Theatre Review: “Draupadi” fails to meet the ‘grand’ expectations

In recent times Atul Satya Kaushik’s theatre group, FTS (abbreviated for The Film and Theatre Society) has been quite active in Delhi. Atul has emerged as a Writer and Director, attracting many people in the city with his productions. Interestingly Atul has also tried to explore the saga of the epic Mahabharatha through his writings. One of the many plays written by Atul is “Draupadi”. MTC saw the performance of “Draupadi” at Kamani Auditorium on May 30, 2014.

To start with, the premise of the play is very interesting. A group of women in Harayana are interpreting and exploring the epic Mahabharata from their critical point of view. Women characters from across the generation participate in the discussion. They have to weave a play around the character of “Draupadi”.

 

While exploring the possibilities of the character, they raise extremely important questions which needs to be critically analysed. The patriarchal structure of society is being questioned. “Draupadi” is a musical play, or as claimed by the theatre group “a Grand Musical Show”. Sadly the musical elements in the play fails to meet our grand expectations, as many actors went off-beat innumerable times while performing. Interestingly the play uses the Raagini tradition from Haryana to start and end the play. This added value to the play though.

“Draupadi” is a decent attempt, but loosely knitted play. Though the script does offer some really hard-hitting dialogues, at many occasions they tend to become melodramatic. The performances of the actors do not justify the huge possibility of the script. The play lacks a good chorus, which was of the utmost importance given the fact that it is essentially a musical production.

The play takes a very interesting stand to represent the character of Draupadi. The playwright metaphorically represents Draupadi through various women actors, deliberately drawing a similarity between Draupadi and the women in today’s world.

There were few very interesting conversations in the play. A song “Mere Char Dinon Ka do Hisaab”, is a conversation between Draupadi and Krishna (the almighty God), regarding the Menstrual Cycle of the women. The song has a very interesting plot which could have been the highlight of the play. But the song went off-beat severely and thus became unimpressive. But another song “Devar Aaya Levne” was extremely impressive with hard hitting visuals of Dussasan trying to grab Draupadi and the song being performed simultaneously.

In the scene when Kauravas ‘molest’ Draupadi in the grand assembly, Atul creates a very strong poetic conversation between Draupadi and others. The long poem “Saari Agar Utar Jaaegi” had extremely hard hitting dialogues. But the actor playing Draupadi made a grammatical mistake in the poem repeatedly when she said “Saari Agar Khul Jaaegi”. If this could have been avoided, one would have had a better experience.

Because the climax scene was a poetic recitation, it became far more hard hitting. Actor playing Draupadi in the climax scene did a very good job and deserves applause for pulling the performance.

Though the play raises important critical questions, and criticizes the basic structure of the society, it failed to impress this audience. But it did receive a good response from a full-house audience in Kamani.


This review was first published in My Theatre Cafe on June 4, 2014
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Theatre Review: Baawla- A Poetic Take on the Era We Live In

Seldom have we come across beautiful and sensible poetry, lesser in theatre. There is no blinking to the fact that there are nice poets all around us, but very few of them make use of the poems in a meaningful manner as Raghav Dutt does. “Baawla” is a play which must be remembered for its simple yet striking craft, beautiful dialogues and the critical analysis of the society which it does.

Written and directed by Raghav Dutt, Baawla has been been produced by Rangbaaz Group. The play was performed at the India Habitat Center, Delhi and the Epicenter, Gurgaon on 29th, 30thNovember and 1st December 2013. The Mumbai based group gave the theatre lovers from Delhi something which is missing in the city- original theatre.

The play captures extremely innocent moments from our lives and simply puts it on stage. The honesty in the script is all pervasive. People who have followed Manav Kaul can understand that Raghav has worked with Manav, and still makes a difference. There is a point when one can clearly see that Raghav has his own style which is different from Manav kaul, and with time he will certainly make his own way as an original writer and director.

The play is a simple story of Raghu. Raghu, an innocent boy, witnesses a transformation from being a Hindu to being a Musalman. This journey explores the violent realities of our society and how a child’s psyche is affected by the “religion” he is part of. Raghu finds solace in poetry, and becomes “Baawla”. A beautiful poem from the play sums up what Raghav must have tried to convey,

“Jab Main Hindu Tha, Mujhe Sab Musalman Dikhte The

Jab Main Musalman Tha, Mujhe Sab Hindu Dikhe

Ab Main Baawla Hoon, Aur Mujhe Sab Baawle Dikhte Hain”

The play deserves applause for the brilliant light design. The show at Epicenter, Gurgaon had extremely beautiful light design and there were few moments which were as perfectly framed on stage. Raghav’s direction also deserves applause as he beautifully creates scenes which look effortless. The effortless scenes add to the beauty of the play.

It is good to know that we have younger writers who are reacting to the era they are living in and not addressing the questions of the bygone era. Disconnect between the stage and the real world has already been seen. It is high time the thespians discover their own truth.

