About
To promote and rejuvenate theatre, primarily Hindi theatre, by providing an intimate, accessible home for the performing arts and the compelling actor-audience relationship of traditional Indian folk theatre.
Prithvi Theatre is a theatre and non-profit arts organisation in Juhu, Mumbai, and one of the most cherished spaces in Indian theatre. Inaugurated on 5 November 1978 by the actors Shashi Kapoor and his wife Jennifer Kapoor, in fulfilment of the long-held dream of Shashi's father Prithviraj Kapoor to give his touring repertory company a permanent home, it is an intimate thrust-stage venue of around 200 seats, designed by architect Ved Segan for excellent acoustics and a close actor-audience relationship. Under the Shri Prithviraj Kapoor Memorial Trust it stages performances almost every day, runs a celebrated annual summer programme for children, and hosts the Prithvi Theatre Festival.
Prithviraj Kapoor, patriarch of the Kapoor acting family, founded the touring company Prithvi Theatres in 1944, and dreamed of a permanent home for it; he leased land in Juhu in 1962 but the company closed and he died in 1972 before the dream was realised. His son Shashi Kapoor and daughter-in-law Jennifer Kendal Kapoor, both lifelong theatre artists, set up the Prithviraj Kapoor Memorial Trust, bought the Janki Kutir plots, and commissioned the young architect Ved Segan, whom they sent to study theatres in Europe, to build an intimate space. Jennifer supervised its construction and administration until her death in 1984, Shashi served as Managing Trustee, their daughter Sanjana Kapoor directed it from 1993 to 2012, and their son Kunal Kapoor is now Managing Trustee, sustaining Prithvi as a nerve centre of Mumbai theatre.
Visit & Access
Stages daily theatre productions and the annual Prithvi Festival; the open-air café is open to all.
Founding & Leadership
Prithvi Theatre was inaugurated on 5 November 1978 by actors Shashi Kapoor and his wife Jennifer (Kendal) Kapoor, in memory of Prithviraj Kapoor - the Kapoor family patriarch who had founded the travelling 'Prithvi Theatres' company in 1944. Jennifer Kapoor oversaw the building of the intimate, octagonal-stage venue (designed by architect Ved Segan) and ran it until her death in 1984; their daughter Sanjna Kapoor later built it into a national theatre institution.
Charitable trust + box office + sponsorship
Run by the Shri Prithviraj Kapoor Memorial Trust & Research Foundation, established 1975, with Kapoor family trustees and a small team.
Leadership & Trustees
Initiatives & Portfolio
Daily productions across Hindi, English and regional theatre in an intimate 200-seat space.
An annual festival showcasing the best of Indian and international theatre.
Theatre workshops and a summer children's programme nurturing new talent.
The open-air café - an iconic gathering place for Mumbai's theatre and film community.
Impact & Metrics
Partnerships & Network
Funders & patrons
Credentials & Compliance
CSR-eligible · Schedule VII(v) - art & culture
A registered charitable trust eligible for CSR support under Schedule VII(v); its accessible, talent-nurturing model makes it a high-affinity arts-funding partner.
Recognition
The cradle of modern Hindi theatre; among India's most beloved and influential performing-arts venues.
Prithvi Theatre is one of the most important and best-loved theatre institutions in India, central to the life of Mumbai theatre and to the promotion of Hindi and independent theatre for nearly five decades.
[Atlas Perspective] Profiled as an Institution (Operator) in the Theatre field. Prithvi connects to Indian theatre and to the many artists who have performed on its stage, and hosts the Prithvi Theatre Festival. It carries forward the legacy of Prithviraj Kapoor and the Kapoor family.