Laugh and Learn

Clowning,love and Sufi music will come together in the play Romeo-Juliet and the Seven Clowns. Though adapted from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet,the script has evolved by the cast of the play through their experiences of “clowning and loving”.

A presentation of CEVA Repertory Company and Purple Mangoes and directed by Sukhmani Kohli,the premise of the play is that the clown is an essential part of the human soul. Kohli says through the clown,one can rediscover inner qualities of openness and spontaneity and be closest to one’s real,honest self when in love. “Clowning and loving have a lot in common. Clowning requires acceptance and so does loving,” says Kohli.

The play explores this juxtaposition of clowning and Romeo’s and Juliet’s love. In the Indian context,this kind of love can be related with Sufism,particularly with Bulleh Shah’s poetry,and so the play is facilitated by Shah’s songs.

The play will be staged on March 14 and 15 at Tagore Theatre at 7 pm.