 

This review was first published in MyTheatreCafe.com on December 2, 2013

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Stage Play Competition at IIT Delhi’s Rendezvous 2013- Day 3

Day 3 at the stage play competition of IIT Delhi’s Rendezvous 2013 saw zenith of excitement and energy in all the participating teams. The reason being the obvious as it was the Result Day!

The 3 day long Stage play concluded on Sunday, 20th October 2013. The final day also witnessed two performances from very energetic Dyal Singh College and the host team IIT Delhi. Dyal Singh College performed Manav Kaul’s ‘Mamtazbhai Patangwale’ whereas IIT Delhi performed an original script written by the students themselves ‘Picture Perfect’.

Performances:

Mamtazbhai Patangwale by Dyal Singh College, Delhi University

Manav Kaul’s literary genius could be seen in Mamtazbhai Patangwale. The play has an abstract form, like many other plays by Manav. The play revolves around the childhood of Bikki, who is a passionate ‘patangbaaz’ and considers Mamtazbhai as his hero. His idea of heroism breaks when he realizes that Mamtazbhai has a normal life like any other person. It is too difficult for him to accept the fact that Mamtazbhai sells kites for his livelihood. What follows is an interesting tale by Manav Kaul.

In the Dyal Singh College’s version, Mamtzbhai Patangwale loses the nuances which Manav has given life to in the script. Though the college team does a justice to the design and direction, but acting by the actors was not upto the mark.

Picture Perfect by IIT Delhi

The original script by IIT Delhi tried to explore the philosophy of evil and tries to explore the different interpretation of it. The story revolves around the life of a Psychologist Anurag, who interviews different criminals only to explore what they think. After one such interaction with Ekant Naidu, who is to be hanged the next morning, everything changes about Anurag. The ‘virus of evil’ enters the life Anurag and creates unimaginable situations!

The play starts with a very low energy but picks up later. The actors tried to do justice to their characters but fail to deliver what was needed to make it a great play. The presentation was also marked with long pauses and too long change over duration.

The Winners:

After the 3 day long competition the jury announced the results.

Best Play:

A scnen from Nitthalle Ki Diary Photo Courtesy: IIT Delhi

Nitthalle Ki Diary by CCET, Chandigarh

Andhe Hain Hum by PCTE, Ludhiana (Runner-Up)

Blind Spot by Gargi College, DU (2nd Runner-Up)

Best Direction:

Nitthalle Ki Diary by CCET, Chandigarh

The Nerd by SRCC, DU (Runner-Up)

Best Design:

Mamtazbhai Patangwale by Dyal Singh College

Best Actor:

Character of ‘Ramsevak’ from Nitthalle Ki Diary and Character of ‘Bhola’ from Andhe Hain Hum’

Best Actress:

Character of ‘Pregnant Woman’ from Blind Spot and Character of ‘Wife’ from Nitthalle Ki Diary

Special Mention Best Story:

Picture Perfect by IIT Delhi

This article was first published in My Theatre Cafe on October 22, 2013

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Stage Play Competition at IIT Delhi’s Rendezvous 2013- Day 2

The second day of the stage play competition at IIT Delhi’s Rendezvous 2013 resumed from where we have stopped a day before. The selected teams which cleared the preliminary round performed for the final competition. Out of six teams, four teams performed on Day 2 and two teams were asked to perform on October 20, 2013- making the stage play competition stretch to Day 3, which we shall report here as well.

The teams which performed on day 2 were PCTE Ludhiana, Gargi College, SRCC and CCET Chandigarh. All the plays were extremely well received by the students of IIT Delhi who also acted as a wonderful audience.

Performances:

‘Andhe Hain Hum’ by Punjab College of Technical Education

The play Andhe Hain Hum is written by Dr Sahib Singh and talks about the status of blind beggars in the society. It is a satire on the present society which ridicules handicap and gives importance to the people who essentially do not worth it. They play tries to explore a lot of problems present in the society through the ‘eyes’ of the blind beggars.

The two beggars Shekhu and Bhola live near a bus stand of Ambala and while away time by weaving different stories to entertain them. They make stories for each other to support their loneliness. Both of them had been ridiculed by their own families and have taken refuge near the bus stand as beggars. In a dramatic development Bhola meets a small girl Neha, who is very rich but lacks love in her life from her own family, suggesting that money cannot buy love. She looks for love from Bhola uncle. Shekhu, who always wanted to become a rich man tries to save money to buy a lottery ticket. But they meet an old man who does not have money to reach his home as his own son has not accepted him. Shekhu gives him his savings- part of his dreams- to reach his home.

They play was laced with outstanding live music- credit of which goes to the wonderful singer in the team. The play at times appeared to be preachy and had an outsider view into the lives of the beggars.

‘Blind Spot’ by Gargi College, Delhi University

The play establishes the various stages of a person’s mind after trauma leading into insanity- from denial, to becoming crazy, to finally giving in to the urge of madness. The 6 characters in the play share their experiences with the audience which the society understands as ‘crazy’. The 6 women include a rape victim, an agoraphobic woman, an old star stuck in the time, a woman who believes she is 11 months pregnant, a girl who believes she is being stalked and a hypochondriac.

