Bombay Talkies - A successful experiment

Presented by The Orchid Room Experiment, the first thing that struck me about the play is its name, 'Bombay Talkies'; it is not 'Mumbai Talkies'. In renaming Madras, Calcutta and Bombay, we have lost so much that is intangible! Chennai surely doesn't evoke the same degree of emotion as Madras does...

In this era where we get glued to reality television to get our daily dose of reality, (as if it is in short supply in our lives) we seldom have the courage to look at ourselves in the mirror. We are scared of the face the mirror conjures, for it is at odds with the one we put on for the world. As long as this dichotomy exists, monologues will be appreciated. A monologue is akin to a person thinking out loud, confronting himself in the mirror and laying open his soul. Bombay Talkies is eight monologues – “Uncensored moments of eight mumbaikars” - stitched together in a little more than 90 minutes.

Baby Dimple –

Played by Rasika, this is about a glorious past fading into an ordinary present and what looks like a bleak future. The once famous child actress, unable to come to terms with the changing ethos that conflicts with her self-professed values, begins to shed them as the lights dim.

Ideas –

In this monologue, the character played by Ishitta - A fountain of ideas - is caught between her own independence and the approval of her husband. As she talks of her painting – a maze of high rises and cable lines - she also reveals how the city is so dense and intricate…Beautifully imagined, this monologue is a simple and lovable sketch and my personal favorite.

Seven tiles –

Of lost childhoods and the agonies of growing up in an atmosphere of pseudo-conservatism, this is very powerfully enacted by Viraf. Where Kamasutra and Khajuraho are taboo, child sexual abuse is rampant. Beginning with humor, this one morphs slowly into an agonizing account of tarnished innocence.

No Tension –

Darshan is the typical agent and plays the character with such conviction that one begins to wonder if he has been an agent in his real life too. Loud, humorous, vulnerable, humane, vile and crude, he has the audience eating out of his hands.

Wonderland –

A cynical news reporter begins to introspect in this story. She slowly sees all around her, the genuine goodness of the human spirit as her travels in and around the city brings her into contact with people of different classes. The people she encounters defy all conventional conjectures…

Shobhit Patel –

This one takes the cake after Ideas. Namit is adorable as the classic Patel waiting for his American visa in a long queue. The moment forces him to examine his past with all its flaws. His friend’s – Manoj Bacardi – exploits with girls, the dandiya nights and his extended family’s yearning for all things back home, this is my second favorite.

Relationship Status –

The number of single mothers in urban India is on the rise. Financially independent, intelligent, assertive, the lives of these women is scrutinized harshly by a hypocritical society. The grind of daily lives without an emotional shoulder to rest on – Anahita does complete justice to this story.

The uprising –

I must confess that I could not understand the sense of gravity that Zafar in this last monologue seemed to evoke. The chorus chanting was also lost on me. Perhaps, a small explanation after the performance might have helped…

Kudos to the entire cast and Vikram Kapadia for a theatre experience that made us think, laugh and also question entrenched stereotypes. It is a beautiful sketch…go, catch it if you have a chance!

Boy with a suitcase - When art transcends boundaries

"My father waved; the bus turned a corner; that was it; I was on my own", says Naz (played by Shrunga) in the play "Boy with a suitcase" written by British writer Mike Kenny. Uprooted by war from his home, Naz is packed off into a bus by his parents. The play weaves together Naz's experiences along his journey to find his sister at London. Throw in a universal theme (war refugee), a cast comprising Indians and Germans, exemplary music, brilliant acting and a bagful of lighthearted stories - Boy with a suitcase is a typical example of art transcending boundaries.

Directed by Andrea Gronemeyer, the play is an outcome of collaboration between Schnawwl theater, Mannheim, Germany and Arundhati Nag's Ranga Shankara in Bangalore. This play shows how fruitful and beautiful, successful collaborations in theater can be. 

