Class of Life

Now,the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA),Mumbai,and Akvarious Productions have jointly produced a theatrical adaptation of the bestseller,which will be staged in Pune for the first time on Sunday. The play is jointly presented by JTPAC,a performing arts centre in Kochi,and SiLLy PoiNt Productions,Mumbai.

Its cast and crew comprise members of a single family,all of whom have been associated with the world of theatre in some way or the other. While Meera Khurana has directed the play,her husband Akash Khurana — a veteran actor,director and writer — plays the role of Morrie Schwartz. The character of Mitch Albom is being essayed by Adhaar,the couple’s younger son. Their elder son Akarsh is the stage and light designer and his wife Dilshad is the costume designer. The play opened in Mumbai in October 2012 and was staged in Bangalore in June this year.

Meera,who has been an educationist for three decades,says she was instantly able to connect with the book. “I read

it six years ago and the story of a student-teacher relationship struck a chord with me. It is something that people from all walks of life can relate to — whether

they have an ailing person in the family or are a part of the rat race for success or are guilty of taking their loved ones

for granted. It teaches you to be more human,” says the director,adding that it is not only tragic but extremely witty in parts. Tuesdays with Morrie is Meera’s third play; she has earlier staged The Mystery of the Pantomime Cat in 2009

and Rebecca in 2010.

The director says that working with family made her job easier as rehearsals got woven around the family’s daily routine. “Akash and Adhaar would rehearse their lines even while driving or casually sitting at home,” says Meera,adding that they still managed to have clear demarcations of professional and personal boundaries. “We dealt with each other with an open mind; a smooth give-and-take of inputs added to the output — the play,” she says.

For Akash,playing Morrie in two phases — one,when he is professor in college,and the second,when he falls ill and his health deteriorates gradually — became less challenging due to the framework defined by the script. The artiste,who was first seen in Shyam Benegal’s Kalyug,followed by playing strong character roles in films such as Saaransh,Naam and Sarfarosh.

“Morrie was something I hadn’t done before but then there is no right way of portraying a role,” says the actor,who has worked extensively with veterans such as Satyadev Dubey,Naseeruddin Shah and Sunil Shanbag. In the past,he has both directed and acted in plays by GB Shaw,Moliere,William Shakespeare,Harold Pinter and Samuel Beckett.

Tuesdays with Morrie will be staged on September 1 at Nehru Memorial Hall,7.30 pm onwards