Direction : Akarsh Khurana,Arghya Lahiri, Nadir Khan, Rahul daCunha & Rajit Kapur Cast : Anu Menon ,Amit Mistry, Anand Tiwari, Neil Bhoopalam, Preetika Chawla,Rajit Kapur, Shernaz Patel and Zafar Karachiwala
ONE ON ONE Review
Ten monologues, ten different perspectives, ten minutes each. Rage Theatre's latest production looks at the gamut of changes in 21st century India through the eyes of ten playwrights. At a time when the world is fast becoming a melting pot of cultures, there are bound to be some paradigm shifts. These ten stories take cognizance of some old and some new attitudes that co-exist in this country.
Anuvab Pal's outright hilarious piece 'The Bureaucrat' examines and concurrently bursts the bubble of India Shinning through the mindful characterization of a government officer. Directed by Kunal Roy Kapoor, the role of the bureaucrat is played by three actors: Bugs Bhargava Krishna, Neil Bhoopalam and Anand Tiwari. Bugs who plays the larger chunk in the piece has impeccable timing. However his characterization is slightly weak. As a matter of fact all three actors play the same role very differently without a thread of similarity. Crisp and peppered with tongue-in-cheek humour, the piece sets the tone for the others to come.
'Kachre ki Hifazat' written by Ashok Mishra and directed by Ranjit Kapur is next in line. Performed brilliantly by Yaspal Sharma, the story has a rather unusual context. The hypocritical nature of a system and its people comes to the forefront when the bodyguard of a politician is bitten by his master's rabid dog or more pertinently the rabid master's dog. The bodyguard is put to sleep as soon as the politician realizes that he could be a potential risk to him and his reputation. Herein lies the irony of a system that works for the people but in reality devalues human life. The expectation of the masses and the false promises of those in power is underlined in this piece.
Speaking of the power abuse by politicians, there is another interesting piece called 'Load Shedding'. Written by Farhad Sorabjee, directed by Nadir Khan and performed by Anand Tiwari, the high points in this piece are its unique perspective, very relevant content and commendable acting. The piece starts with Anand quite comfortably perched on a rather tall ladder. As the piece unfolds, we realize that the character is actually a lamppost. Standing tall and observant at the junction on the sea link he witnesses the madness called life; politicians who fight for trivial things such as naming the street, road or junction after their leader, religious obligations and so on and so forth. And under the blanket of these hedonistic excuses, the true welfare of people takes a backseat.
The other two plays that are part of the first half are 'Bash', written by Neil La Bute, adapted and directed by Rahul da Cunha, and the play 'White on White' written by Maia Katrak and directed by Pushan Kriplani. 'Bash' was about homosexuality. It's through the brazenness of a typical male chauvinist that the hypocritical and unaccepting nature of the society is revealed. A well educated and modern couple are on their way home from a party. They casually come across a gay. The man is so repulsed at the sight of him that he along with a group of friends, bashes up the gay man in a public loo. They are happy that they have cleaned the city of some trash. Unlike other stories written on homosexuality, 'Bash' boldly looks at it from the point of view of an intolerant hypocrite in the society and leaves you shocked.
'White on White' was about a typical mother and her obsession to be an eternal and an integral part of her son's life. Shernaz Patel is convincing in her enactment of an old lady who is insecure about the new woman in her son's life. The mother however has the last laugh when the wife delivers another man's son. The story of white parents delivering an African black boy however left some audience members in splits rather than seriously affected.
The second half begins with one of the best pieces in the series. 'Abodana' written by Purva Naresh and directed by Akarsh Khurana is about the transformation a small town couple undergo as their individual tryst with the city of dreams - Mumbai, grows with time. Beautifully written, the play touches a chord deep within. Subtle and balanced performances by both Preetika Chawla and Anand Tiwari leave you imagining yourself in their shoes, setting you off on an introspective journey of your own. Anand Tiwari who earlier had played the role of a Tapori lamppost showed an interesting transformation in this piece. Small nuances like the slightly restrained and introvert body language and humility in speech added to the genuineness of the character. Good timing and well coordinated dialogues only enhanced the experience.
'Abodana' followed by 'Creado Constance' was simply wonderful for its unique content and a beautiful performance by Shernaz Patel. Written by Loanna Murray-Smith and directed by Arghya Lahiri, the piece dwells into the monotony and loneliness of a widow's life. While a lot happens nothing really happens to a widow. Until one day Creado who is a reader and has taken up the assignment to read to a handsome and blind young man realizes that she is drawn to more than just his light lime green eyes. She starts to feel alive in his company and does little things like buy a new dress to make herself happy. The thrust of pleasure and satisfaction she feels when the two make love speaks more of the dead silence of emotions in a widow's life. The single wooden chair, the streaming effect of light and Shernaz's narration make it one of the most memorable pieces of the evening.
Conversely the most hilarious piece for the evening was 'Dear Richard', written by Oliver Beale and directed by Nadir Khan. A man writes a rather disturbed letter to an Airline lamenting over the nature of food and beverages served in the flight. Rajit Kapur is so good in his rendering of every single word that the manner in which he speaks has the audience in splits. His body language and tone seemed effortless.
Finally the last two pieces for the evening- 'The Interogation' and 'Instant Behosh' were kind of disappointing. 'The Interrogation' written by Shiv Subhramanyam and directed by Rahul Da Cunha was complicated in content and had little support from the director or the actors in simplifying or deciphering the complications. A woman is ruthlessly interrogated about her identity, state of affairs, her own sanctity and a million other things. The style of acting of the two actors in the piece seemed poles apart, creating an aesthetic disharmony.
While Anu Menon seemed obdurate in her movements and chose to play the character inside out, Bugs Bharagava Krishna added a hint of stylization. Playing multiple characters and using innumerable props, his transition from one character to another was clumsy and it left the characters ambiguous. But although abstract in its approach, the narrative with its disjointed poetry got the audience to hang on to every word in it.
*Akanksha Gupta has a Master's Degree in Theatre Arts from Mumbai University. She is currently working with an advertising agency and enjoys photography