Naz grows up listening to his mother telling him stories of Sindbad the Sailor. Much like Sindbad, Naz sees adventures in adversities and regales his girl companion along the journey, Krysia (played by Simone Oswald) with funny stories. The two meet when Naz boards a bus which takes them along deserts, and bond closer when a few soldiers board the bus. Krysia becomes a fan of Naz's stories as they run for their lives escaping wolves and later, a man who wants Krysia to be nice with him. 

Interspersed with excellent music that stands in for storms, commotions of a busy city and rough waters, the play makes the audience laugh, think and keeps them engrossed. Creative use of the stage and props also stands out. Naz and Krysia are innocent and adorable together. The narrator (played by David Benito Garcia) is vibrant and full of energy. 

I should consider myself lucky to catch this play today. The audience, as is the norm at Ranga Shankara is generous in their applause for a good show. Today, we gave a standing ovation to the cast and crew when it was curtains time. I was very tempted to catch the 7.30 show also! 

As a theater buff, I sincerely appreciate the effort. The hard work behind the scenes showed. 

More info - 

Complete Cast: Coordt Linke, David Benito Garcia, Konarak Reddy, MD Pallavi, Nikolai Jegorow, Shrunga BV and Simone Oswald
Music: Coordt Linke, Konarak Reddy and MD Pallavi
Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkaRghxbCT8 

Schnawwl theater - http://www.schnawwl.de/en/index.php 

Theater Partnership - Do I know You blog

Bikhre Bimb - Hallmark of a Genius!

If I had not booked my ticket online, I would have had reason to worry seeing the "House full" board that greeted me as I entered Rangashankara yesterday to see 'Bikhre Bimb' (Broken Images or Scattered reflections when translated to English). The queue started to form as early as 6.45 PM (People usually form queues starting at 7 for a play that starts at 7.30). At the 'Namaskara' announcement requesting people to switch off their cellphones, the conversational babble ceased; the lights slowly dimmed and the stage came into stark view. How I love this part, to me it is something like touching a portkey to be transported to a different place and setting; like entering a trance, only to emerge richer, thanks to whatever transpired during its course. 

Arundathi Nag impeccably dressed in a Sari walked in with a remark "Nice. Very Nice" as if commenting on the arrangements at Rangashankara itself.  Right at that very moment began the unfolding of a genius. Eminent playwright Girish Karnad and acclaimed theater veteran Arundathi Nag have come together in this play to enthrall the audience. This work is multiple things at the same time; to speak about any one of its identity leaving out the others would be an injustice. 

The hindi used throughout the play is so pure and runs like a clear stream unhindered and sure about its course. Arundathi Nag's voice, expressions and tone - the manner in which they undergo changes so very subtle and nuanced - is something that words fall short of capturing! Only the veteran is on stage throughout the length of the play, so the audience gets to see a treat! 

As Manjula (Arundathi in the play) explains to a TV audience why despite being a Kannada writer, she chose to write in English, the playwright has had ample scope to talk about the questions that confront Indian writers in English. Why they chose English? Do they write for a overseas audience and cater to their predefined notions or are they genuinely interested in bringing out the 'fragrance of the Indian middle class' as one British agent tells Manjula while appreciating her work?

At the end of the address to the TV audience, an image of Manjula pops up on a TV screen and doesn't let the writer leave the studio. She is initially befuddled, but later opens up to the image. While answering the questions posed by the image, the whole exercise turns out to be an expose of the self. While references to 'Freudian Unconscious', Dostoevsky's Double and Oscar Wilde's 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' (As an aside: I have read this one, it is one of my favorite reads, you can download it here) in the play do not fully capture the plight of the character, I suppose they are merely pointers to the manifestations of psycho analysis. 


The play takes on a moral course from then on, how the line between selfishness and blatant wrong doing blur in a manner that is complicated and how the human self deludes itself into vindication. This is exemplary achievement, unwinding layer by layer to get into the core of the psychological struggle. 

The appreciation at the end of such of a performance was every bit fitting the performer and the director. The genius of writing lies in leaving the ends open, in informing without sermonizing, in questioning without explaining and in drawing attention to the multitude of  layers that abound between black and white. Hats off to the writer, director and the performer for making it possible! 

