11 Best Performing Arts Venues in Mumbai, India

This huge complex is home to the gracious Jamshed Bhabha Hall, a 1,000-seat auditorium that is Mumbai's ballet and opera theater, the Piramal Gallery, which hosts photography and art exhibitions, the Godrej Dance Academy Theater, a main venue for classical Indian dance performances as well as workshops and master classes, and several additional theaters, including the Tata Theatre, a grand 1,000-seat auditorium that regularly hosts plays, often in English, and classical concerts by major Indian and international musicians. Note that some NCPA performances are open to members only.

Mumbai's grand opera house, which first opened to the public in 1911, has been painstakingly restored to its original baroque design and now hosts all manner of performances. Its pretty grounds encompass a space for live music performances called The Quarter.

The popularity of stand-up comedy has been on the rise in Mumbai ever since India received its own version of Comedy Central on cable back in 2011. Located in a luxury mall, this theater is a great place to catch local comics tuning up their act.

This annual festival, held on one full moon night in December, draws top classical Indian dancers and musicians from around the country to perform outdoors against the magical backdrop of the Ellora Caves. Ask at the Tourist office or the MTDC.

This venue, a remodeled warehouse, plays host to book readings, dance performances, music gigs, lectures, plays, and film screenings. It's a multifunctional space, with a study area, a vegetarian café, an open terrace area, and a main performance space.  After a performance, step into nearby Blue Tokai, purveyors of excellent Indian coffee.

This upscale Inox multiplex within the CR2 Shopping Mall is a good place to catch a Bollywood film or the latest English one.

One of Mumbai's major venues, this auditorium regularly showcases theater, music, and dance performances.

Run by the famous Kapoor acting family (current Bollywood stars Kareena and Ranbir Kapoor are two of them), the theater stages plays each week, many in English, with reasonably priced tickets. It often hosts special programs for children, too. It's a 45-minute drive north from downtown Mumbai, or 20 minutes from the airport in non-traffic hours. An evening at Prithvi, which has an arty café and a carefully curated bookstore, can make for one of the more memorable cultural experiences in the city.

One of the last in a dying breed of South Mumbai's gorgeous Art Deco theaters, Regal is a tourist treasure in its own right, and well worth the price of admission, regardless of the quality of the film itself. It is also one of the few cinemas that haven't transformed into a multiplex.

Current English and Indian films are shown at this half-century-old movie hall.

Come to Tejpal Hall for a play and a plunge into Indian history. The Indian National Congress was formed on December 28, 1885, and it held its first meeting at this very hall.