A scene from the play Blind Spot

The actors tried to portray all the characters with as honesty as possible but looked struggling with the space given to them on the stage. The performance was decent but lacked nuances. The actress who performed the character of the supposed pregnant woman did justice to her character.

‘The Nerd’ by Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi University

The Nerd is a comic tale of young architect Ayaan who is monotonous and hopeless. On his birthday his friend and girlfriend plan a surprise party which is crashed by quirky characters descends into a night of total ruin. He loses his job and happens to host two unwanted guests Jamnadas Parekh and Jhingur who live in his house for coming days. He and his friends plan every bit to make them leave the house, but they do not. Many interesting developments follow only to give a happy end to the play.

What this play lacked was a storyline. The actors did justice to their characters and there were few nice comic moments as well. The audience of IIT loved the performance and showed it through a full house and continuous claps.

‘Nithalle Ki Diary’ by Chandigarh College of Engineering and Technology

Nithalle Ki Diary is an adaptation from series of short stories by one of India’s finest satirist Harishankar Parsai. Haria is a caricature of a village boy, indecisive to any profession and hence choosing to be a village idler. The plot is a portrayal of various chapters from his diary. Each chapter is a sarcasm on the myriad aspects of our inefficient public administration system. The drama highlights the deteriorating ethics, corruption, and the superstition prevalent in the present society. It represents the way our narrow understanding of religion makes us less unaware of the world as it is.

The play was a classic example of using a bare stage as a set in itself and making it a property for actors. The design of the play was brilliant. The play starts with a high energy and involves the audience with the songs and subsequent comic sequences. The play uses the classical ‘nautanki’ style of Indian theatre and does justice to it. The acting was far above the bar set by other actors with the character Ram Sewak taking away all the love of the audience by imitating multiple mythological characters in his act. The best part of the play was the fact that it starts on a light note, raises all the valid political questions and takes the drama to an extremely serious and sensible end. The IIT Delhi students loved the play and it was evident from their continuous claps and hooting!

The day three will witness the remaining two performances from Dyal Singh College and IIT Delhi, as well as announcement of various prizes.

This article was first published in My Theatre Cafe on October 20, 2013

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Stage Play competition at IIT Delhi’s Rendezvous 2013- Day 1

IIT Delhi is known from producing one of North India’s biggest Annual College festival Rendezvous, where thousands of students from multiple colleges come to explore the ‘fun’ side of the college life. The fun which the festival offers to the students is to be cherished for a long time. This writer too has his nostalgic moments at Rendezvous! This year’s stage play competition saw a wide range of performance from the theatre groups of various colleges from North India- just like any other year!

The stage play competition at IIT Delhi is divided into two parts- Prelims and Finals. Different colleges have to perform a maximum 15 minute portion from their play in the preliminary round and if selected they get to perform the entire play in the finals in the Seminar Hall of IIT Delhi, which can be termed as a decent auditorium as well! The preliminary round took place on October 19, 2013 between 6:30pm to 11:30pm. A total of 13 teams from 12 colleges participated in the competition. Six teams were selected to perform in the final round of the stage play competition- scheduled on October 20, 2013- 7pm onward in the Seminar Hall.

The teams and the Plays:

1. Kamla Nehru College, Delhi performed Godavari- an adaptation of Samuel Beckett’s ‘Waiting for Godot’.

The short presentation of the play could not meet the expectation of what one expects from a Samuel Beckett adaptation. The play very interestingly adapted an all-girl avatar contrary to Beckett’s all male version.

2. Shivaji College, Delhi performed ‘Kutte’.

The play could nicely deliver the inner conflict of a widow and a salesman in a remote village. The short presentation could highlight few good performances as well.

3. Gargi College, Delhi performed ‘Blind Spot’.

A scene from the play ‘Blind Spot’

The play was a tale of the so called ‘crazy people’. The play delivered the idea that what often appears for the world may not be what actually the ‘crazy people’ think or feel. Different individuals have different stories to share, which may not be shared at many occasions.

4. Netaji Subhash Institute of Technology, Delhi performed a self-scripted play ‘Pagdandi’.

The play shared the story of an old couple in a village in Uttar Pradesh, and the father’s relation with his son.

5. Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi performed ‘The Nerd’.

The play was a tale of a surprise party which takes few interesting turns and results in even more surprises for the characters! The play had few nice comic moments, slapstick in nature.

6. Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, Delhi performed ‘Six Characters in Search of an Author’ by Luigi Pirandello and ‘Peele Scooter Waala Aadmi’ by Manav Kaul.

A scene from the play ‘Six Characters in Search of an Author’

Both the plays belonged to great playwrights in their own respect, but sadly, the college theatre group could not match the expectations.

