Me Swapn Pahile (I Had A Dream) (Madhukar, 2024)

Me Swapn Pahile (I Had A Dream)

Me Swapn Pahile (I Had A Dream) is a Marathi musical adaptation of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This new play was adapted and directed by Swapna Madhukar and was performed on 20 October 2024 at the Global Indian International School (GIIS) in Punggol, Singapore. The 160-minute long show, in two acts with a 20 min break, featured 36 volunteer performers (ranging from 7 to 57 years of age) and included multiple artforms.

Art & Design by: Nalini Thite

Booklet with details about the show
Art & Design by: Nalini Thite

List of main characters (& Actors playing them):

Raja Thiruvar = Theseus (Gautam Marathe)

Queen Hemlata = Hippolyta (Aarya Patil)

Ajay Singh = Egeus (Yogesh Gondhalekar)

Haripriya = Hermia (Arohee Temurnikar)

Lakshendra = Lysander (Parimal Asanare)

Jyotika = Helena (Akshata Modak)

Dilip = Demetrius (Kaustubh Kaslikar)

Bandu = Bottom (Amit Joshi)

Puck (same as original play) (Tvisha Mirashi & Anushka Vartak)

Oberon (same as original play) (Gautam Marathe)

Tilottamma = Titania (Aarya Patil)

Complete list of the Cast & Crew

Artforms used in the production

Dance – Indian traditional dance form ‘Kathak’ for the fairies, and contemporary, freestyle, mime.

Music – Indian traditional, folk, and Western. Instrumental; Piano, Flute (played Live by actor playing ‘Flute’), Dholak (Played live to accompany folk theatre of Mechanical’s Play in Play)

Songs – Original songs – Indian classical/ semi-classical, modern, fusion, spoken word compositions – written, composed, sung and accompanied with instruments like Piano, Guitar, Tabla, Harmonium<

Design – The play was costume intensive with over 50 Costumes and multiple props created for over 30 characters. Visual art (Digital) for Program & Backdrops

The Music of Me Swapn Pahile

Official video album of songs and music from the musical [YouTube playlist]

Learn more about Marathi Theatre

Mirashi, Swapna. “Brief History of Marathi Theatre.” Kaleidoscope Training & Development, 25 Nov. 2020, kaleidoscopetd.com/brief-history-of-marathi-theatre.

Warerkar, Mama. “Marathi Theatre.” Sangeet Natak, vol. XXXVIII, no. 3, 2004, pp. 75–94. Indian Culture, indianculture.gov.in/flipbook/10921.

Learn more about Kathak / Padhant (recitation of the rhythmic syllables in Kathak) & Ghungroo (the musical anklets worn in most Indian classical dancing)

Kothari, Sunil. Kathak: Indian Classical Dance Art. Abhinav Publications, 1989, books.google.com/books?id=ZAbMS6ynGJ8C.

Brief Q&A with the director

Q: Does Awadicha Natak Mandal for the Mechanicals have any special meaning?

A: Awadi is the name of the female character of Quince in our musical. Awadicha is a pun meaning – a.  Awadi’s (Translated: Awadicha Natak Mandal is Awadi’s Theatre Company), and b. Awadicha also means favorite in Marathi.

Q: Any significance to Puck being portrayed by two teenagers?

A: 1) The teenagers became a bridge between the kid fairies and adult fairy king and queen on stage, and also between the stage and the audience (age range: 3 years to 80+ years, most of them new to Shakespeare and the play). Shakespeare’s ‘Dream’ offered an opportunity for an intergenerational cast – representing our world on stage.

2) Having two teenagers play Puck (instead of one) offered many directorial opportunities to bring out the magic and mischievousness of Puck, especially in the scene with Demitrius and Lysander (Act 3 Sc 2).

Photo Gallery
Photo credits: Aparna & Atul Temurnikar, Bhushan Jogal, Harshala Desai, Sanketa Patil

(Dancing Fairies)

(Collages)

Audience Responses

“The thoroughly entertaining 3-hour show, organised by Maharashtra Mandal Singapore, was brilliantly directed by Swapna Madhukar. All the 70 cast and crew are amateurs and they spent considerable time and energy to present a perfect play that had elements of wit, laughter, love, emotion and cultural heritage. Also about conflict, nature and magic, the production showcased the multiple genres Marathi theatre is famous for, including natyasangeet and folk. Though I do not understand Marathi,  I could discern the nuances. Overall the event was a wonderful pre-Diwali celebration of the community, creativity and the arts. Pity there are no immediate plans to stage the musical again because it was done on a shoestring budget and with amateur talent. This musical should go places!”

“It matched my experience of watching an opera in London or New York. It was that spectacular.”

“Team Mi Swapn Pahile…what a stupendous show you put up! Kudos! Your enjoyment in telling the story was so contagious that we were living the story with you all. I have laughed till my cheeks hurt! Thank you so much for such a wonderful evening of story telling through poetry, prose, music, dance and songs!”

“It was a wonderful show…full entertainment package story, dialogue, dance, music, costume, lights… The choreography was impressive, lights – costumes and background screens added vibrant visual impact.”

“This majestic theatre production reminds me of a Broadway musical we watched in NY. I experienced the same joy again yesterday after watching the musical by our home grown Broadway in Marathi. 😀 ”

“Fantastic backdrop designs and creatively designed costumes, the effort and time invested in designing the costumes and sets was evident on stage. The melody of acoustics, professionally recorded songs, professional stage management and backstage help – every aspect of this production seemed uncompromised in its standards especially when we have to make best use of the available limited resources.”

“It was a spectacular show. The production was top class, the acting was great, the children were so perfect in their roles, and the dancers and dances were just so right. The technical side was flawless as well, with not a false move anywhere.”

“This natak (play) serves as an inspiration and case study that we can achieve whatever we set our minds to and no dream is too big to achieve.”

“I was so fortunate I attended the Marathi play… Every aspect of the production was just so perfect and vibrant and importantly done by members of the community. The performances, the music composition, lyrics, astounding costumes, multi visuals …..were just awesome… Was just so heartened to watch our arts grow on every level.”

“It was fun to attend the play. All actors – new and experienced – were clearly enjoying themselves on stage which was so nice to watch. The teamwork in music, costume, light and dance departments was evident and commendable.”

Production notes provided by Swapna Madhukar.