Summary : Interesting. Thought-provoking. Witty / cynical / tongue-in-cheek. Definitely worth a watch.
Those who want to know more can read on.
‘All Thieves’ is produced by ‘Motley’, with Denzel Smith, Heeba Shah, Imaad Shah, and Ankur Vikal as the cast. ‘All Thieves’ is not one full-length play, but a collection of seven short stories. Four of these are borrowed from Italo Calvino (‘The Black Sheep’, ‘Making Do’, ‘Good For Nothing’ and ‘Conscience’), and the rest from Haruki Murakami, Mohan Rakesh and Kamtanath.
A wide variety of themes are explored in these stories - love, marriage, people’s reactions to authority, outliers creating disorder where there was order (of a kind), the reason for being part of a war etc. Some of the stories are a wry and cynical look at social phenomena, while some twist an aspect of common happenings and then humourously focus on them. The dialogue is crisp and the denouement swift in most pieces.
Apart from an economy of words, the play also uses props sparsely; mostly minimal furniture, and in one story, a blackboard used well for maximum effect. The background score comprises some really good music, ranging from the song 'Bombshell Baby of Bombay' from an obscure Hindi movie called ‘Ek Phool Chaar Kaante’ to 'Everybody Knows' by Leonard Cohen and lots of jazz / blues.
I could feel my attention wandering during the two Hindi pieces and feel these would have benefited from tighter editing. Other than this, I have no quibbles with the play and thoroughly enjoyed it. The pieces written by Italo Calvino, in particular, were my favourites and I have decided that this is one author/playwright I must read in future.
By,
Zenobia D. Driver
(p.s. Links to two of the songs below :
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/music/compilations/s/album.9035/
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/l/leonard+cohen/everybody+knows_20082809.html)
(p.p.s Link to a review of the play that expresses an opinion different from mine -
http://www.timeoutmumbai.net/theatre/theatre_details.asp?code=182&source=1)
Showing posts with label plays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label plays. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Review of 'Jazz'
The first production by Denzil Smith’s ‘Stagesmith’, ‘Jazz’is a bittersweet peek into the lives of the Goan musicians in Mumbai a few decades ago. Directed by Etienne Coutinho, penned by Ramu Ramanathan and researched by Naresh Fernandes, it is a thoroughly enjoyable play, one that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys witty dialogue, dark humour and good music. I watched it last Sunday and the entire audience loved the play, gave it a standing ovation and just wouldn’t stop clapping !
With a moniker like ‘Jazz’, the play would have fallen flat had it not had really lovely music – the music by Merlin D’Souza left me wanting more. While some reviewers have critiqued the use of popish ‘smooth’ jazz, I felt that this added to the enjoyment of the lay audience (such as myself) and made many of us keen to hear more of such music.
Through the story of a Jazz musician’s life, the play sketches the life of Goan and Anglo-Indian musicians during the 50s-70s, their assimilation into Bombay, life on the fringes of the Hindi film industry and exploitation therein, a hand-to-mouth existence endured for the sake of their music. The musician who is the pivot of the play is not an entirely nice or likeable character – he is a womaniser, uses bad language, doesn’t have too many friends, but he is true to his music, the music that was “Invented by the devil for the torture of the saints.”
The entire story is related – mostly in verse – by this musician to a young boy who comes to him to learn to play the saxophone. The verse is engrossing and has an unusual flavour to it - sardonic, witty, humourous, keeping pace with and matching mood and sound with the music playing in the background.
‘Bugs’ Bhargava Krishna was brilliant in the role of the old down-on-his-luck musician - the raspy voice, the accent, the quivering fingers, the slight limp and most of all, the passion in his voice and his body language when he spoke of music. There was rhythm in his dialogue delivery and in the jerky, not – entirely - smooth movement of his limbs when he spoke of music or delivered lines to the accompaniment of music playing in the background. He portrayed the old musician perfectly; there was energy in his performance - zany, eccentric, excited, manic, doomed, fizzing – like the diwali chakri careening madly in circles until the very last spark has been extinguished.
Rhys D’ Souza, who plays this musician’s student, couldn’t come close in terms of acting, but he was awesome on the saxophone. It was great to hear such good live music integrated into a play. A real treat !