7. Delhi Technical University, Delhi performed ‘Fandi’.

The play shares a story of a truck driver who is jailed for the charge of the murder of his own father, whom he once loved so much. The actor who performed the character of Fandi did a great job, and was as real as possible.

8. NIEC, Delhi performed ‘The strange Case of Doctor J.’

The play presented a story of a scientist who is obsessed with his findings. They presentation failed to communicate well with the audience.

9. PCTE, Ludhiana performed ‘Andhe Hain Hum’.

A scene from the play ‘Hum Andhe Hain’

The play was a tragic tale of two blind beggars in Ambala, who discuss their mundane life with each other. The play was beautifully laced with live music and brilliant acting. The play was able to raise many questions, though it appeared a bit preachy at times as well.

10. Dyal Singh College, Delhi performed Manav Kaul’s ‘Mamtazbhai Patangwaale’.

A scene from the play ‘Mamtazbhai Patangwaale’

Mamtazbhai Patangwaale is Manav Kaul’s most cherished work and is loved by all. The college team did justice to the brilliant script.

11. IIT Delhi performed ‘Picture Perfect’.

The host team presented a decent play in form of ‘Picture Perfect’. The play was marked by good acting of IIT Delhi students.

12. CCET, Chandigarh performed ‘Nitthalle Ki Diary’.

The team from Chandigarh started with a bang. The play which had a flavour of the ‘nautanki’ style did strike the chord with the audience with its comic pieces.

The finalists:

The teams which were selected to perform in the final round on October 20, 2013 were:

Gargi College

Shri Ram College of Commerce

PCTE Ludhiana

Dyal Singh College

CCTE, Chandigarh

IIT Delhi (in a special performance)

Best wishes to all the competing teams!

This article was published in My Theatre Cafe on October 19, 2013
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Theatre Review: 'Hamlet- Rajat Kapoor has a different interpretation'

The Bard’s Hamlet must have been performed numerous times around the globe. There is no blinking to the fact that it is one of the most known tragedies written in the literary world, and certainly it has been a dream role for many actors for centuries. Now imagine the tragic character of Hamlet being performed by a clown! This is where the known film and theatre personality Rajat Kapoor brings a different interpretation- Hamlet, the Clown Prince.

Atul Kumar as Hamlet

Hamlet, the Clown Price has been performed by the Cinematograph, Rajat Kapoor’s theatre group, for numerous times in the past, and the group performed again at Delhi’s Kamani Auditorium between September 5 and September 7, 2013. The play, which is supposedly a comic interpretation of Shakespeare’s ‘The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark’ is difficult to imagine. How can you interpret Hamlet in a ‘funny’ manner, with an all clown show? Even if one does, can one really do justice to the tragic character of Hamlet? The answer is a big YES! Rajat Kapoor’s version of Hamlet is one of the finest examples of taking Indian theatre to the global standards. The best part of the play is the actors. Only an ensemble like this can put a show so brilliantly as this. The cast includes Atul Kumar, Kalki Koechlin, Sujay Saple, Neil Bhoopalam, Namit Das and Puja Sarup. The play is in Gibberish and occasional English. The highlight of the play is the interpretation of Hamlet by the clowns, monologues and the witty interactions with the audiences!

Only clowns can turn a four hour long tragic drama into a two hour beautiful comic piece. But the play still never loses its soul. Atul Kumar, who plays the character of Hamlet, manages to bring forth the emotions and turmoil through which Hamlet, the character, must have gone. The audience can feel the emotions, and just when you start empathising with Hamlet, the Clown in Atul breaks that emotion and gives a reason to laugh loud. As a matter of fact the other actors are also at par with Atul. Neil Bhoopalam is superb as Claudius and, of course, as the clown which he plays. At times you feel you are watching a Tom and Jerry show, and at times the actors take you to a different world where anything is possible on stage. And one needs to watch this beautiful piece of art to understand the magic it creates.

Hamlet, the Clown Prince is something which must not be missed by anybody. You do not need to read the original Hamlet by the Bard to understand this clown show. After all clowns are there to make you understand everything- everything which the logical human mind cannot understand.

Do not miss this play the next time it visits your city- doesn't matter if you have seen it earlier or not.

This review was first published in My Theatre Cafe on September 9, 2013

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Theatre Review: ‘Post Mortem’ by St. Stephen’s: Dario Fo given a new interpretation

There is no blinking to the fact that Delhi University still has one of the most vibrant University theatre culture, and various colleges put shows which can very well be compared to the supposedly professional theatre productions in the country. The productions by undergraduate students may lack certain nuances, but then this is the time when one must commit mistakes.

A scene from the play

The Hindi Dramatics society of St. Stephen’s College, The Shakespeare Sabha, presented ‘Post Mortem’, an adaptation of Dario Fo’s ‘Accidental Death of An Anarchist’ in the college Auditorium on August 23, 2013. The director claimed that it was Amitabh Shrivastava’s version, but this audience doubt this claim and feel the director and the entire team had helped in bringing out the Stephanian version of the play! There were few fundamental differences in this version and the play written by Dario Fo few decades back.

