Humour,they say,is the best antidote for a sullen heart. From Shakespeare's celebrated comedies to Anton Chekov's full length plays,the appeal of good humour has spread across generations. One such acclaimed humorous play in English literature is Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. It has continued to tickle the audience through the 115 years of its existence. The character of John Worthing,subtleties of Algernon Moncrieff and the portrayal of the dark side by Lady Bracknell - every bit of it makes for memorable literature. Trying to capture the same,Marathi Theatre group Rangakarmi will be staging a Marathi adaption of the play. Directed and adapted by Shrinivas Joshi,the play,titled Satyasheel Khare Ki Khote?,is an attempt at giving Wilde's genius a local fabric by keeping intact its original nature. Shares Joshi,Earlier,there were only two translations in Marathi,which were not very successful. I think the audience is more ready for such a play now because society has changed a lot since then. People have become more receptive. Joshi,who has written popular plays like Aamdar Saubhagyawati and Gathi-bethi,feels that though adapting the play has been an enjoyable experience,it posed a few challenges too. I think the biggest challenge was to find a substitute for the Victorian English that Wilde has used in the play. Here,I had to use very formal Marathi which was equally difficult to mould into the dialogues of the characters. Secondly,drawing a parallel in the Indian context was a little tough but we have managed to show the cultural differences of the characters,while keeping the original feel, he says. So while Oscar Wilde's play has the main actor hailing from London and the other from the countryside,Joshi has tried to create the parallel by including the Mumbai-Pune angle. He has also shortened the play to a two act play from the original three acts. The actors are all passionate about drama and have tried to capture Wilde's sensibilities. So while Anjali Dharu is playing the part of the impressive Aunt Augusta,Pushkaraj Chirputkar is John Worthing. Other important characters are being played by Aniket Mhetre,Milind Shintre,Jyoti Makashe,Rekha Thakur,Shruti Utturkar and Ashutosh Wadekar. The music is by Narendra Bhide while the stage production is being looked after by Atul Patwardhan and Siddharth Joshi. Shruti Utturkar,who is essaying the role of a teacher,says,I feel this play is set to give a different direction to Marathi plays. The humour has a very cultured tone to it. Though we have had very farcical plays in the past,this one promises to be something unusual. Echoing a similar sentiment is Pushkaraj Chirputkar. I have been in theatre for the past seven years and have done a combination of humour,slapstick and even serious roles. But this play gives a different feel to other comedy plays. Playing John Worthington has been a challenge because the social commentary that the character does in the play needed to come out really well. John is a mixed character he is cynic and finds excuses to enjoy life,he is intelligent but genuine as far as emotions are concerned. To bring that out,I needed to be John,convincingly. In all,it has been a good experience. And so as one awaits this play,it sure feels like a laughter riot is on its way. (The first show of the play will be staged at Bal Gandharav Rang Mandir on October 28 at 9.30 pm)