There was minimal use of props on stage – the play was carried on the able shoulders of ‘Bugs’ Bhargava, with support from Rhys D’ Souza. Part of the story was told through pre-recorded video clips projected on screen which had his friends, family and lovers telling their version of his life. I felt some of these clips could have been cut without losing too much from the story - especially the ones with all the women, those with his former cronies added far more.
A nice touch was the weaving of bits of Bombay history into the story - almost as a footnote, a mention of Frances Almeida, the captain of the first Portugese ship to sail into Bombay. Of course, there were lots of references to the clubs popular during the 1950s-1970s, the popular artists who played there etc. The exhibition of posters outside the theatre added to one’s enjoyment by adding context to some of the names and happenings one heard the musician refer to on stage.
Some questions that I pondered over after the play :
Where has Bhargava Krishna been all this time ? I remember seeing him in a play or two, but these are few and far between.
Why have I not listened to more Jazz music ? Anyone reader who has heard a lot of jazz, please guide me to some simple, ‘popish’ jazz artist that I could start listening to before moving on to more intricate, complicated stuff.
Does any of you readers know anyone in the group ‘Stagesmith’ ? I want a list of numbers that made up the background score to this play. Alternately, if anyone knows enough and recognized which tunes were played, please let me know.
Where in Mumbai does one go to listen to Jazz played live ? (Incidentally, there is a chance to do so this weekend, please check this link a friend forwarded to me)
Will end by leaving you with this wry comment on the audience for Jazz music by Billy Collins in the poem ‘The Many Faces of Jazz’.
Zenobia D. Driver
With a moniker like ‘Jazz’, the play would have fallen flat had it not had really lovely music – the music by Merlin D’Souza left me wanting more. While some reviewers have critiqued the use of popish ‘smooth’ jazz, I felt that this added to the enjoyment of the lay audience (such as myself) and made many of us keen to hear more of such music.
Through the story of a Jazz musician’s life, the play sketches the life of Goan and Anglo-Indian musicians during the 50s-70s, their assimilation into Bombay, life on the fringes of the Hindi film industry and exploitation therein, a hand-to-mouth existence endured for the sake of their music. The musician who is the pivot of the play is not an entirely nice or likeable character – he is a womaniser, uses bad language, doesn’t have too many friends, but he is true to his music, the music that was “Invented by the devil for the torture of the saints.”
The entire story is related – mostly in verse – by this musician to a young boy who comes to him to learn to play the saxophone. The verse is engrossing and has an unusual flavour to it - sardonic, witty, humourous, keeping pace with and matching mood and sound with the music playing in the background.
‘Bugs’ Bhargava Krishna was brilliant in the role of the old down-on-his-luck musician - the raspy voice, the accent, the quivering fingers, the slight limp and most of all, the passion in his voice and his body language when he spoke of music. There was rhythm in his dialogue delivery and in the jerky, not – entirely - smooth movement of his limbs when he spoke of music or delivered lines to the accompaniment of music playing in the background. He portrayed the old musician perfectly; there was energy in his performance - zany, eccentric, excited, manic, doomed, fizzing – like the diwali chakri careening madly in circles until the very last spark has been extinguished.
Rhys D’ Souza, who plays this musician’s student, couldn’t come close in terms of acting, but he was awesome on the saxophone. It was great to hear such good live music integrated into a play. A real treat !
There was minimal use of props on stage – the play was carried on the able shoulders of ‘Bugs’ Bhargava, with support from Rhys D’ Souza. Part of the story was told through pre-recorded video clips projected on screen which had his friends, family and lovers telling their version of his life. I felt some of these clips could have been cut without losing too much from the story - especially the ones with all the women, those with his former cronies added far more.
A nice touch was the weaving of bits of Bombay history into the story - almost as a footnote, a mention of Frances Almeida, the captain of the first Portugese ship to sail into Bombay. Of course, there were lots of references to the clubs popular during the 1950s-1970s, the popular artists who played there etc. The exhibition of posters outside the theatre added to one’s enjoyment by adding context to some of the names and happenings one heard the musician refer to on stage.
Some questions that I pondered over after the play :
Where has Bhargava Krishna been all this time ? I remember seeing him in a play or two, but these are few and far between.