Hedda Gabler left me cringed and despondent

Hedda: "Oh, it was a little episode with Miss Tesman this morning. She had laid down her bonnet on the chair there—[Looks at him and smiles.]—and I pretended to think it was the servant's."

Brack: "[Shaking his head.] Now my dear Mrs. Hedda, how could you do such a thing? To the excellent old lady, too"

Hedda: "[Nervously crossing the room.] Well, you see—these impulses come over me all of a sudden; and I cannot resist them. [Throws herself down in the easy-chair by the stove.] Oh, I don't know how to explain it"

Now, don't we all get these sudden impulses? I unabashedly confess that I do feel an impulse to act mean at times. Later, I regret losing control of myself.

In another scene - 

Mrs. Elvsted: "You have some hidden motive in this, Hedda"

Hedda: "Yes, I have. I want for once in my life to have power to mould a human destiny."

Mrs. Elvsted: "Have you not the power?"

Hedda: "I have not—and have never had it"

Mrs. Elvsted: "Not your husband's?"

Hedda: "Do you think that is worth the trouble? Oh, if you could only understand how poor I am. And fate has made you so rich! [Clasps her passionately in her arms.] I think I must burn your hair off after all."

 

Again, sometimes don't we wish we had such a power to wield? Something Godly and other worldly that would make others part of a strange rope trick and us, the circus masters? Yes, all of us do. The difference between the kind and the mean people of this world lies in the degree to which each of us exercise caution and restraint. For the human ego, 'I' is the be-all and the end-all of existence. It constantly needs some reassurance to quench its thirst. Those who realize this are able to carry themselves well. Not that, all of us should aspire to become altruists. There is a middle ground sufficiently vast to accommodate all of us.

The extracts (in quotes above) from the play 'Hedda Gabler' by Henrik Ibsen that was performed at Rangashankara over the last weekend aptly sum up the dominant mood that the audience got to experience. It portrayed the dark, vulnerable and arrogant side of the human character through Hedda, played by  Sheeba Chadha. It was one performance that would stay with any viewer long after he leaves the auditorium. So riveting it was that the expression "the actor got into the skin of the character" would hold 100% true! 

As the story in the Wiki link says, it is pretty old, set in the late 19th century and hence very challenging to perform. The dialogues and the intensity demand very competent performers and I was not disappointed. The old setting and the costume transported me to the past for 2.5 hours. Seeing Hedda so manipulative and the other characters often helpless, particularly her adoring admirer-husband Jorgen Tesman, played by Neeraj Kabi, made me cringe at the extent to which human nature can torment itself.

The other characters - Eilert Lovborg played by Samar Sarila, Judge Brack by Denzel Smith, Thea Elvsted by Tillotama Shome, Juliane Tesman by Veera Abadan and Berte by Shipra Singh - pale in comparison with Hedda. Samar was a little too loud and Denzel, a touch too one dimensional in all the scenes. The performance was overall good. The transition to the different segments in the course of the play was marked by a sense of quite purpose. That is, I know, a trifle strangely put, but it was!

The appreciation of the audience is often a pointer to the impact of the play as I have come to learn. This time, it was a consistent applause, not very rapturous and enthusiastic, but subdued and moved, probably because the last scene was too much to consume. Human will is never free and indeed, one never knows when the hand of destiny might override it.

I am glad that I made the decision to see this. Lesson learnt: Don't go to a play with any set expectations, go to enjoy it and savor it! 

P.S: 'Google' makes writing both easy and difficult. Before I wrote this, I got to read a lot and it enriched my perspective. At the same time, it narrowed the canvas I had to write. It doesn't make any sense to repeat what is already available after all!

Dancing on Glass - A commentary on BPO/IT lifestyle

Bangalore is teeming with youngsters who work in the BPO and the IT Industries. They are uprooted from the protection of their native cocoons and very often, upon landing in Bangalore, they feel overwhelmed by the city and its culture. As they tread in new social circles - sometimes with caution, but mostly with a marked irreverence and indifference to accepted norms in a quest to experiment, explore and give vent to their dormant desires- they tend to get carried away.

