The year 2022 has been very eventful for Rangaai Theatre Company, with 29 successful shows performing for over 1000+ audiences; 5 different productions across three cities. With a team of around 15 artists, we resumed our performative journey, which seemed like a slump during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With 2021 ending on a higher note, Rangaai Theatre Company had so much laid out for the year to come. We were prepared with 3 productions while weaving the yarns for a brand new play – a murder mystery. It seemed like a smooth sail until the Omicron Variant of the Covid-19 virus escalated its spread, and we were back to the slump, behind closed doors, worrying about our health, the safety, and the future of the theatre company. However, the confidence and the passion within us remained unwavering, and we slowly started picking things up with rehearsals for The Darkroom 3.0 and The Untitled during February and March. At the same time, the artistic director of Rangaai Theatre Company, Tushar Tukaram Dalvi was coming up with a story for a brand new production, a murder mystery play – Liar Liar.

On 27th March 2022, World Theatre Day, Rangaai Theatre Company kicked off its performative journey for the year 2022 with The Darkroom 3.0, performed in Si Bambai, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai. Soon after this, we performed our 200th show of The Darkroom 3.0 at The Base, Erandawane, Pune on 2nd April.

Having completed six years of performance on stage, the Rangaai Theatre Company relaunched The Untitled – Narrations of an Ordeal at Raah – The Literacy and Cultural Centre, Lullanagar, Pune on 30th of April. After two successful test runs of Liar Liar, Rangaai Theatre Company launched its first-ever offline immersive murder mystery play on the 7th of May at a secret location in Aundh, Pune.

May of 2022 was a very happening month, with around 10 shows of Liar Liar, The Darkroom 3.0, and Untitled performed at various alternative spaces in Pune and Mumbai. On the 15th of May, Rangaai Theatre Company performed The Darkroom 3.0 at Mukti Manch, Goregaon West, Mumbai, to which Mukti Mohan attended as an audience and thoroughly appreciated the immersive performance.

June of 2022 continued to be a very happening month for Rangaai Theatre Company, with about 15 shows performed at various alternative spaces and secret venues in Pune and Mumbai. On the 24th of June, Rangaai Theatre Company relaunched their immersive comedy play The Proposal by Anton Chekhov at The Base, Erandawane, Pune. The company performed The Proposal and The Darkroom 3.0 at various venues in Pune throughout the weekend. July of 2022 is when Rangaai Theatre Company entered its new phase. On 2nd July, the company made it’s first ever show in Ahmedabad, opening with The Untitled, and successfully ending the night with The Darkroom 3.0 at Prayogshala, Ahmedabad.

In the quest to find new talent, and expand their team, the theatre company held an acting workshop spanning 15 days, at Raah – The Literacy and Cultural Centre, Lullanagar, Pune, headed by the artistic director, Tushar Tukaram Dalvi. The talents from the workshop performed in a new production, a dark comedy play called Memento Mori on the 24th of July, written by a member of Rangaai, Akul Anandur. Memento Mori will be released as a full-fledged immersive production in 2023. July 2022 ended with a bang, when Rangaai Theatre Company raised its stakes, taking the murder mystery immersive play into a murder mystery dinner party, catering to around 80 guests at High Spirits, Koregaon Park, Pune on the 31st of July. This immersive supper theatre was a grand success for the company, and it opened a new arena for Rangaai to explore.

However, the artistic director, Tushar Dalvi had to move to Toronto, Canada on an immediate basis, and it seemed like everything was coming to an end for Rangaai Theatre Company. Before leaving for Canada, on 27th August, the company performed its last show with Tushar Dalvi, which seemed like their last show ever. The Darkroom 3.0 was performed on 27 August at Raah – The Literacy and Cultural Centre, Lullanagar, Pune, which was a housefull and a very successful show. The show seemed like a ‘one last ride’ deal for Rangaai.

But, as they say, ‘The Show Must Go On’. Neither the artistic director nor the artists nor the company was ready to say goodbye. With Tushar Dalvi having moved to Canada, the artists kept the light of the Rangaai Theatre Company shining in Pune, under his supervision and guidance. On 6th November, the theatre company performed their iconic play The Darkroom 3.0 at Raah – The Literacy and Cultural Centre, Lullanagar, Pune, a houseful and successful show, and the first ever show in Rangaai’s history to be performed in Tushar Dalvi’s absence (even though the director was present, supervising and guiding his team remotely).

The team continued another performance of the same play on 10th December, thus making a statement that Rangaai is not yet done. The company is coming up with modified versions of Liar Liar, and Memento Mori, and is currently working on a new production, The Bet – a theatrical adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s story ‘The Bet’. See you all soon in 2023.