JERUSALEM by Jez Butterworth at the Apollo Theatre, London, for a brilliant performance by actor and former artistic director of the Globe Theatre, Mark Rylance, and for the script. It might even seem Butterworth wrote the play for Rylance. His performance was literally a tour de force given his incredible physicality on stage, playing a man living on the fringe of society in a country that has forgotten its mythical tales and magic lore in its quest for development. As a play it was a damming comment on the struggle for human dignity.
Your favourite adda to see a play...
In Mumbai, Prithvi. I used to hang around there 15 years back, after I had finished college, and it's great to see it's still got a vibe to it. Don't seem so keen on the Irish coffee anymore though.
Your favourite playwright...
So many. Tennessee Williams, Shakespeare, Anton Chekhov, Vijay Tendulkar, Girish Karnad, pretty much top the list.
The most hilarious play you have ever seen...
HENRY IV - Part I at the Globe Theatre in London. HENRY IV was downright dirty, gritty, got the politics right � everything a Shakespeare play ought to be. I was rolling on the ground (except you have to stay standing in the Yard) with laughter. In India, we tend to focus so much on the language, that we forget the action and the story (except in Vishal Bharadwaj's films!). And Falstaff is truly one of the best characters I have seen on stage, and Roger Allam was brilliant in that role. Allam brought alive Shakespeare's remarkable observation of human nature masked in Falstaff's wit. Jamie Parker as Prince Hal too was a treat in Dominic Dromgoole's production.
A play, which is over-hyped...
THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES
An important play (but ignored)
MARAT/SADE by the German writer, Peter Weiss
A passage from an important play that you can recite...
Salome's final speech, from the play by Oscar Wilde
A play that changed your perception about theatre...
Footsbarn's production of ROMEO AND JULIET at Prithvi. The show was hilarious and I loved how the company played to the humour in the play rather than the tragedy. It made me realise you can read the same text in many different ways. And life as such too.
How do you regard the Mumbai theatre scene?
There are some good writers, but I am yet to see a play that makes me sit at the edge of my seat. I like to be disturbed. I like to see plays that break new ground. I like hearing stories that really get the pulse of the city we live in. I mean, where's the energy, the drive that makes Bombay what it is? You can feel it in the winds blowing. In the tensions between communities. In the way we negotiate sensitive topics even among friends. But not on stage. I worry that rather than the censor board, it's self-censorship. We make far more interesting films, especially low budget films. Having said that, I love the fact that there are so many young people keen on theatre here. Festivals like Thespo and Writer's Bloc are excellent initiatives to promote new work. I have heard of quite a few young writers and hope to see some of their work soon.
Can you think of a foreign production that you found remarkable? Why?
Since I have mentioned only foreign productions in the early questions, I�ll talk about an Indian production. FLOWERS by Girish Karnad. Directed by Roysten Abel, and performed by Rajit Kapur. Rajit Kapur was up on this platform that jutted out of the middle of the cyclorama. Below it was placed a large bowl with water that had flowers floating in it. He started the monologue standing and ending it sitting. That was the only movement in the entire play. It was such a passionate story, the desire and lust that a priest feels for a courtesan, and eventually after he uses the same flowers he used to adorn her body to decorate the idol in his temple, how he comes face to face with the wrath of the gods � and their mercy. Kapur's portrayal of the priest was understated, yet marked by the grand passions of desire and fear; Abel was cocky (pun intended) with his lighting.
Your favourite director/actor/music or set designer�
Actor: Mark Rylance. It's about the detailed work that went into his role in JERUSALEM, and the energy with which he performs that automatically sets the bar for what a performance should be.
Have you read any interesting books/articles concerning the theatre? Why did you find them interesting?
'Shakespeare, universal? No, it's cultural imperialism,� a comment by Emer O'Toole on the website- guardian.co.uk. It was in connection with the recent World Shakespeare Festival that brought productions of Shakespeare in different languages from different parts of the world to the Globe theatre in London. The author suggests that Shakespeare is popular not because it's Shakespeare but rather because English and English Literature were forced on the locals in the former British colonies. I do believe there is a certain truth to this view, and that it can even be applied in today's context. In an age where international organisations like the United Nations no longer allow countries to create empires by conquering other lands, education and culture (including the arts and theatre) are subtle yet effective modes of gaining power, because through these, you can impose your ideas, your views, and your opinions on others. That's why, even when countries like Britain and Japan reduce state funding for the arts at home in times of economic downturns or natural disasters, they continue to promote their cultural activities abroad. In a way, that's also the influence that the arts exert. That makes me smile.
Padma Damodaran
Which is the last best play you saw and why?
