The Sked

mumbai comedy
Cheer Till You Guffaw 

Brace yourselves for a comic extravaganza at the fifth edition of Cheer!, by the National Centre for Performing Arts. It is the country’s only comedy festival, premiering plays, unique acts and live podcasts by seasoned comics. A three-day event, it will open with Karthik Kumar’s 2nd Decoction, a 90-minute set celebrating a middle-class upbringing and all things considered to be second best. Bandra’s Timepass Talkies will take you to south Mumbai and present a first-of-a-kind live show that lampoons Bollywood film goof-ups. The second day has a live podcast by comedian Anubhav Pal and Bollywood actor Kunaal Roy Kapur, and an interactive impromptu set, ICM Popcorn by Improv Comedy, Mumbai. The cast will act out a full-length comedy created live through suggestions from the audience. Day two also has stand-up Sorabh Pant talking about the wonderful insanity of becoming a father in a new show, My Baby Thinks I’m Funny. The final day will feature a play, A Shot in the Dark. It is the tale of the calamities that befall a newly appointed assistant commissioner of police investigating a murder. Finally, there is stand-up comedian Papa CJ in a multi-genre, one-man theatrical production, A Comedian’s Tale, to end this humour bonanza. Jun 3-5, NCPA

Bangalore art
In the WakeOf Jamini And Souza

National Gallery of Modern Art, in collaboration with The Seagull Foundation for the Arts, Calcutta, brings to you a ser­ies of reverse paintings on acrylic, titled The Last Supper, by Madhvi Parekh. The self-taught artist, who has been working out of Delhi, will showcase her unique style that draws from folk art and childhood memories (especially those from a Gujarat village) in a contemporary retelling of the story of Christ.

The Last Supper was first exhibited in Bishop’s College in Calcutta to generate interest in the rich and varied portrayals of a familiar story. The exhibition has since travelled to other cities and Madhvi has carved a space for herself in India’s contemporary art world. Possessing a well-articulated language of expression, she has, over 45 years, held numerous solo shows both in India and abroad, and participated in artists’ camps, workshops and auctions. Till Jun 26, NGMA

This Too

Chandigarh Event The Jaskshan Dance Dacha’s two-week workshop for kids between 5-15 has activities like dance, theatre, costume designing. It ends with a stage performance. Till Jun 10, Jaskshan Dance Dacha

And Also

Delhi photography
Old Gateways

The photo exhibition Fig­ures in Time: Bourne and Shepherd is a selection of 19th century photographs, inc­luding landscapes, architectural views and portraits by Samuel Bourne, Charles Shepherd and the Bourne and Shepherd Studio. Bourne, who arrived in India in 1836, travelled widely and produced over 2,000 negatives—many of them masterpieces. Fig­ures in Time redirects the vie­wers’ gazes by including enl­­arged reprints; thus one’s eye is drawn to the strength of detail often hidden in the original. The exhibition catalogue has an essay by Hugh Ashley Rayner—the British scholar of early Indian photography—on Bourne, who, with Shepherd, set up the Bourne and Shepherd studio in Calcutta in 1866. Till Jun 10, Exhibit320, Lado Sarai

Chennai culture
Locating Souls

Bollywood’s Kalki Koechlin will perform a live soliloquy—Soul of a Woman, to be followed by a Q&A session. The evening will be anchored by actress- thespian Anuradha Menon, also known as ‘Lola Kutty’. The highlight is Kalki in conversation with playwright-director Mahesh Dattani. Jun 7, The Music Academy