Mumbai, Jan 10 (IANS): Names like Makarand Deshpande, Sunil Shanbag, Mahesh Dattani, Nitish Bhardwaj, Sonali Kulkarni, Milind Phatak and more will be performing in various theatre productions under the umbrella of Zee Theatre, which is set to take 12 different plays to 15 cities in the country as part of its debut tour.

Zee Theatre, from the stable of the global content company Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, has created and curated the four-month long tour, which will commence on January 14. It will travel to key cities in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal and Rajasthan, staging 50 shows.

The idea is to make theatre accessible to audiences across the country, and it seeks to catalyse the growth and understanding of theatre in the country by bringing forth works of the most acknowledged playwrights in genres ranging from drama, suspense, social issues, musicals, classics and satires.

Anuj Talukder, president, Zee Live, which will be executing this tour, told IANS: "Theatre is something that is very important to us. With this initiative, we hope to provide underserved audiences, as well as new audiences, with a differentiated entertainment experience.

"It will give an opportunity for all forms of Indian theatre to entertain a variety of audiences in India and the rest of the world."

Some of the plays to be staged in January are "Sir Sir Sarla", "Internal Affairs", "Chakravyuha", "Chuhal", "Jana Tha Roshanpura", "White Lily" and "Knight Riders".