Especially in the sphere of relationships, the lack of anchor in a new place coupled with a quick-paced, brutal and demanding schedule can be challenging. The manner in which two young professionals - Megha and Shankar - confront relationships in their lives is what the play is all about.

Ram Ganesh Kamatham whose script for Project S.T.R.I.P I absolutely loved is the director and script writer for 'Dancing on glass'. Glass is a fragile material and dancing on it (to literally interpret the title) requires some deft balancing and positioning to avoid hurting oneself and so is the case with managing relationships. The extent of give and take required, the understanding demanded and the expectations (implicit) make for a confounding combination that can easily take a toll. One has to factor in the problem of identities as well. Young as these professionals are, they are simultaneously trying to figure out where they truly belong. The title can hardly get any better!  

The play had the audience roaring to the humorous dialogues right from the beginning. The two actors - Abhishek Majumdar and Meghana Mundku - playing Shankar and Megha respectively had a lot of soliloquies to execute. My guess is that Ram did not intend to convey any message through the script, rather the intention must have been to capture the drifting lives of the characters without offering any judgment.

There was the "cool" language of the splitsvilla or Roadies kind and the deliberately thrown in long dialogues recounting weird dreams which appeared affected. Here again, I would be doing an injustice if I say some youngsters aren't guilty of affectations of this variety. Indeed this worked to the play's favor because the audience could see glimpses of themselves in Shankar and Megha's behavior. 

Megha did well as the pretty BPO girl who is tired of answering boring and dumb questions. The way she said "ayo paapa" had me in splits! Her soliloquies were better than her exchanges with Shankar. Abhishek was the underdog whom the audience wanted to score. He was excellent in sequences warranting histrionics while OK in the other sections. If I have to single out a single excellent scene, I would go for the poetic imagination of Shankar - he imagines a 3 AM walk where he comes across a speeding vehicle and wonders whom the driver wants to impress when nobody is around to see! The ending with a "Life moves on" drift was apt. Overall, it was a decent outing made better by the audience and the company of friends! It had nothing great to offer but for the impressive entertainment value.

Five Point Someone by Evam - Like a dream on stage!

"We make the world happier – and currently we do this with our Live Theater Shows" - the site of Evam says!I can attest to the truth and my friends who accompanied me yesterday for the play at Rangashankara would readily agree.


I have read the book and seen the poor movie adaptation but this play is something else altogether. When you have the same story in three different forms - book, play and movie - it is not difficult to see what would work best and have the maximum impact. Of course, it also depends on which one came first and which of the adaptations are more honest to the original. 


One liners and turn-of-phrase when read stay with us not because they can be easily remembered but because they encapsulate a certain truth or condition so easily and effectively. The stage has an advantage here. The rendering is more physical than the other media - the audience is so close and so involved in the proceedings that an acknowledgment and appreciation is much more spontaneous when somethings strike a chord. 

The auditorium at Rangashankara was very lively yesterday considering that it was the last day of the play at Bangalore before Evam can come back again. Coming to the actual play, the narrator had a lot to do considering that he is voicing the inner turmoils and emotions of the performers. I feel he could have done a better job at it since one or two fumbles were quite obvious. Of the performers, Alok definitely stole everybody's heart. His character in the book with his helplessness, confusion, agony and relatively mundane existence was brought out exceptionally well on stage. 


Ryan was very good in the more dramatic sequences when he had to influence and criticize. Hari was somebody you had to like - as he romances Neha and serves as the perfect manifestation of the "infection" thanks to Ryan. Neha's voice didn't carry in certain sequences but otherwise she did her part well. The supporting performers like Prof Veera and Cherian were OK. 


The play worked because the book has become a definition of sorts - capturing the state of the higher education system with effective stereotypes and clearly etched out characters. The lights and their shifting focus gave a dreamlike feeling especially in the weighty emotional portions. I found myself feeling as if an elaborately intense dream is being played out on stage. Kudos to the whole Evam crew for this!


