Direction : Ujjwala Rao Cast : Balaji Manohar, Arundhati Nag, Amaan, Siri RaviKumar, Nisha Abdullah, Kafeel Jafri
THE MANY WAYS HOME Review
We are all familiar with writing letters. Something that we had to learn as part of our syllabus in our English course during our time in school; unfortunately, in the modern age with emails and text messages, it is a forgotten form. This production brought back to life a practice that is of the old days.
Less of a production and more of a safe space, The Many Ways Home is an experience like no other. Through real letters written by various individuals from different parts of the world at different phases in their lives, this reading captures what home means to an individual. Read in English, Kannada, and Hindi, each letter held so much more than just words; it held memories of all those who kept their lives alive through writing.
The idea or the concept of a home is something that we are all familiar with but one that we are unable to define clearly. Is home a person, a place, an object, a memory, a sound, or an experience that lives with us throughout our lives? Through this incredibly unique experience, the audience saw artists, seated in chairs, reading various letters.
A child talking to her mother about her favourite food, a customer complaining to a brand executive, a slave writing a letter to his former master, a scientist writing to her dead husband, and many more - all of these letters talk about life, love, relationships, forgiveness, redemption, acceptance, guilt, and so much more.
Some letters cross boundaries, some letters ask for forgiveness and understanding, and some just speak of the loneliness of a life devoid of their partner. All different in their own way, each letter spoke to the audience unlike any other performance. With a simple white background and paper planes strung from the ceiling, this was a different kind of experience.
Performing to a packed audience, there was constant laughter, applause, and tears as the letters were read, showing the power of words and the intimate nature of letter writing.
Supriya Rajnish is a writer, aspiring actor, and theatre lover deeply interested in the power of narratives and the immersive world of the arts.
