Mumbai, 9th March 2026: antiSOCIAL, Lower Parel’s underground cultural venue known for championing alternative music, comedy and experimental performances, is expanding its cultural programming with the launch of PLAY DATES, a new weekly theatre initiative that will bring live stage performances to the venue every Tuesday.
The series is being developed in partnership with Akvarious Productions, marking the next chapter in a relationship that has quietly grown over the past years. In August 2024, Akvarious performed at antiSOCIAL for the first time, and what began as a single show soon evolved into something more enduring. Over the 17 months that followed, the group staged 17 performances at the venue, gradually cultivating a regular audience that kept returning for theatre in the space.
What became evident through this run was that antiSOCIAL’s intimate setting, where audiences can settle in with a drink while watching a performance; offered a natural home for live theatre. Encouraged by the response and the growing community around these shows, antiSOCIAL and Akvarious are now taking the relationship to the next stage by presenting regular theatre programming through PLAY DATES.
Vivek Dudani, Head of Events & Programming at antiSOCIAL, said, “With Play Dates, we wanted to create a midweek cultural break for the city, something that pulls people away from the routines of traffic, work and everyday life. antiSOCIAL has always been a space where artists and audiences connect up close, and theatre fits that energy beautifully. The idea is simple: great storytelling, an intimate room, and a drink in hand, the kind of Play Date that’s very much meant for adults.”
Events Lined up for March 2026:
PLAY DATES: Motley’s PHUKATIYA
PHUKATIYA, written and directed by Vivaan Shah, dives into the swaggering, chaotic world of Bombay’s streets, where a group of small-time hoodlums owe each other money, favours and explanations and every attempt to settle scores only makes things messier. What begins as a tangle of debts and loud negotiations soon spirals into rivalry that eventually explodes where all great Bombay disputes should: on a cricket pitch. The play features an ensemble cast including Raahil Gilani, Plabita Borthakur, Joy Fernandes, Rytasha Rathore, Chitransh Pawar, Sankalp Joshi, Kabir Deshmukh, Jeevan Shetty, Advaith Shetty and Vivaan Shah.
Event Details
- Date: Tuesday, 10 March
- Time: 8:30 PM onwards
- Booking Link: https://pages.razorpay.com/pl_SBO44mIIIQ5qre/view
PLAY DATES: Micro Theatre by Jahaan Singh & Rayaan Khatib
Micro Theatre brings six short one-act plays to the antiSOCIAL stage for an evening of quick, punchy storytelling. Moving between humour and reflection, the pieces explore modern romance, everyday anxieties, climate irony and the chaos of a notification-filled mind. The showcase features works by Khushi Bhagri, Rhea Vijay, Raashi Priya Nahata, Paranjay Arora, Aditya Kashyap, and Hoshang Maini with Karan Veer Khurana, performed by an ensemble cast including Jahaan Rituraj Singh, Rayaan Khatib, Abhey Kumar, Gaurav Manwane, Saloni Daini and others.
Event Details
- Date: Tuesday, 17 March
- Time: 8:30 PM onwards
- Booking Link: https://pages.razorpay.com/pl_SJAKk0Vh9xMAv2/view
PLAY DATES: Excess Estrogen by Akvarious Productions
Excess Estrogen is an all-women showcase of sharp, witty and unapologetically honest voices. Through a series of short performances, the show explores the chaos, comedy and contradictions of modern womanhood with humour and candour. The performance features Dilshad Edibam Khurana, Garima Yajnik, Lisha Bajaj, Prerna Chawla, Shikha Talsania and Tahira Nath Krishnan.
Event Details
- Date: Tuesday, 24 March
- Time: 8:30 PM onwards
- Booking Link: https://pages.razorpay.com/pl_SEszm8AuNzLS97/view
PLAY DATES: Kheyechish? by Meghna Roy Choudhury
Written and directed by Meghna Roy Choudhury, Kheyechish? blends theatre, storytelling and live cooking to explore hunger, ambition and survival in Mumbai. Inspired by Bertolt Brecht’s poem The Shopper, the performance turns everyday moments from grocery runs to memories of home-cooked food into a sharp, intimate reflection on dignity, food and belonging.
Event Details
- Date: Tuesday, 31 March
- Time: 8:30 PM onwards
- Booking Link: https://pages.razorpay.com/pl_SBFrACUwf4q6Rl/view