As we discussed the play, what remained with us were some one liners and the manner in which they were performed on stage. Writing a script for a play and then directing is not half as difficult as adapting a book for the stage. So crystallizing the ideas in a book to a production of 2.5 hrs and staying true to it all along - that deserves a lot of applause. 


The cast was young and have every reason to feel proud of themselves. Another Friday evening was thoroughly well spent thanks to friends and Rangashankara!

Conversations with Sharanya Ramprakash - On theater, acting, directing and Dramanon!

After seeing and writing about [sic], I happened to go through this - Dramanon. The site made me very curious and interested. I decided to do a email interview of Sharanya, actor, director and member of the Dramanon Bangalore team. Initially skeptical about how it would turn out, I would like to thank my friends who encouraged me to go ahead and Sharanya for the succinct manner in which she has answered by taking out precious time. (All the questions are from an amateur/viewer/admirer of theater standpoint). Hope, the spontaneity of this exercise is testimony enough! Since this was done through email, I have not done any edits and I have refrained from interjecting between questions.

Here we go -

Siva: How and when did your fascination with theater begin?

Sharanya: At the risk of sounding terribly cliched, my tryst with theater began as far back as I can remember.
There are some embarrassing photos of me being 5 years old and playing Ali Baba's donkey. From the photographic evidence it looks like I took my time to evolve. It was only by the time I was 8 that I was cast as a human being.

Siva: Which character that you have played do you most identify yourself with? (I read in a DNA review link provided in the site that you identify with Babette...)

Sharanya: There is no alternative to 'being' a certain character but to find that person in yourself. Honestly, there's no other way to do it. So there's no 'this is me' role. I enjoyed being Babette, she was really special. When we're finally through with sic, I'm going to miss her.

Siva:  What attracted you to take up direction?

Sharanya: It happened in the most unimaginative way possible! When Dramanon's Bangalore branch started, someone had to get down to the dirty business of direction. Me!

Siva: The director is also somebody who understands what everyone in the cast is best at. What kind of challenges does it entail, bringing out the best in the cast?

Sharanya: Directing a play involves some serious dysfunction. You have to believe in things you cannot see! The wonderful thing about it is at the end of the day, everyone in the cast and crew has to see it with you. You head together, as a group towards this reality that we've made up, much like children, who make up stories and believe in them. The quality of what turns out is how honest you've been through the process - honesty simplifies things. Ultimately, its this simplicity & clarity that an audience instantly responds to.

Siva: You act in the plays you direct. What do you love most? Acting or directing?

Sharanya:The quality of looking at real life - my own life - with a degree of detachment. That is what I enjoy most about both acting and direction. The ability it gives me,in real life, in a moment of happiness or tragedy to step just a little away from myself and appreciate the sheer theatricality of it. If I just had to pick one - I wouldn't. With a gun to my head - I'd pick direction.

Siva: In the "no retake" world of acting in a play, what are the qualities that would make somebody a good actor?

Sharanya: Effort.Attention to detail. Lastly, on stage, being acutely present, 100% THERE in every moment.

Siva: Who are you inspired by? Any role models?

Sharanya:Sure. Many. Too many to name. All for different reasons.But I have to say this :
The last time I found myself gasping for breath after a play was Hamlet the Clown Prince. That was magic. Unbelievable stuff. To be able to create that is, well, extraordinary. Perch is another one of those magic wielding groups.

Siva: How do you define/interpret 'spunk'? It is a pretty interesting word to use. In a sense, this seems to define the Dramanon team and spirit!

Sharanya: Spunk is best defined in Melissa James's Gibson's play called 'Suitcase and those that resemble flies from a distance', when Sallie is talking to Jen.  Sallie says: "Isn’t it beautiful Jen I mean is there anything more beautiful Jen than people who dress in blatant disregard of their circumstances"
"See I like blatant disregard It’s got what people used to call spunk". Blatant disregard for everything that stops people from being a little crazy. I hope we have that.

Siva: "Dramanon Bangalore started in 2006, over some coffee, old friends and incurable optimism." - says the site. How do you maintain the optimism?

