Lisa Mishra returns to theatre after 15 years with zeal

After a long musical journey and her on-screen acting debut last year with Call Me Bae, followed by The Royals this year, singer-actor Lisa Mishra has returned to her first love — theatre. She recently performed at the Prithvi Theatre Festival, marking her comeback to the stage after 15 years in a musical directed by Akarsh Khurana.

“It’s a bit overwhelming because it’s a lot of work,” Lisa admits. “I had forgotten how much goes into producing something this big live. While I was excited to return, I was also a little terrified. It’s the ultimate challenge — my acting and music careers meeting in the middle.”

Though away from stage acting for over a decade, Lisa believes her musical background gave her a strong foundation for the performance. “The stage comfort comes naturally to me as a musician. As an actor, we get multiple takes on camera, but theatre doesn’t offer a second chance. That’s something I can handle because, as a musician, I perform live all the time. My musical career has definitely prepared me for this.”

Talking about what she missed most about theatre, she shares, “I missed the challenge of doing something live in a long format. My shows as a touring artist last about 90 minutes, but those are songs I’ve rehearsed for years. Performing an hour-and-a-half play with new music while remembering lines and delivering them perfectly — that’s what I had been missing.”

Lisa, who previously did musical theatre, says returning after becoming a screen actor adds a new kind of pressure. “Although I’ve done musical theatre before, doing it now after establishing myself as an actor puts more pressure on me to perform well,” she says.

Reflecting on her career, Lisa calls her journey a “playbook for anyone who believes in hard work.” She adds, “People assume that once you get your big break, it’s smooth sailing. But in a competitive city like Mumbai, you have to keep reinventing yourself and find ways to survive every day. Work isn’t handed to you — you have to seek it and keep pushing for yourself.”

Up next, Lisa will start shooting for Call Me Bae Season 2 soon. “We start filming shortly. We just did our table read with the whole cast, and it went so well. Season two is going to be incredible — it’s well-written and the characters have evolved beautifully,” she reveals. She also shares an update on The Royals Season 2: “It’s in the preliminary stages. Pre-production has begun, but we’re yet to know where our characters’ arcs will go.”