At first glance, it seems like a play is happening! But there is a rehearsal going on, not a play, on stage. Is it a play of rehearsal? Let's say it's not a play, there is a play in the middle. Let's say it's not acting, let's say they're acting. What kind of acting? Acting like a play! What is going on at the Mandala Theatre?

This is what captivates the audience of the play 'Grand Rehearsal' directed by playwright Umesh Tamang. While watching 'Grand Rehearsal', one wonders - is this acting like a play or is it acting in a play? This dilemma remains till the end. This style of play has made 'Grand Rehearsal' 'Grand' in the true sense. The play makes the audience laugh and presents the struggle and dedication to the field of theatre and art and its contribution to artistry.  

The story of this play is completely new  . This British story written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Thields has been adapted into Nepali by Anup Neupane and director Tamang. In the play, young director Raja Babu Karki's debut directorial play 'Biheko Tutulko' is staged for the first time among the audience  . Before the play begins, Raja laughs and shares all his feelings with the audience 

It's a stage, and you have to do a jugaad. The director immediately puts new characters in different places. In a weak production, the props are also arranged in the same way. Sometimes the actor has to drink kerosene as if it were whiskey, sometimes he has to act like a puppy. Even in the midst of this jugaad, actors from celebrities to street performers do not stop acting. This acting amidst the chaos makes the audience feel like they are in a 'grand rehearsal'. And, this play shows the audience laughing - the passion for acting, the passion for the stage. The passion for art. The play speaks about the complexity of acting and this field amidst that humor.

The central theme of ‘Grand Rehearsal’ is the artistry that lives amidst complexity. This play not only shows the scarcity, struggle and sorrow in art, but also the artist’s hunger and passion for this field. And it explains the ups and downs of life. After all, life is a middle ground between hunger and passion, and it is also a struggle between deprivation.

This play breaks the fourth wall. The fourth wall? The invisible boundary between the stage and the audience. The play breaks that wall and draws the audience closer to itself. At the beginning of the play, the character who appears in the role of the director addresses the audience in such a way that it seems that he is also trying to break that wall. As the artist Ruja Raut (Raksha Thapa) enters the stage from the path between the audience, that wall is crossed from there. The director says, ‘A famous actress from Nepali films is also in our cast,’ and the character Raksha enters the stage in a red dress.

‘Oh my God, director, don’t say that you started this show without me,’ with this dialogue, Raksha rushes towards the stage from the audience. In the ‘grand rehearsal’ that does not fit into the traditional staging of the play, director Umesh has staged the actual stage of the theater. How do the actors prepare before starting the play? What kind of restlessness do the actors behind the scenes have? What will happen if the sound designer plays another music to one tune that should be played? The play breaks the fourth wall by covering all these aspects behind the scenes. In most plays, these departments behind the scenes are not visible in front of the screen. However, in this play, all the departments are in the visible place. How important is the technical aspect in a

play? The characters of actors Shreesh Shrestha to Bal Bahadur Rai seen on stage reflect this. In one scene, the actors are waiting for a very pleasant tune. The reason is that the sequence of events at that time is the same. However, Shreesh's character plays a serious tune there. The actors cannot penetrate the depth of the character, they try to hide that weakness of the sound. In a melodious voice, they signal the character to play the right music. However, Shreesh's character plays unnecessary tunes throughout the play. What will happen if a serious tune is played where the gun should be fired?

In this play, the character of Shreesh does the work of spoiling the background sound. Bal Bahadur, who plays the role of lighting engineer, is no less than Shreesh! He does not turn on the light where it should be, he turns it on where it should not be. ‘Director, stay in the light,’ he does not stop talking while the new director is speaking. In any case, the emotions that are felt by the actors on the stage and the technicians behind the scenes are revealed in this play.

That is why the actors sometimes speak in loud dialogues and sometimes in moderate ones. When speaking a dialogue, does it feel like they are acting? Sometimes it feels like they are acting? Is it Rajababu Karki who has become the director, or Ruja who has become the protector, or Sujan Ghimire who has come to replace him. In this play, most of the actors have given their performances befitting their characters.

Another interesting aspect of the play is the name of the character given to the actor. Here, the real names of the actors have been used for each other's characters. Actor Milan Karki has become Anup Neupane in this play. Actor Anup Neupane's character is Milan Karki. These two actors called each other by their names on stage, how did it sound? This small change also works great to make the audience laugh. In the play, actor Ruja Raut has played the character named Raksha Thapa, while Raksha plays the character named Ruja. An accident occurs in the play during the rehearsal, what is that incident? Are the actors acting during that incident or not? You have to go to Mandala to understand that.

The set of 'Grand Rehearsal' is also amazing. There is not much connection between the big sets in the play. However, the way this set is designed seems to be based on the story. What will happen next in the play? It is difficult to guess. Similarly, you never know what will happen on the set of a play. Sometimes the curtain falls suddenly, sometimes the door swings. The upper room also stands still. The structure of the room tries to collapse as the actor continues to act. While the actor is speaking, the roof, which is considered the ground, tries to collapse. And Milan (Anup Neupane) stands on the same roof where the rope is entangled and recites his dialogues.