Why have I not listened to more Jazz music ? Anyone reader who has heard a lot of jazz, please guide me to some simple, ‘popish’ jazz artist that I could start listening to before moving on to more intricate, complicated stuff.
Does any of you readers know anyone in the group ‘Stagesmith’ ? I want a list of numbers that made up the background score to this play. Alternately, if anyone knows enough and recognized which tunes were played, please let me know.
Where in Mumbai does one go to listen to Jazz played live ? (Incidentally, there is a chance to do so this weekend, please check this link a friend forwarded to me)
Will end by leaving you with this wry comment on the audience for Jazz music by Billy Collins in the poem ‘The Many Faces of Jazz’.
Zenobia D. Driver
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Request to 'Motley'
In the last few weeks, I have watched two plays by the ‘Motley’ group – ‘Ismat Apa Ke Naam’ and ‘Prophet’, which have been a rendition of the author’s work without much change in the language as the author wrote it. Both plays seemed to go down rather well with the audience, which leads me to wonder why the ‘Motley’ group doesn’t do a pure poetry-reading session. I think it would be great to hear Naseeruddin Shah, Benjamin Gilani and Ratna Pathak Shah delivering poems (reciting seems a childish and inappropriate word to use in this context). To make it more interesting, they could select poems based on a theme, wherein each poem could take the thread of a story forward.
For instance, let’s take the theme of love (not the platonic variety), attraction, lust etc and all the myriad emotional hues that surround these.
Imagine Naseer trying to woo Ratna with the poem 'To His Coy Mistress' by Andrew Marvell. Once he ends, the lady could, in a scornful aside to the audience, recite the first verse of 'Bloody Men !' (by Wendy Cope) – ‘Bloody Men are like Bloody Buses / You wait for about a year / And as soon as one approaches your stop / Two or three others appear’. Then she could look down her nose at Naseer and proceed to mock his protestation of love (?) through the words of 'His Coy Mistress to Mr. Marvell' before exiting the stage. After the lady exits the stage, the gentleman could ruefully enact 'The Time I've Lost in Wooing'. No audience would find poetry boring if they saw the duo enact these – they bring the right blend of mischief and elegance to the stage, as anyone who has watched ‘Dear Liar’ can testify.
There could be a couple of disinterested bystanders who could give their sound-bytes on the nature of love once the couple has left the stage. One, mocks the lovers in the words of D. H. Lawrence as detailed in 'True Love at Last'. Another, a hypocritical, sanctimonious type, shown in true colours in the poem 'True Love'.
The latter poem, somehow reminds me of those who protest against Valentine’s Day by taking out morchas, ransacking shops and harassing couples. While I agree that Valentine’s Day is a fraud perpetuated by Hallmark, Archies and other companies, I feel that these louts are a much greater menace to society than lovesick young un’s wandering around with soppy expressions and red roses. In fact, maybe these two poems and a few more that you, generous reader, will bring to my notice, could be better utilized to highlight the hypocrisy of society’s moral police in a separate set. Imagine a store, bells chiming as some couples enter, fluffy red hearts with white frilly lace on the edges (how disgusting they look!) in the windows, heart shaped chocolates, pink flowery greeting cards etc – the typical Archies / Hallmark store in fact. And our two friends, Mr. Superior and Mr. Sanctimonious, leading a morcha outside. ‘True Love At Last’, mocks Mr. Superior. ‘True Love’, rants ‘Mr. Sanctimonious.’ And with what poems shall they be answered ? I know not. It is yours to decide, good (i.e. one who will save me from further effort) reader.
More hues of love. Imagine Irrfan Khan (yes, I know he is not a part of ‘Motley’, but this is a blog, and one can hope) reciting 'My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun', in the same casual, matter-of-fact tone he uses in the Hutch ads. And Benjamin Gilani reciting 'They Say' and 'To My Wife - With A Copy of My Poems'.
And the sad, bitter, cynical poems too. One marvelous one I would select is by Steely Dan - 'Things I miss the most', there could be someone reading it out with the music playing in the background. A poem with a different tone, 'Threnody' by Dorothy Parker. Somewhat similar, 'The Tree of Song' by Sara Teasdale.
p.s. I hope that the outlines I have described above, bare though they are, succeed in motivating you to click on the links and read the poems – they are really interesting ones. Also, if you can think of more poems to add depth and detail to the scenario, do write a comment.
p.p.s. The second theme I can think of is anti-establishmentarianism – think ‘August 1968’ and ‘Epitaph on a Tyrant’ by W.H. Auden. A post on that follows soon.
