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 Jyoti Vyas
Actor
[Gujarati Theatre ]
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 1. Which is the last best play you saw and why?
Habib Sahab�s RAJ-RAKT and Girish Karnad�s Bikhare Bimb. Since BIKHRE BIMB is more recent, I shall say something about it. Karnad�s work has one constant theme and that is the quandary of the mind and body as either perceived by another person or by one�s self. So far he has projected this contradiction through myth or folk tales but for the first time in BIKHRE BIMB he has made this dilemma real. Karnad�s characters often come across as complex human beings.
2. Your favourite adda to see a play�
Any where insomuch as the play being staged is good. I like Prithvi too.
3. Your favourite playwright�
Badal Sircar
4. Your favourite play-character�
Antigone
5. A play you would like to see filmed. Why?
None. I would love to see the play staged as a real good play. It should be able to have an electrifying appeal with each passing show. With repeat performances the actors grow along with the play and so does the audience.
6. A novel/short story you would like to see on stage? Why?
It depends on novel/ short story but if that novel/ short story has been adapted by a playwright then I would rather read his/her work as the playwright�s version would communicate his ideas for the adaptation.
7. The most hilarious play you have seen�
CHARANDAS CHOR by Habib Tanvir.
8. A play, which is over-hyped�
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT�S DREAM
9. An important play (but ignored):
No important play could have been ignored unless importance is solely measured by the number of shows!
10. A play character you would like to �dialogue� with�
A Girl whose body is burning at a funeral ground in Badal Sircar�s play PAGLA GHODA.
11. A passage from an important play that you can recite�
None as I have stopped acting for the last 8 years. But if I have to for an audition, I would recite Gandhari�s curse to Krishna and her remorse when Krishna accepts it- from the play ANDHAYUG.
12. A classical play that you should have read�
I have read whatever I have wanted to but I wish to read the Mahabharata unabridged. I did read the first volume and that ran for some 1000 pages!
13. A play that changed your perception about the theatre�
JASMA ODHAN BHAVAI VESH which got a contemporary interpretation under Shanta Gandhi�s direction. After four months of rehearsal we realized that theatre was much more than the mere give and take of lines. Dance, music, mime, painting and movement are capable of enhancing the production. Folk art if understood and practiced with contemporary interpretation that has an appeal and relevance can prove to be an amazing medium providing ample scope to creativity. The essence of theatre is a configuration of all the arts. After that production whenever I have come across actors moving their lips in sync with the recorded music, I feel cheated.
14. How do you regard the Mumbai theatre scene?
If you mean Gujarati theatre! Quantitative and quantitative alone, Hindi- part outstanding, part good, part average, and part filmy. Popular Marathi theatre I believe is too getting inclined towards more and more commercialism. In the last decade lots of Indian plays in English are emerging and that is heartening.
15. Have you read any interesting books/articles concerning the theatre? Why did you find them interesting?
Prassana�s �Derailment and After� in �Theatre India�, an NSD publication. Mr. Prassana has written about the changing theatre scene with the emergence of political ideology- narrowing down the Indian culture that became synonymous with religion and language and he has done that with utter honesty, objectivity and deep understanding. It gives a clear picture of the Indian theatre scene in the latter half of the last century.
16. If you have ever been a part of a theatre production/s, can you recall an event that was insightful, significant or simply humorous?
These events are humorous - was acting in Natya Sampada�s play BAANSHAIYA based on Whose Life Is It Anyway. The play was directed by Kanti Madia and Arvind Joshi was in the lead role. After completing some 30 days tour in Gujarat in winter, we were on the last leg and were to perform in Surat. (I was playing a role of a stern and strict doc who never laughs) and I had lost my voice. The whole day I tried but could not produce the slightest sound! I entered the stage, opened the sheet covering the plaster on Arvind Joshi�s leg and I saw the bold letters �Meri Aawaz Suno�. I could not control my laughter, I hurriedly took an exit and tried to control myself. Later I just could just not bear to look at Arvind who was all smiles! Contrary to this incident-I was in Delhi and was acting in Vijay Tendulkar�s GIDHADE. Kulbhushan Karbanda was playing the illegitimate son with a bare upper body. I was the good Bhabhi- and there was a scene where we had to embrace each other. My fellow artistes in the wings were whispering teasing remarks as they had betted to make me laugh. I of course did not allow them to succeed!
17. Can you think of a foreign production that you found remarkable? Why?
STOMP. The production was based on different objects producing rhythmic sounds. These objects ranged from a match box to drums and pots and pans in the kitchen. The team of six/ten artists dancing and jumping with various objects was such a compelling sight. After a standing ovation the audience was asked to repeat the variety of clapping sounds. I believe the production took years to be ready. The beauty was that there was no story, no emotions just the rhythm of the body movements and all sorts of sounds that readily engaged the audience.
18. Your favourite director/actor/music or set designer�
Saumya Joshi- poet and playwright is my favourite.
Music director is Uday Mazumdar as he has a feel and a sharp sense for literature and his music can interpret the drama and lend it dimensions.
19. Life in the theatre without the humble batata-wada or the cutting chai or if you please brownies that are snuggling chocolate bits� or can you recall the best gastronomic experience you�ve had in the precincts of the theatre to date?
Food is my last priority so anywhere a glass of tea is fine- may be after every hour or two!
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