DON JUAN COMES BACK FROM THE WAR Play Review

Richa Das	Host-A-Performance \| Schedule

Direction : Rehaan Engineer Writer : Odon Von Horvath Cast : Nisa Shetty, Kyla D souza, Puja Sarup, Shubhaavi Choksey, Janhvi Marathe

DON JUAN COMES BACK FROM THE WAR Review

Rehan Engineer's production of DON JUAN COMES BACK FROM THE WAR, a part of G5A's In Residence initiative, put together a star-studded ensemble for Odon von Horvath's play of the s,me name - chronicling the story of the fable of Don Juan. In the play, we witness the inner lives of women right after the war. The story of Don Juan's PTSD from the war is told from the eyes of the women who bore witness to it. Throughout the play, we see funny, curious, religious, disingenuous, and sincere reactions of women to the myth of Don Juan.

The production was delightfully modern, a suave prompter (played by Priyanka Charan) broke the fourth wall and guided the audiences from past to present. Arunoday Singh shines as the emotionally-distant Don Juan - painfully unaware of his insincerity. Scenes with Faezeh Jalali, Monica P. Mahendru, Shivani Tanksale and Rytasha Rathod were hilarious as they played the foolishly charmed posh women of post-war Europe. Malika Singh exudes a femme fatal-esque melancholy as one of Juan's many "distractions" on his way to rekindling an old romance.

The second act picks up with the arrival of onstage mother and daughter duo - Sukhita Aiyar and Pavani Mishra. Both the mother and the daughter appear to have been "seduced" by Don Juan - which builds into a thrilling end, as we learn the truth about what happened to the saint-like woman that Don Juan yearned for in his every affair. Kalki Koechlin leads the play into the ending with her captivating presence on stage as an old woman's wayward maid. Mansi Multani is endearing as the cabaret musician that sings to the audience in between scenes and during intervals. Her medley at the beginning excited audiences and kept them energized in between scenes. Her last song with the whole cast as the chorus was gut-wrenching - foregrounding the existential dread of the play.

If you are looking for a jazzy musical with a lot of humour and heart, DON JUAN COMES BACK FROM THE WAR would be an exhilarating choice.

Richa Das is a sub-editor by day and an avid theater enthusiast by night. You may find her lurking in the shadows of a proscenium arch near you!

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