The play is set in modern day Delhi and the famous manic of Dario Fo, plays the different characters in the Police Station of Chanakyapuri. The play, being a college production, was full of college humor spread across the presentation, which at times gave few reasons to smile. The director of the play, Rahul Jain, cleverly used various dramatic tools to enhance the beauty of the play. The production saw many tools of alienation used by the director. The director intentionally broke the fourth wall at various points to tickle the audience. At times I felt many of those could have been done away with to add the element of ‘Crispness’ in the play. Initially the play was able to bring out the soul of Dario Fo, but towards the end it simply lost it.

Accidental Death of an Anarchist is essentially a political play and raises many relevant questions which are apt for our part of the world as well. But there is a difference between being ‘preachy’ and being ‘subtle’. Post Mortem was preachy. The soul of the play lies in being subtle rather than superficially romanticizing it. An adaptation is a tricky area to play in. One needs to understand the political stand which Dario Fo wanted to establish in the play, which the college group portrayed as an Ultra Left motive. Theatre when combined with activism can be beautiful, but then theatre has its own craft. The director wanted to raise so many issues in one play, which stole the essence of the original play as well. But then we all want to say so much in our Undergraduate days!

A scene from the play

There was a particular point during the change of scene, when the stage managers were changing the set and the voice over gave the audience an understanding of what ‘Theatre of Reality’ means, which was not required. These jargons are not for the audience, and they’d enjoy more without them. It may say that it was to while away the time of the audience, but then whatever you do on stage is never to while away the time!

The St. Stephen’s version of the play takes a very strong political stand against the status quo, which must be appreciated. But it was so obvious that it lost its impact. Towards the end of the play, after listening to the unnecessary and long discussion regarding RTI and romanticizing the Naxal movement, one felt it was a mediocre performance by a particular student political wing of an ‘Ultra Left’ organization (which the protagonist himself says!). But if I remove certain parts then it wasn’t a mediocre performance at all.

The actors were pretty decent and did a great job indeed. Soutik Banerjee who played fanatic did justice to his character, but he was too refined to appear as Fo’s fanatic to me. Mutahhar Amin who played the character of Inspector Khan stole the show as an actor. Another actor Saif Rashid who otherwise had a small character to play did justice to it. Divya Kapur as the journalist Fatima Abbasi lacked physical stability on stage and her unnecessary movements simply deviated the strong points which her character was dying to put! Others actors did a good job. The play also saw a very good stage set up.

The weakest link of the play, which any Dario Fo admirer could not accept, was the interpretation that the maniac was a journalist from Tehelka, who may be on his another sting operation! There is a reason why everybody loves maniac of Fo. This interpretation which came only as a shock must have been avoided.

A scene from the play

Though the play, it seemed had a very romantic notion about the violent history of the Naxal movement, was only able to deliver the age old logics and obsolete debates. It was good to see that a Delhi University college theatre group was taking relevant issues with great enthusiasm. It is only the educational institutions where one can talk about serious political issues using theatre as a tool, sadly not the professional theatre circuit.

The team deserves more than applause for putting a brave show.

This review first appeared in My Theatre Cafe on August 26, 2013

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Theatre Review: Atul Kumar’s ‘Noises Off’ rocks Delhi!

Noises Off by Michael Frayn is, undoubtedly, an iconic play globally. It has been produced and re-produced, acted and re-enacted time and again. The latest production by The Company Theatre, which is reviving its 10 years old production with a different cast, is without doubt one of the best productions of the play.

A scene from the play
Photo: The Company Theatre

Atul Kumar is touring Delhi with his version of Noises Off. The plays were performed on 16th, 17th and 18th of August at the Kamani Auditorium in Mandi House, Delhi. The play directed by Atul Kumar not only adds value to what Frayn had written three decades back, but had ele ments of Atul as well spread all over, and one could clearly see a distinct performance overall. The play can clearly be compared to any decent international performance of the same production. The set plays an important part in the production of Noises Off. It has an elaborate set and Atul treats the audience with a great set. To top it all it was the brilliant performance by the cast which makes you laugh without a pause. The actress who played the character of Brook was brilliant. She won the heart of the audience with her brilliantly timed pauses and delivery of dialogues.

Noises Off which is essentially a farce by Frayn is a brilliantly written play with a plot of a play within a play. The play within the play which the cast is performing is “Nothing On”, a poorly written play by the fictional writer Robin Housemonger. There are right moments of exaggeration and overplay which adds to the farce and brings laughter in the auditorium. It is the subtle change in the mannerism of the actors which needs a special mention. Every actor on stage, including the fictional backstage, manages to create the chaos a theatre production goes through. The play Nothing On is so poorly written that one can only laugh and can do nothing else! The motivation of Frayn writing Noises Off was a performance of another play in the year 1970 which he saw from the backstage and enjoyed more from there, and decided to write a play which talks about this part of the stage.