Sharanya: Its optimism or death. Really.
Its not that there are no dark moments of self doubt and mortality. There are many, many of those. In the end, I guess, its about what you choose to run with.
Every little bit helps - having fun doing what we do helps. Being great friends with each other helps. Helps big time.

Siva: Media sensationalism, quarter-life crisis, gadgets and mobiles in contemporary lifestyle and the nuances of relationship - what is it in these scripts that made Dramanon choose them to perform?

Sharanya: Nothing concrete. Nothing I can give a name to, really. They appealed, somehow, in a combination of ways. The most important one being 'Challenging' - challenging to who we were at that point in our lives. It presented a tantalizing set of possibilities that lurked beyond our present abilities, therefore, opening up new ways to do things.

Siva: How do you, as people who are professionals in different fields come together for Dramanon? Is there any goal that you set yourself and work towards or is it less formal than that?

Sharanya:Day after day for the past 3 years we've found the time and energy after a hard day's work to meet up to rehearse. Its got to be because its so much fun. No other reason can substitute fun :) As for a goal - yeah there is an informal, unarticulated but unanimous one - never hit comfort zone. Maybe that goal will change, maybe it won't. So far, so good. 

Siva: I don't see any 'desi' or 'Indian script that you have chosen to perform till now. Is it because of a lack of a good one?

Sharanya: To tell you the truth, we haven't found scripts. They've found us. There has been no conscious effort to do a 'desi' or 'non desi' script, its just turned out that way - more by destiny than by design. As far as Indian scripts go - there are stalwart playwrights - Kambar, Badal Sircar, T P Kailasam, Vijay Tendulkar, Sri Ranga, Karnad... there's no lack, really. Moreover, the regional playwrights abound in every language. But what is sorely missing is contemporary Indian plays.

Siva: How do you see the theater scene in Bangalore in terms of the interest shown by the people to get into theater through active participation or the encouragement
that you receive?

Sharanya: Theater is on the rise ever since Ranga Shankara revolutionized the way Bangalore looks at plays by making the play a day a reality. Its fantastic. In terms of the future of theater in Bangalore - at least with respect to amateur theater; there's a severe lack of mentoring. Who do you go to to learn? No one, currently. If  we've to get somewhere significant, this needs to change.

Siva: How is the English language theater different from that of Hindi or the Kannada one?

Sharanya: Not different in any way. No matter what the genre is, the language or the setting - people come to watch their own lives on stage. They come to see their own story.  Good theater can achieve this. Everything else is mere detail.

Siva: Theater has this aura or perception of catering to more refined or nuanced tastes. Is it true?

Sharanya: I disagree. Theater cannot be treated like this frail invalid to be listened to in silence and applauded in midst of polite company. That is one version of it.
Theater is a hardy, robust creature of the streets, addressing the everyday reality of our days and times.That is version 2.

Siva: How do you think the reach of good plays can be expanded to influence the society? Should theater have a goal like that in the first place or is it just a "nice-to-have" by product?

Sharanya: Not just theater, but anything that's worth something always influences and elevates current thought & perceptions, questions accepted constructs or just simply enchants. If a piece of art cannot move you in someway, its useless. Its a debt we owe, not just in theater, but in everything we do. That is my humble opinion :)

Siva: How is Sharanya like as a person? Where do her interests lie apart from theater?

Sharanya: Under the guise of being your average, working class human being, the Real Sharanya is actually from Planet Zor, eats amino acid broth, enjoys long conversations  in fluent Mandarin, she's right-all-the-time, extremely intelligent and quite, quite spectacular.  Her interests lie in pretending she's mostly harmless.

Siva: Anything that you would like to tell a budding theater aspirant...?

Sharanya: How about - 'Hello' ... ha ha.
No really, I'd tell them to jump right in. Down the rabbit hole is a great place to be.

Again, this is a novel effort as far as my blog posts go and hoping to do more of this in the future!

[SIC] - A funny catalogue of obsessions and mistakes

Sic is a Latin word meaning "thus", "so", "as such", or "in such a manner". The play performed at Rangashankara by the Dramanon troupe proved that having low expectations could have been more rewarding. (the handout said, the troupe "experiments with scripts with that elusive quality - spunk".)

