WHEN THE STAGE WAS SET

Ek Ladki Paanch Deewane – the standee proclaims. I had marked Gaiety Theatre as one of the spots to explore on my Google Maps guided walk of Shimla Mall. But, the theatre has been claimed by the aforementioned six and is shut to wayward tourists.

The only way to access the theatre is to buy a ticket for the play. The ticket table is womanned by an apple-cheeked girl in a pretty floral salwar kameez and a woollen sweater.

Is it a nice play? I ask her.

Yes, she smiles.

Have you seen it?

Many times.

Are you the ladki? I ask her, only half-teasing.

No, she says. After a couple of theatrical beats, My sister is.

Familial loyalty deserves patronage. I buy the ticket and make my way into the two-level Old theatre Hall and take a seat close to the exit. Just in case. The pistachio green walls look fresh but the gilded covings and the old-style seats tie it to its almost 150 years old legacy. The website claims that the stage has been graced by Rudyard Kipling, Prithiviraj Kapoor, K L Sehgal and modern stalwarts like Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher. And here I am, to watch the sister of the charming girl at the counter.

I get a few quick clicks of the interiors before the play starts. When I lower my camera, I realize that a decent-sized crowd has filled the seats.

The play is a clean old-school comedy, peppered with some current Bollywood dance numbers. The actors are either very popular or the crowd is filled with their kith and kin. The performance is punctuated with hoots and whoops and whistles. Maybe it is the history within these walls or the energy of the audience or the simplicity of the play, but I find that I am not rolling eyes. In fact, there are bits when I laugh out loud. The play ends to resounding applause.

It is only when I am back outside the theatre’s Gothic façade that it occurs to me – I had not taken a tour of the theatre. Oh well.