A scene from the play
Photo: The Company Theatre

What makes Atul’s version of Noises Off a masterpiece in itself is the brilliant set, overwhelming performance by the actors, more exaggerated version of “Nothing On” and few extremely honest people on stage! We at My Theatre Café only hope that Atul does not stops this revived performance of Noises Off, and more and more people see it to understand the other side of the stage!

This review first appeared in My Theatre Cafe on August 19, 2013

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Review: ‘Big B’, a true tribute to Munshi Premchand

Samta Prasad and Kamta Prasad

Photo Courtesy: Pierrot’s Troupe

Munshi Premchand, the iconic figure of Hindi and Urdu literature was way ahead of his time. He could comprehend the flaws of the education system which has been ruining generations over the decades. His short story “Bade Bhaisahab” not only critically analyses the education system which gives more importance to marks above anything but also brings forward the emotions of human minds like none other. ‘Big B’, Pierrot’s Troup’ adaptation of Bade Bhaisahab is as magical as the story by the veteran!

Big B is one of the most successful ongoing productions of the Troup. This review is of the show at Stein Auditorium, IHC, on July 14, 2013.

Ten minutes into the play, and you are in love with the three characters on the stage! This is how one can sum up the performance. The play has its own flavor and one can say that it only borrows the storyline from the short story. The adaptation by Dr. M. Sayeed Alam and Niti Sayeed is a brilliant piece of literature in itself. Sayeed Alam and Niti Sayeed are also the directors of the play. Sayeed Alam also plays the character of Kamta Prasad, the Big B or Bade Bhaisahab.

It is a simple narration of the lives of two brothers Kamta Prasad and Samta Prasad. Samta is the narrator of the story and shares stories related to his times in Banaras where the two brothers were sent to study in school. The story has a background of pre-independent India. This setting gives the liberty to play with the usage of English. The brothers, who have a rural background, always talk in English because Kamta Prasad had realized the importance of English in order to pass the examination. This plot gives rise to extremely witty situations and not for a moment the audience feels anything has been exaggerated. Actors playing Kamta Prasad and Samta Prasad do justice to the characters created by Premchand with utter honesty. Samta Prasad’s character has been played by Ramnaresh Diwakar who brings life to Samta, a student of class 6 (and later class 8).

Special mention goes for the actor who played Samta Prasad, the narrator, aged 80 years. It was played by Ajay Sharma, who stole the show at least for this audience. Ajay breaks the fourth wall and enters the stage from the audience. Not for a moment anybody can doubt his age! His dialogue delivery was impeccable, and seldom does Delhi theatre see such a performance. A particular sequence of a joke on Ashish Nehra and Samta Prasad’s brief career in cricket was outstandingly humorous- perfect timing!

The dialogues of the play, written by Sayeed Alam and Niti Sayeed, have serious political connotations attached to them which are relevant for the present era as well. Primary focus of this production was to bring out the emotional and witty side of the character of Kamta Prasad, which it does. But at the same time, in a very subtle manner, it also brings out the aspect that he is also a victim of a flawed education system. At the same time Samta’s character comes across as a younger brother who respects his Big B, but like any average tier 2 Indian boy can never tell this to his brother. Same goes for Kamta’s character.

It was a flawless performance and is a must watch for everybody who loves good theatre!

This review was first published in My Theatre Cafe on July 16, 2013

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Review: ‘Ghalib in New Delhi’, a comic take on Ghalib’s return to his city!

Ghalib: In search of Delhi

Photo: Nihal

Ghalib’s contemporary poet Zauk once wrote, “In Dinon Garche Dakan Me Hai Badi Qadr-E-Sukhan, Kaun Jaaye Zauk Par Dilli Ki Galiyaan Chhod Kar”. We are not sure if Ghalib approved of these lines or not but Pierrot’s Troupe must believe so, that’s why they bring Ghalib back to Delhi with each performance of “Ghalib in New Delhi”. The successful play of the troupe has been staged over more than 300 times. This review is of the performance on July 12, 2013 at Sri Ram Center, New Delhi.

The play, written and directed by Dr M. Sayeed Alam also features him in the lead role of Ghalib. It is a comic take on what will happen if Ghalib returns to Delhi in the present era. Certainly he will have to face problems in terms of the language, the change in the geography of the city and also the inflation over the years! Sayeed Alam does justice to the character of Ghalib with his own interpretation of old man Ghalib would have been. Highlight of the play are the supporting actors from the troupe, especially Hareesh Chabbra who beautifully plays the character of a Bihari UPSC aspirant who lives in Laxmi Nagar and takes Ghalib as his room partner! Hareesh looks even better in the initial Chandni Chawk market scene when he takes the character of an autowala, the Sardar Ji, who gets angry at every matter and is also prepared to fight with everybody despite his old age. Hareesh looks fabulous in this small character and there is no blinking to the fact that people remember this character long after leaving the auditorium. He perfectly dons the gesture of an old Sardar Ji. Later he does equal justice to the character of ‘Jai Hind’, the Bihari UPSC aspirant.

