HYDERABAD: This Saturday, theatre revivalist Mohammad Ali Baig will play the protagonist in Under An Oak Tree, a poignant of memories journeying childhood, adolescence and adulthood set in Ahmed Bowla Bagh -- a 17th-century palace in Saroornagar on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
“It is this piece of history that forms the essence of the internationally acclaimed play Under An Oak Tree by the Qadir Ali Baig Theatre Foundation, which is scheduled to be staged in the city this weekend,” Mohammad says.
Narrated in a storytelling format, it is an inspiring biographical story of travelling off the beaten track, eventually, finding one’s way. The story is of a boy born in a Hyderabadi palace, who traverses through the jet set ad world, coming to terms with the deep loss of his father and ultimately discovering himself through his father’s craft of theatre.
“Ahmed Bowla Bagh was a palace spread over 105 acres with a huge open well that was the biggest in the State, so big that it had arched music pavilions on its four sides. Added to it were mango orchards, a vineyard, a rose garden, a poultry farm, a dairy farm and a 100-horse stud farm. Significantly, it was home to Hyderabad’s first family of theatre, the Baigs,” he adds. It was from here that Hyderabadi theatre doyen late Qadir Ali Baig started his legendary theatre in the city.
The play is produced by Begum Razia Baig, written by Noor Baig, and designed and directed by Mohammed Ali Baig. Mohammad Ali will share the stage with veterans Rashmi Seth and Vijay Prasad in key roles.
What Under an Oak Tree
Where Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC)
When Saturday, 7:30 pm