Bringing together an aspiring auctioneer (Frank played by Nakul Bhalla), a struggling writer (Babette played by Sharanya Ramprakash who has also donned the director's hat) and a "amusement park ride theme music composer", (Theo played by Deepanjan Dey), [SIC] sets the stage for action right away. The audience warms up to these characters (even though as Indians, we seldom meet a struggling writer let alone an auctioneer or a theme ride music composer) because their lives are fragile and a little directionless. In this aspect, their existence mirrors faithfully the questions and choices, the youth of today confront.

There is a routine to the manner in which the characters interact with each other - this routine essentially captures the reality of the "quarter life crisis". The three friends brought together hilariously by a mutual acquaintance commit the same mistakes again and again - believe in their potential, at times with a sense of self -confidence and at times because they have hardly anything else to believe in, or seek refuge in. In relating to each other, they are mutually suspicious, distrustful, vain and funny, all the while retaining their vulnerable humanity and exposing it for exploitation.

The humor and the dialogues, not "indianized", are a little hard to relate to, but given the changing mores, when embracing every conceivable idea is more of a fashion, it is easier to laugh. Here, the performers resort to vainglorious pronouncements and repetition to inject humor.

The sexual connotations appear contrived and it is probably because they indeed are. There are sequences in the play which I wished had prolonged - for example, when Babette describes an instance when she happened to read a book over an old lady's shoulder until the lady dozed off. At times, the switches in the script appear abrupt and sudden serving to arouse interest and kindling bewilderment in equal measure. Theo's obsessive longing, Babette's optimism and Frank's despair provide the right mix to the performance.

The high point of the performance comes towards the end when the three performers come together in what can be described as either "an acknowledgment of their resignation to their own fates" or "a moment when they bare their souls clearly and unabashedly to the World". They try to make sense of the choices before them and ultimately proceed to reject everything. The interpretation is open to the viewer here.

The cast did a decent job. What stood out was their mockery of each other and their need for warmth and true comradeship.

Overall, this is not the best of the 3 plays I have seen at Rangashankara, but certainly one of its kind that I wouldn't regret having seen either! The title is creative and suits the script by somehow suggesting "in such a manner"!

Project S.T.R.I.P - Intellectually stimulating!

Play - How powerful is this medium in today's age?, an age that is increasingly embodied by impatience and instant gratification. Play as a creative medium, requires an extraordinary amount of patience, commitment and practice. Doesn't this look like a contradiction? Indeed, yes at the outset, but then aren't we all victims of an atmosphere that feeds stereotypes and worships them? If we reach out to cultivate varied interests, we find that there are passionate youth with a creative energy that somehow doesn't catch the limelight devoted to page 3 parties, gloss and fashion! Some food for thought here...

Project S.T.R.I.P - a play written by Bangalore boy Ram Ganesh Kamatham and directed by Quasar Thakore Padamsee - was staged at Rangashankara on the 13th and I was very excited about the concept - Environmental exploitation - from the moment I had the printout of the ticket in my hand. I was lucky to find enthusiastic company in Pratibha and Omkar. The three of us thoroughly liked what we saw even if it sounds a lot cliched.

Caricature and Satire- how skillfully they can be leveraged as a means to emphasize the gravity of environmental issues? The play is an essay in demonstrating it. It is the story of a cash rich greedy corporate fixing its eyes on an island for mining and how it impacts the indigenous tribe living in the island. The number of issues that the play touches upon in a span of nearly two hours is simply astounding!

Are you against Progress? This is the question posed to the activist Aarti (Dilnaz Irani) in the play. In one stroke, it sums up the apathy and indifference inherent in such a simplistic interpretation of an issue that is laced with several nuances and is quite obviously being stripped to a generalization here. We should honestly try to introspect to examine if we have also been victims of such crass ignorance.

Revealing the exact story would be committing an injustice so let me try to stick to the aspects that appealed to me. A conglomeration of issues that has been beautifully woven with apt doses of humor - now this is hard to achieve given the nature of the subject being explored. But this play does that exceedingly well with aplomb.