Arguing with the room partner

Photo: Nihal

The director chooses to play different songs of Ghalib during the change of scenes, which add to the beauty of the production. The play exhibits numerous rehearsal room improvised jokes, which also work occasionally. There are few very distasteful jokes as well in the play. One joke is related to Shahnaz Hussain whom the Actor addresses as “not so beautiful Beautician” (‘Aap beautician ho sakte hain agar aap beautiful naa ho’). But audience laughs at every joke, and it seems that was the only purpose of the play, which it has been able to accomplish. Playwright also has a take on homosexuality and men who ‘look like women’. The concluding scene of the play, when Ghalib talks on phone, seems too dragging and gives very less reason to laugh.

All the jokes together make it a mediocre play when compared to the Troupe’s other productions. Without doubt, still there are few outstanding performances to witness. Hareesh Chabbra steals the show, and his real life wife Anju Chabbra gives him equal competition in form of Chhada Aunty. Sayeed Alam succeeds as an Actor but fails to impress as a playwright in this particular production.

The modern Ghalib

Photo: Nihal

This review was first published in My Theatre Cafe on July 16, 2013

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Theatre Review: Ek Akeli Aurat

‘Ek Akeli Aurat’, Hindi adaptation of ‘A woman Alone’ by Dario Fo, was presented by Sehar, a creative group, at Akshara Theatre on July 1, 2013. The solo performance by Savita Kundra, a 2008 NSD graduate, was a decent performance with few good moments to celebrate the great work by the playwright Dario Fo. The performance was directed by the performer herself. The opening performance of the play was marked by a good audience response in an intimate space.

With the Men

The story is about a woman in her 40s, who has been ‘imprisoned’ by her husband in their home after discovering her adulterous relation with a young man, her English teacher who is 15 years younger to her. This set up marks a brilliant piece to express a woman’s situation trapped not only in a ‘home’ by her husband but also by the larger society. Akshara is known for its intimate space and brilliant architecture. Savita used the space beautifully and there can be no blinking to the fact that the performance was theatrically beautiful to a great extent. The moment she enters the space there was a huge possibility of creating a beautiful relation with the audience. But over exaggerated dialogue delivery alienated the performer from the character, at least for this audience.

Savita plays the character of Seema who shares her story with the audience. In the beginning it appears that she is leading a normal life of a housewife but later she reveals her sad relation with her husband who has been abusing her in every possible manner. She also has a brother-in-law in the house, who is young and molests her. She has a baby boy to take care of. Her younger lover is madly in love with her body and creates many problems for her by coming to her house even when she asks her not to come. Savita very beautifully uses a house ladder to create a small window for her contact with the outer world- the outer world which also has the same kind of men. The set also comprises of the paintings on of three men by Arun Mallik. These three men (husband, brother-in-law and young lover) signify the patriarchal world from which Seema wants an escape, but there is ‘no-exit’ for a woman trapped in a man’s world!

Looking through the 'window'

The Hindi adaptation of the script could not match the brilliant language of Dario Fo and at times it appeared to have been marred by a bad translation and wrong usage of words. As a performer Savita was trying too much to make it a brilliant performance but this only made the performance look too loud and it wasn’t effortless.

There is still a scope to make it a great performance. We are hopeful that in the coming performances the audience could also relate with the character of Seema even more.

This review was first published in My Theatre Cafe on July 3, 2013

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Review: MANA- spectacular beyond imagination

Courtesy: Kingdom of Dreams

Mana is the latest presentation of Kingdom of Dreams in Gurgaon. The play has already been performed at various international locations. Mana is being staged at KOD’s Natanki Mahal. The play, originally from France, is in English and has used theatrical tools from various folklore; music tradition; dance tradition and of course CIRCUS!

The story of Mana can be told in a single sentence, in few words. But it is the power of theatre that a beautifully woven story unravels itself, laced by music, in front of the audience. The director uses powerful theatrical tools to engage the audience for the entire show and there are hardly any loose moments. Mana is a fine example of combining circus tradition with theatre. 

Mana is the story of mother Universe- Mana. It is a journey through a ‘fantasy tale’ of the creation of the world. There are surreal characters, all representing various elements of nature. In a single sentence we can sum up the story to the victory of ‘good’ over ‘evil’, like all our folklore teach us even in India. Interestingly all the major characters in this tale are women, to suggest that women are the base of the origin. Mana is the mother Goddess- founder of the Universe. She is the power behind everything that is positive. Volcania is the goddess of fire. Fire represents greed in the tale and Volcania dreams of becoming the most powerful of all elements of nature. She is helped by Viperia who gives her wicked ideas to accomplish her plans. Vanity is the innocent Earth, who falls in the trap of Volcania and Viperia and dreams for an ‘everlasting spring’. Volcania’s biggest enemy is Oceane, the goddess of Water and caretaker of gorgeous mermaids. Perfagor, Volcania’s trusted servant, and Eos, the god of Air, are two male characters who fight the great battle of the good and evil.

