Bollywood benefit extravaganza
By Klaudia Oliver December 12, 2008 San Miguel de Allende
Theater
Bye Bye Bombay
w/Cara Yeates
Benefits Casa Hogar girls
Sat, Dec 20, 8pm
Sun, Dec 21, 6pm
Shelter Theater
Vicente Guerrero 4
Colonia San Rafael
200 pesos
| Canadian actress Cara Yeates, in association with Portal San Miguel, presents the Mexican premiere of Bye Bye Bombay at Shelter Theater. The show and a Bollywood-themed Christmas after-party will aid the girls at Casa Hogar Don Bosco. |
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Bye Bye Bombay is a multimedia extravaganza incorporating a blend of fast-flashing images and sounds that draw the audience deep into the heart of India. Cara plays 12 characters in this one-woman play, including puppets crafted by Yeates under the guidance of a Rajasthan puppet maker.
Bye Bye Bombay has toured Canada playing to sold-out houses and has received numerous awards and rave reviews. This past summer it was featured as a part of the New York Fringe Festival.
Yeates spent a year in India researching this piece. “I went to India to write a play. I didn’t expect to start working in Bollywood.” On her first night in Bombay, a Bollywood tout scouted Cara to appear in a film. Within weeks Cara had landed an agent, acquired a work visa and acted in a Bollywood feature. During her time in India, Yeates worked on projects ranging from guest star on a Hindi TV show shot in a castle in the desert to selling hair-loss cream on a shopping channel. When Cara got home from her adventures, she created the show in a process that she describes as “throwing some masala, chutney and ghee on my experiences and voila! Bye Bye Bombay was born.”
Bye Bye Bombay is the story of a troubled teen, Gauri, who runs away to India to discover her Indo-Canadian mother’s mysterious Bollywood past. A chance encounter plunges young Gauri into Bollywood and beyond.
Following the show is a Bollywood-themed Christmas Party with DJ Klauch playing Bollywood bhangra beats and chai, Ponche and lite Indian bites served.
Yeates’s personal connection to San Miguel makes this event very special for her. “My parents live in San Miguel. My mother is an artist and inspiration for my work. I feel so privileged to be able to share this experience with her.”
On her cross-Canada tour, Cara raised over CN$6000 for Mobile Creches, an Indian nongovernmental organization that sets up schools on construction sites for underprivileged children. She is pleased to be raising money for Casa Hogar Don Bosco. Plus, notes Yeates, “What better way to celebrate Christmas in San Miguel de Allende than with a little Bollywood?” I can’t think of a better party myself.
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