A walking play will retell lesser-known stories of the queer history in Colaba

The walking play takes the audience around the Fort campus area to present an anecdote. Pics/Atul Kamble

On a day where city streets are taken over by bright saffron flags, we make our way to the rehearsals of a walking play in Colaba where actors wear a different flag on their sleeves. Over the following hour, Postcards from Colaba, written and directed by Vikram Phukan, unearths anecdotes from the underground queer scene that once thrived in the neighbourhood.

Watching from a distance, you could easily mistake the play, performed through monologues along a kilometre-long stretch, for a heritage walk. Get closer, Phukan suggests. It is only when the sounds of the bustling streets drown in the background to give way to the stories being narrated in verse, that the magic comes alive. "The play is almost conversational. We do not demarcate a space for the audience and restrict them to it. The actors are not preaching to the audience, but having a conversation with them," he shares as we make our way to the next spot on Tulloch Road adding that he plans to donate 20
per cent of the proceeds to the Mumbai Queer Pride 2024.

The troupe rehearses an immersive anecdote at Tulloch Road

The story being narrated next is Dulce de Leche, where a man recounts a romantic excursion in Colaba that seems to have ticked all boxes. It is only the taste of the titular dessert at the end of the evening that reminds him that his date had exactly retraced their footsteps from their very first meeting, years earlier. The act ends on a sweet note, quite literally, with actor Sahir Mehta, handing out sweets to the audience. "These gestures make the experience immersive for the audience," Phukan shares, adding that pre-recorded voiceovers and narrations will be played on the participants' headphones to add context to certain acts.

A monologue is delivered outside the National Gallery of Modern Art

From accounts of the buzzing queer nightlife hotspots in the city, to the pop culture portrayal of queer director Riyad Vinci Wadia's misadventures at the University's Fort campus library, the actors ace every character they embody. "We understand the responsibility that comes with performing a play like this. We are speaking about people who lived these experiences in the same space, only separated by time. We spent hours researching the political and cultural atmosphere of yesteryears to not let the current environment dictate our portrayals," Arjun Iyer, actor, reveals.

But are these seemingly filmy stories really true? Phukan reveals that stories come from his interactions with the community, reading about queer icons, and some from anecdotes that reached him through word of mouth. "We have kept the narration as objective as possible. We did not want to overtly romanticise and emotionalise these stories and view them from that gaze. Creative liberty played a part only in tweaking the stories to maintain anonymity of the characters in some cases," he shares.

An actor performs at Regal Cinema

As the play approaches its closing act at the Gateway of India promenade and the actors bid us adieu, we join Phukan for a short chat in Indigo Deli, nestled in the buzzing bylanes of the touristy neighbourhood. Phukan's order for the table - the dulce de leche. Sampling spoonfuls between answering our questions and sharing some more anecdotes, "Nothing quite like the dulce de leche here," he proclaims with a wide reminiscent smile on his face.

On: Today to January 25; 7 pm and 10 pm, daily
Meeting point: Near Study Centre, Maharshi Karve Road, Nariman Point.
Email: vphukan@gmail.com (for registrations)
Cost: Rs 500