A team of some twenty people on stage help you understand the fine balance the nature has maintained. It has many metaphors from our lives, from the human existence. The song ‘Ever Lasting Spring’ is a beautiful piece of literature and one cannot forget it even after leaving the auditorium. There are numerous songs inserted in the play to enhance the beauty of the production. The production, a 4D presentation, also uses the graphics efficiently to create the surreal spaces for the characters. The entrance of Oceane, goddess of Water is extremely impressive. The song ‘Shaka Laka Baby’ is beautifully choreographed and the audience witnesses bubbles and sharks all over the auditorium to give a feel of the underwater life. 

The mermaids are the beautiful characters who represent love. They are innocent and manifestation of true love. The kidnapping scene of the mermaids is a beautiful piece of art and shows the struggle of the innocent in the world of wicked.

Most interesting character in the play was Vanity, the goddess of Earth, who is as ordinary as we the humans are! She longs for the ‘everlasting spring’ and an ‘ideal love’. The character is the representation of the race of the mortal humans who long for everything that they feel is essential for a ‘beautiful’ world not understanding the consequences of it.

Courtesy: Kingdom of Dreams

The climax of the play is the fight between Perfagor and Eos. This scene could have been more spectacular given that the fight was between a god and a demon. But the director chooses to reduce it to a boxing match. This particular scene looks out of sync in the larger picture of the entire production.

One must understand that Mana is not of the same genre as that of Zangoora and Jhumroo (the two ongoing productions at Kingdom of Dreams). It is a wonderful piece of literature and a fine example of synchronization of music, dance and circus with surreal mythological characters. This production gives a different option at Kingdom of Dreams apart from its two other productions.

If you want to witness a truly international production then you must go for Mana which will be staged at Kingdom of Dreams till August 18, 2013. A Thumbs Up from our side!

This review was first published in My Theatre Cafe on June 29, 2013

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Theatre Review: Bagia Bancharam Ki

A scene from the play

The play ‘Bagia Bancharam Ki’ produced by Sri Ram Center Repertory Company, tickles the audience to a great extent but also transcends to a higher level and raises critical questions about the society and its structure.

The play has been written by veteran Manoj Mitra, originally in Bangla as ‘Sajano Bagaan’ and has been directed by veteran thespian Bahrul Islam. The play has elements of humor, tragedy and alienation in certain parts.

The adaptation of Sajano Bagaan, Bagia Bancharam Ki, opens in what we can call a no man’s land. The plot of the play is obviously a village in any part of the country but has themes which can apply to any part of the world- any feudal society for that matter. The play unravels story of old Bancharam who is in his last days. He is also the owner of a fertile land, the Bagia (or Garden), which everybody wants to grab from him- from his grandson to the feudal lord, the Zamindar, of the village. He signs a contract with the Zamindar that after his death (which the Zamindar anticipates is nearby) the Bagia will go to theZamindar and no one else, but the Zamindar will give Bancharam Rupees Two Thousand till Bancha is alive. Different events take place and finally Bancha regains his health with the help of the money Zamindar gives him every month. The play ends with a dead Zamindar and healthy Bancharam.

The performance of Sameer Singh as Bancharam brings smile to the face of the audience whenever he comes on stage. He portrays the character of an ailing old man with ease. He also shows the change in his health without any exaggeration. As an actor he has brought many things in the play in form of his body language and accent. He proves to be a lovable old man.

Sameer Singh as a ‘healthy’ Bancharam

The character of Zamindar, played by Shrikant Verma, is extremely critical in the play. Shrikant shows his great acting skills and is able to steal the show. He has many moments for himself in the play. His subtle acting on many occasions, the ease and understanding of not exaggerating the performance, brings him close to a perfect performance. His subtle acting can be seen when he says the dialogue, “Baap ka maal pee gaya baithe-baithe Maa ke saamne.”

The play is extremely well written by veteran Manoj Mitra and the time lapse is shown smartly with the help of well inserted dialogues and gestures of the actors. The high point of the play is a moment when a very serious sequence is going on stage and suddenly it breaks. It is when Zamindar is trying to kill Bancharam, Padma- wife of Gopi- comes out from her bed and changes the mood of the scene. A very subtle change is shown, which is also a fine example of alienation by Manoj Mitra.

Other characters also add value to the performance. The character of Gopi, grandson of Bancharam, played by Mukesh Bhati, is good to a certain extent. But the actor tried to put too much energy in the performance that it lost its charm. It is still a good performance though. The Jhola Chaap Doctor Govind, who has got relatively less time on stage plays the character given to him with utter honesty and brings smile to the audience’s face whenever he is on stage. Even the lights, operated by Ravindra Mishra, were very well used with a red backdrop throughout the play.

Over all, it is a good production of a very well written play. The repeat show of the play is not to be missed by theatre lovers of the city.

Concluding scene of the play

This review was first published in My Theatre Cafe on June 17, 2013

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