Awaiting comments,
Zenobia D. Driver
For instance, let’s take the theme of love (not the platonic variety), attraction, lust etc and all the myriad emotional hues that surround these.
Imagine Naseer trying to woo Ratna with the poem 'To His Coy Mistress' by Andrew Marvell. Once he ends, the lady could, in a scornful aside to the audience, recite the first verse of 'Bloody Men !' (by Wendy Cope) – ‘Bloody Men are like Bloody Buses / You wait for about a year / And as soon as one approaches your stop / Two or three others appear’. Then she could look down her nose at Naseer and proceed to mock his protestation of love (?) through the words of 'His Coy Mistress to Mr. Marvell' before exiting the stage. After the lady exits the stage, the gentleman could ruefully enact 'The Time I've Lost in Wooing'. No audience would find poetry boring if they saw the duo enact these – they bring the right blend of mischief and elegance to the stage, as anyone who has watched ‘Dear Liar’ can testify.
There could be a couple of disinterested bystanders who could give their sound-bytes on the nature of love once the couple has left the stage. One, mocks the lovers in the words of D. H. Lawrence as detailed in 'True Love at Last'. Another, a hypocritical, sanctimonious type, shown in true colours in the poem 'True Love'.
The latter poem, somehow reminds me of those who protest against Valentine’s Day by taking out morchas, ransacking shops and harassing couples. While I agree that Valentine’s Day is a fraud perpetuated by Hallmark, Archies and other companies, I feel that these louts are a much greater menace to society than lovesick young un’s wandering around with soppy expressions and red roses. In fact, maybe these two poems and a few more that you, generous reader, will bring to my notice, could be better utilized to highlight the hypocrisy of society’s moral police in a separate set. Imagine a store, bells chiming as some couples enter, fluffy red hearts with white frilly lace on the edges (how disgusting they look!) in the windows, heart shaped chocolates, pink flowery greeting cards etc – the typical Archies / Hallmark store in fact. And our two friends, Mr. Superior and Mr. Sanctimonious, leading a morcha outside. ‘True Love At Last’, mocks Mr. Superior. ‘True Love’, rants ‘Mr. Sanctimonious.’ And with what poems shall they be answered ? I know not. It is yours to decide, good (i.e. one who will save me from further effort) reader.
More hues of love. Imagine Irrfan Khan (yes, I know he is not a part of ‘Motley’, but this is a blog, and one can hope) reciting 'My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun', in the same casual, matter-of-fact tone he uses in the Hutch ads. And Benjamin Gilani reciting 'They Say' and 'To My Wife - With A Copy of My Poems'.
And the sad, bitter, cynical poems too. One marvelous one I would select is by Steely Dan - 'Things I miss the most', there could be someone reading it out with the music playing in the background. A poem with a different tone, 'Threnody' by Dorothy Parker. Somewhat similar, 'The Tree of Song' by Sara Teasdale.
p.s. I hope that the outlines I have described above, bare though they are, succeed in motivating you to click on the links and read the poems – they are really interesting ones. Also, if you can think of more poems to add depth and detail to the scenario, do write a comment.
p.p.s. The second theme I can think of is anti-establishmentarianism – think ‘August 1968’ and ‘Epitaph on a Tyrant’ by W.H. Auden. A post on that follows soon.
Awaiting comments,
Zenobia D. Driver
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Review of 'Prophet'
A faithful reproduction of the book, with Naseeruddin Shah’s enactment making the parable more approachable somehow. The plot device – of a patient in a hospital telling the story to a child in the same hospital – works and resembles the parable in some sections. Mr. Shah’s acting and dialogue delivery were brilliant as usual; am beginning to appreciate that actors put as much thought into how to utter each word - the pitch, enunciation, tone etc – as singers do.
I enjoyed the play more than the book, think I understood more too. However, the play is naught but a reproduction of the book, so if you disliked the book, or if you like plays with action on the stage, you would be better off giving this one a miss.
By,
Zenobia D. Driver
I enjoyed the play more than the book, think I understood more too. However, the play is naught but a reproduction of the book, so if you disliked the book, or if you like plays with action on the stage, you would be better off giving this one a miss.
