Masking Emotions

Essentially a play for children,Pearl imbibes within itself the message of love and compassion for adults Close to 25-odd youngsters,ethnically unidentifiable,assume their positions in a hall, located in a quiet by-lane beside the busy Shivaji Market area. Once the choreographer shouts out the directions for a last time,a hushed silence overcomes the room. At the […]

Essentially a play for children,Pearl imbibes within itself the message of love and compassion for adults

Close to 25-odd youngsters,ethnically unidentifiable,assume their positions in a hall, located in a quiet by-lane beside the busy Shivaji Market area. Once the choreographer shouts out the directions for a last time,a hushed silence overcomes the room. At the other end,a boombox begins to play a tangy Goan Jive number and the inanimate dancers come to life. Some performing the steps gracefully,and others picking up the steps slowly to ensure optimum fluidity in the movements. While an outsider might feel lost on witnessing this scenario,for the 40 members of the SSU (Searching & Service in Unity) group,which is rehearsing for the play Pearl that is to be performed on September 23 and 24 at the Nehru Memorial Hall,it is just another day at the office.

The play,which will be staged for the benefit of the NGO Eklavya Nyasa,tells the story of princess Pearl who lives in the mythical land of Utopia who is fated to marry Prince Machismo of Moderno. The princess,however is in love with a simple village shepherd boy and wishes to marry him. While the story is essentially a fairy tale it is composed in the form of a Broadway musical with the characters singing and dancing to a total of nine songs in the play. Speaking more on the theme Fr. Cyril Desbruslais SJ,the founder of SSU,and the writer of the play says,We had performed the play for the first time in 2001,but since the music and songs back then did not reflect the true message of the play,the idea was lost. Hence,after making a couple of minor changes to the script,and revamping the songs and dances completely,we will be presenting it in its new avatar now.

The play,in addition,also consists of scheming villains,snooty chaperones,talking birds and animals. On a different level,the play has a very post-modernism feel to it with the characters frequently asking questions,and conversing with,the audience. More importantly,the play deals with the idea that if you love someone truly,then the only way of receiving love from the person you love is by shedding all masks and showcasing one’s true self, says Shrabosti Chowdhury,who plays the character of Princess Pearl in the play.

And even though there is a running script in the play,the songs in the play range from Salsa,Jive,Jazz,Rap to Classical Rock anthems. Dean Lobo,who is the president of the SSU and has composed the music for it,says,Of the nine songs,we have written and given the score for seven . The other two are taken from original soundtracks but have been sung by us. And completing the Broadway theme are the dances that have been choreographed by one of the members,Nikita Patel,who heads the dance department. We worked in close tandem with the music department so that we could synchronise the dance and the music in order to ensure that the performers could emote the emotions of the characters properly, she says.

(The play will be staged at 6.30 pm at the Nehru Memorial Hall,on September 23 and 24)

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theatre