The mythology, knowledge and customs of tribes, the plain indifference and vulgar greed of corporates, the power of money when used to destroy entire ecosystems, the disastrous consequences of unbridled exploitation unleashed on fragile and delicately balanced ecosystems (landslides), the silent and ignorant majority to whom progress and development hardly have multiple dimensions, the dubious source of fancy cosmetics and eatables - in the midst of all these, violent players with confusing intentions - like pawns in an unpredictable game whose rules are blurred - and activists with genuine interests of the victims on their mind's radar! That is Project S.T.R.I.P for you, a thread linking all of these!

Immense credit is due to Ram for coming up with such a taut script and the cast and director for executing it to perfection! Aarti - the audience relates to the sincerity, helplessness, passion and conviction they see in her. Oh, the power of youth! When every character is an attempt at caricature, the degree becomes important - beyond a certain point, it would appear lacking in earnestness, but here, the line is so deftly managed.

With umpteen number of jokes thrown in interspersed with piercing dialogues, you have a winner... I can't help relate certain characters to those in the news - Arundhati Roy, the Maoists, the mining giants, the inhuman state with hints at Salwa Judum - to name a few. Hats off to the main cast - Dilnaz Irani (the passionate activist), Tariq Vasudeva (the indifferent CEO), Shruti Shridharan (the secretary busy taking meeting minutes), Harssh Singh (the executor of plans, Roy) for an intellectually stimulating play. Only one regret - the cast members could have introduced themselves on stage :)

As Arundhati Roy says in her essay in outlook, perhaps we should start thinking more about the question - "Can we please leave the bauxite in the mountain?"

Meanwhile, as Arundhati Nag remarked in the end, we should feel proud that the future of Indian theater lies in the hands of able young men!

Naariyal Paani - An awesome experience!

I had never been to a play till today. (The only one I went to in Chennai, hardly counts!) Rangashankara, quite a popular place in JP Nagar, Bangalore - as a venue and producer for plays - always appealed to me whenever I heard people speaking about it. I don't know why until today, I had not bothered to try the experience of seeing a play there. Thank heavens that I tried!!

This particular play, written and directed by Sandeep Shikhar, is a hard candidate to describe in a few words. With no frills attached and quite straightforward in whatever it wanted to convey, it proved to be the ideal first experience. How happiness washes over us, particularly when we try something, expecting hardly anything concrete to emerge out of it, but it proves to be extraordinarily fruitful and enjoyable! This experience was exactly like that...

Hardly a handful of performers, some very fine scripting and acting along with meaningful and down-to-earth dialogue and lyrics, it really makes for a perfect combination for viewing. Humor is one aspect which is very difficult to pull off successfully while acting. Achieving it in a play is all the more so considering the very nature of the medium. Yet at no point during the hour long play did anybody in the audience feel that the humor on offer was affected or exaggerated.

एक फल की दुकान में वो नारियल पानी पी रही थी.

I don't want to share the entire story of the play. It was very simple as the bookmyshow.com summary - "The play begins with a character madly in love. Every time this character tries to share his story with others, he is stopped. At one point, he makes the decision to clarify his story to the general public by hiring Rangashankara as a platform to tell his story.It is from this point that the play begins. Taking the stage with the main character, played by Vivek Vijayakumaran, are two musicians playing the tabla and guitar. The musicians are actually co-actors in the performance" says.

I was elated when one of the musicians, Anupam readily obliged to the audience request to perform one of the songs again. Any good story will have something concrete to take away and this one had a number of messages conveyed in a delightfully engaging manner. The audience I was part of thoroughly enjoyed every bit and the appreciation was heartfelt. Hats off to the actors and the director for this wonderful piece of theater that has made me yearn for more!

An experience like this sometimes gets me thinking - What am I doing in this world everyday struck in a routine? The wide world out here is for us to explore. By cultivating a wide range of interests, each one of us would be doing ourselves a world of good. Let us all try to appreciate things that we might not be good at, but nevertheless deserve the recognition and respect. It is the first step towards knowledge and a broadening of the horizon!