

Belle Curv is to be staged at Ravindra Bharathi on February 26 , 6pm; Tickets: ₹ 200, ₹ 300 and ₹ 499 available on insider.in