Journalism of Courage
A lone protagonist stands on the stage, reciting a poem that he had written on revolutionary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and Karna, one of the central figures in the Mahabharata, in his childhood. He is Sanket, a man full of ideas about resilience, perseverance, and sacrifice that have been inspired by the stories of the two heroes he has heard since childhood. But, what happens when Sanket confronts despair and dilemmas of his own?
The solo play, ‘Adhura’, to be performed by Bengaluru-based Our Theatre Collection at Sudarshan Rangmanch in Pune, Maharashtra, Sunday follows Sanket as he moves ahead in life and tries to relate his journey with that of Karna and Bhagat Singh. The conflict arises when the reasons behind his choices are not in sync with the choices that were in front of Karna and Bhagat Singh.
The play is derived from the personal stories of director Vivek Vijayakumaran, who also plays Sanket, and playwright Suranjay Patil. “We do face challenges because sometimes ideals can also feel rigid, and real-life situations can appear more complex than they appear. The play took birth with Suranjay Patil’s participation at Our Theatre Collective’s ‘Build Your Score’ theatre-making workshop, facilitated by Vijayakumaran in May 2019. The workshop culminated with a dramatised reading of a 10-minute text. Over the course of one year, we wrote this play,” says Vijayakumaran.
As the play developed organically, with the co-author also the performer, it has turned into an intimate theatre piece with a minimal setting even as it straddles multiple issues, such as migration and attitudes of young people who are politically vocal online but ambivalent about it. “We need to tap deeper into our empathy to determine our actions for ourselves and society at large,” says Vijayakumaran.
Vijayakumaran and his team are in Pune for their 27th show. They have performed the play in venues such as Bengaluru, Nagpur, Ajra (Kolhapur), Mathura, Noida, Mandi, Hamirpur, Palampur, and Kochi.