By,
Zenobia D. Driver
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Review of 'Ismat Apa Ke Naam'
‘Ismat Apa Ke Naam’ is the enactment of three stories written by celebrated and controversial author Ismat Chughtai. The stories are set in middle-class Muslim homes in U.P.
Though Motley prefers to call the staging of ‘Ismat Apa Ke Naam’ a story-telling session, I will nevertheless call it an enactment. Though only one actor was on stage in each story, telling the story in the same words as penned by the author, with minimal usage of props, the experience was far richer and more entertaining than any story-telling session I can think of.
The first, ‘Chhui Mui’, enacted by Heeba Shah, is a story told through the eyes of a young girl observing events in her Bhabhi’s life. It contrasts the difficulty her rich, spoilt Bhabhi has in giving birth to a child with the calm and dignified manner in which an unknown poor woman gives birth to her baby in a train compartment.
The second story, ‘Mughal Bachha’, enacted by Ratna Pathak Shah, tells the story of beautiful young Gori Bi who is married to a proud and headstrong youth Kale Miyan. The story gently pokes fun at the successors of the Mughals at the time the glorious days Mughal Empire were over, their lifestyle, their extravagant habits and their descent into penury. It also describes the unusual relationship between Gori Bi and Kale Miyan.
The third story, ‘Gharwali’, enacted by Naeeruddin Shah, was the best of the three. The story explores the nature of the man-woman relationship, marriage, the status of women etc. With sufficient doses of social satire, drama and earthy humour – which in these days merely seems midly risqué, but in the 1940s must have whipped up a storm, this story had the audience engrossed throughout. Never a moment of boredom, Naseeruddin in the roles of the carefree, spirited maidservant Lajjo, the nervous old bachelor Mirza and various other minor characters was nothing short of brilliant.
A great set of three plays, definitely worth watching; in fact, one of those plays that must not be missed. Though I have not read any of Ismat Chughtai’s work so far, the play makes me want to read some of these stories.
By,
Zenobia D. Driver
Though Motley prefers to call the staging of ‘Ismat Apa Ke Naam’ a story-telling session, I will nevertheless call it an enactment. Though only one actor was on stage in each story, telling the story in the same words as penned by the author, with minimal usage of props, the experience was far richer and more entertaining than any story-telling session I can think of.
The first, ‘Chhui Mui’, enacted by Heeba Shah, is a story told through the eyes of a young girl observing events in her Bhabhi’s life. It contrasts the difficulty her rich, spoilt Bhabhi has in giving birth to a child with the calm and dignified manner in which an unknown poor woman gives birth to her baby in a train compartment.
The second story, ‘Mughal Bachha’, enacted by Ratna Pathak Shah, tells the story of beautiful young Gori Bi who is married to a proud and headstrong youth Kale Miyan. The story gently pokes fun at the successors of the Mughals at the time the glorious days Mughal Empire were over, their lifestyle, their extravagant habits and their descent into penury. It also describes the unusual relationship between Gori Bi and Kale Miyan.
The third story, ‘Gharwali’, enacted by Naeeruddin Shah, was the best of the three. The story explores the nature of the man-woman relationship, marriage, the status of women etc. With sufficient doses of social satire, drama and earthy humour – which in these days merely seems midly risqué, but in the 1940s must have whipped up a storm, this story had the audience engrossed throughout. Never a moment of boredom, Naseeruddin in the roles of the carefree, spirited maidservant Lajjo, the nervous old bachelor Mirza and various other minor characters was nothing short of brilliant.
A great set of three plays, definitely worth watching; in fact, one of those plays that must not be missed. Though I have not read any of Ismat Chughtai’s work so far, the play makes me want to read some of these stories.
By,
Zenobia D. Driver
Sunday, May 18, 2008
'Motley' Festival at Prithvi Theatre this month
Naseeruddin Shah is one actor who is a treat to watch – whether on stage or in a movie, and this month Prithvi has a sumptuous feast in store for me and all his other fans. The second half of May sees many of the ‘Motley’ group’s plays being performed at Prithvi. Unfortunately, I missed ‘Dear Liar’ and ‘Manto Ismat Hazir Hain’ which were staged last week, but am hoping to watch the others.
