National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) was gifted to the city of Mumbai and to the country by the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust. The Trust's initial grant of Rs 40 lakh was later supplemented by generous donations from the corporate sector. Registered as a society on June 8, 1966, NCPA has also been established as a public trust whose principal object is to serve the cause of the performing and allied arts.

For the listing of progammes and events at the NCPA, click here.

Principal aims and objectives

• To establish a national centre for the preservation and promotion of India's rich legacy of classical, traditional and contemporary performing and visual arts.
• To establish, equip and maintain schools, auditoriums, libraries, archives, museums, studios, workshops and other facilities necessary to fulfil the above objectives.
• To disseminate knowledge, promote appreciation, provide training and sponsor or undertake scientific research in these fields with the objective of further development by encouragement of innovation within India and by interaction with the arts of other countries.
  

The facilities

• The NCPA complex occupies a plot of about 8 acres (approximately 32,000 square metres), reclaimed from the sea by the Centre at a cost of over Rs 4.5 million. The complex has a plethora of structures and facilities that support the arts.
• The 1,150-seat Jamshed Bhabha Theatre, inaugurated on November 24, 1999, is equipped with state-of-the-art stagecraft and engineering suitable for staging Western operas and ballets.
• The 1,010-seat Tata Theatre, inaugurated in October 1980, provides special acoustics of short duration reverberation time and an innovative, fan-shaped auditorium. Together, these make for excellent sound and a visual proximity to the stage for every single person in the audience.
• The 300-seat Experimental Theatre is an innovative space that enables full flexibility for production design and presentation

Other facilities

• 200-seat dance academy theatre
• 114-seat, multipurpose recording auditorium
• Art gallery
• Centre for Photography as an Art Form
• Visual Arts Centre
• Creative Arts Centre
• Crafts Revival and Research Centre
• Music and dance practice rooms
• Reading and listening libraries
• Studio for archival documentation of dance, drama and music
• Teaching and research block
• Computerised music research laboratory
• Audio-visual archival vault with over 4,000 hours of recording and theatre research material, and a computerised databank for easy retrieval

The Performing Arts Circle
Membership of the circle, which is for students, professionals and lovers of art, has risen to nearly 5,000. NCPA presents 40 to 50 events in its various spaces every month. Nearly half of these are free for members of the Performing Arts Circle. In addition, on ticketed performances members enjoy a concession of 25 per cent, plus the facility to purchase tickets prior to the opening of the box office to the public. Members also have free access to the well-equipped reading and listening library of the NCPA.

Contact
National Centre for the Performing Arts
Nariman Point
Mumbai 400 021
India
NCPA office: +91 (22) 2283 3737 / 2283 3838 / 2283 4500
Box office (Jamshed Bhabha Theatre): +91 (22) 2282 4567
Secretary, Performing Arts Circle & Film Circle: +91 (22) 2283 4500
Fax: +91 (22) 2284 5350
Email: ncpa@giasbm01.vsnl.net.in