Prithviraj Kapoor dreamt of having a 'home' for his repertory theatre company. In 1962, he leased 2 plots of land in Juhu's suburb of Mumbai. On one plot he built a cottage for himself, and the other he built a theatre. Unfortunately by the time the theatre was constructed, Prithvi Theatres closed down, mainly due to his ill health. This was the end of an era in Hindi theatre in India. After Prithviraj Kapoor died in 1972, his son Shashi Kapoor decided to fulfill his dream and re-built the theatre in his memory, to promote and rejuvenate Hindi theatre.
Both Shashi and Jennifer shared a passion for theatre. and a great respect for Prithviraj's dream for Indian theatre. After studying the situation of theatre in the country, they felt the need for a unique theatre space - a space where the intimate and compelling actor/audience relationship, not unlike that of traditional Indian folk theatre, could be rediscovered.
A few years later, Shashi and Jennifer set up a Trust in Prithviraj Kapoor's memory and bought the 2 plots of land originally leased by Prithviraj, with the intention of building and running a theatre to promote the performing arts. They employed a young architect Ved Segan, and sent him on a tour of theatres in England and Europe - to study theatre spaces, and to watch shows in them to get a better understanding of the function space was supposed to serve.
Ved Segan returned and worked closely with Jennifer Kapoor to construct the Prithvi Theatre - and succeeded in building a charmingly intimate space with excellent acoustics and a pervasive feel of theatre. Prithvi Theatre was inaugurated on 5th November 1978, and has over the years become a focal point for thousands of theatre lovers. It was born of a love and passion for theatre and it continues to thrive on the patronage and good wishes of its actors and its audiences.