The schedule for the rest of the month is as follows :
18th and 19th May – Ismat Apa Ke Naam (I managed to watch this yesterday and will be posting a review soon)
20th May – Katha Collage Part 2
21st and 22nd May – Antigone
23rd May – Kothri No. 42
(Note : Naseeruddin Shah is not acting in Katha Collage Part 2 and Kothri No. 42)
‘Dear Liar’ is an adorable comedy centred on the relationship between the playwright George Bernard Shaw and Mrs. Patricia Campbell. Both Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah turn in great performances as they tell the love story through the medium of reading the letters exchanged between Mr. Shaw and Mrs. Campbell. Apart from the great acting and witty dialogues, I enjoyed listening to a rare, pure form of English being spoken with perfect diction. (One of the reasons I love watching plays staged by ‘Motley’ is for the sheer pleasure of listening to the language – be it Urdu, English or Hindi. Am sure I would have got either bored or frustrated ploughing through the same stories in text form, but the plays bring them alive and make the language approachable and fun.) A play I thoroughly enjoyed watching last year and one that I want to watch a second time. Unfortunately, I did not book tickets in time to catch last week’s show, but am hoping that it will be staged again soon.
‘Manto Ismat Hazir Hain’ and ‘Ismat Apa Ke Naam’ are both plays I have heard a lot about. I watched ‘Ismat Apa Ke Naam’ yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it. I shall not write more about in this post – separate review follows.
Jean Anouilh’s ‘Antigone’ is an adaptation of Sophocles’ play by the same title, adapted once more for current performances by Satyadev Dubey. The story revolves around 16 year old Antigone, a brave, idealistic, reckless young girl who defies King Creon, who is also her uncle. An interesting story, it explored the concepts of power/authority and individual will, the changes wrought by power on the person wielding it, and the struggle between the establishment and those ranged against it. Power-packed performances by the trio of Naseeruddin Shah*, Ratna Pathak Shah** and Benjamin Gilani. Benjamin Gilani plays the narrator in this play and (in my humble opinion) he has some of the best lines in the soliloquies he delivers.
*Why wasn’t his name shorter ? It is a pain to type over and over again, but I feel calling him Naseer – even in a blog post – would be sheer impertinence.
**I did not find Ranta Pathak Shah’s age an impediment in essaying the role of 16 year old Antigone
By,
Zenobia D. Driver
The schedule for the rest of the month is as follows :
18th and 19th May – Ismat Apa Ke Naam (I managed to watch this yesterday and will be posting a review soon)
20th May – Katha Collage Part 2
21st and 22nd May – Antigone
23rd May – Kothri No. 42
(Note : Naseeruddin Shah is not acting in Katha Collage Part 2 and Kothri No. 42)
‘Dear Liar’ is an adorable comedy centred on the relationship between the playwright George Bernard Shaw and Mrs. Patricia Campbell. Both Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah turn in great performances as they tell the love story through the medium of reading the letters exchanged between Mr. Shaw and Mrs. Campbell. Apart from the great acting and witty dialogues, I enjoyed listening to a rare, pure form of English being spoken with perfect diction. (One of the reasons I love watching plays staged by ‘Motley’ is for the sheer pleasure of listening to the language – be it Urdu, English or Hindi. Am sure I would have got either bored or frustrated ploughing through the same stories in text form, but the plays bring them alive and make the language approachable and fun.) A play I thoroughly enjoyed watching last year and one that I want to watch a second time. Unfortunately, I did not book tickets in time to catch last week’s show, but am hoping that it will be staged again soon.
‘Manto Ismat Hazir Hain’ and ‘Ismat Apa Ke Naam’ are both plays I have heard a lot about. I watched ‘Ismat Apa Ke Naam’ yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it. I shall not write more about in this post – separate review follows.
Jean Anouilh’s ‘Antigone’ is an adaptation of Sophocles’ play by the same title, adapted once more for current performances by Satyadev Dubey. The story revolves around 16 year old Antigone, a brave, idealistic, reckless young girl who defies King Creon, who is also her uncle. An interesting story, it explored the concepts of power/authority and individual will, the changes wrought by power on the person wielding it, and the struggle between the establishment and those ranged against it. Power-packed performances by the trio of Naseeruddin Shah*, Ratna Pathak Shah** and Benjamin Gilani. Benjamin Gilani plays the narrator in this play and (in my humble opinion) he has some of the best lines in the soliloquies he delivers.
*Why wasn’t his name shorter ? It is a pain to type over and over again, but I feel calling him Naseer – even in a blog post – would be sheer impertinence.
**I did not find Ranta Pathak Shah’s age an impediment in essaying the role of 16 year old Antigone
By,
Zenobia D. Driver
Friday, May 16, 2008
Review of 'Wedding Album' - a play by Girish Karnad
I have seen three plays written by Girish Karnad. The first play I saw, which was the second play written by Girish Karnad - 'A heap of broken Images' ('Odakallu Bimba' in the Kannada original and 'Bikhre Bimb' in the Hindi version), was refreshing and different - both in terms of content and the audio-visual props used to take the story forward. It kept one engaged throughout, and each of the themes explored gave one food for though, nay, provoked thought and discussion. ‘ A Heap of Broken Images’ was followed by 'Flowers' which also had a theme that was different (almost weird, actually), yet it failed to keep one as engrossed as 'Heap of Broken Images' did - in spite of an innovative set arrangement and Rajat Kapoor.
Hence I went to watch ‘Wedding Album’ with the expectation that it would be something different - if nothing else, at least the theme would be handled in a different, innovative manner. Which I think is the root cause of my disappointment with the play. The play seemed quite mundane - there were some moments of humour and irony, but barring those the play just seemed like a slightly-more-realistic version of a soap on TV. The biting social commentary of 'Heap of Broken Images' or the introspection of 'Flowers' were both absent in 'Wedding Album'.
The beginning - the video made by the young girl’s family for her groom in America to view – seemed promising, but the rest of the play did not live up to it. Part of the reason may be that some nuances of dialogue were lost in translation from the original written in Konkani. Another was that the acting did not measure up to that in ‘A Heap of Broken Images’ or ‘Flowers’. But the main reason was that the play just did not hang together.
Some of the characters were stereotypes, but it wasn’t very clear whether their depiction was intended to mirror reality or to mock it. There weren’t insights into a character’s behaviour, their decision-making process etc, yet there were plenty of situations which required explanations. In a way, I guess, the play faltered under the burden of too many issues being focused on, too many questions raised. There were just too many disparate strands which faltered midway, were abandoned thereafter and did not merge into one fluid plot-line – for instance, the elder sister ignoring her daughter, or the irony of the young man in America wanting a traditional Indian wife and selecting one who seems traditional but actually is not.
In conclusion, a play I would not recommend, especially to anyone who has already seen ‘A Heap of Broken Images’. Wait for Girish Karnad’s next one instead.
By,
Zenobia D. Driver
Hence I went to watch ‘Wedding Album’ with the expectation that it would be something different - if nothing else, at least the theme would be handled in a different, innovative manner. Which I think is the root cause of my disappointment with the play. The play seemed quite mundane - there were some moments of humour and irony, but barring those the play just seemed like a slightly-more-realistic version of a soap on TV. The biting social commentary of 'Heap of Broken Images' or the introspection of 'Flowers' were both absent in 'Wedding Album'.
The beginning - the video made by the young girl’s family for her groom in America to view – seemed promising, but the rest of the play did not live up to it. Part of the reason may be that some nuances of dialogue were lost in translation from the original written in Konkani. Another was that the acting did not measure up to that in ‘A Heap of Broken Images’ or ‘Flowers’. But the main reason was that the play just did not hang together.
Some of the characters were stereotypes, but it wasn’t very clear whether their depiction was intended to mirror reality or to mock it. There weren’t insights into a character’s behaviour, their decision-making process etc, yet there were plenty of situations which required explanations. In a way, I guess, the play faltered under the burden of too many issues being focused on, too many questions raised. There were just too many disparate strands which faltered midway, were abandoned thereafter and did not merge into one fluid plot-line – for instance, the elder sister ignoring her daughter, or the irony of the young man in America wanting a traditional Indian wife and selecting one who seems traditional but actually is not.
In conclusion, a play I would not recommend, especially to anyone who has already seen ‘A Heap of Broken Images’. Wait for Girish Karnad’s next one instead.
By,
Zenobia D. Driver
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