2 min read
Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.
Premium
This is an archive article published on December 20, 2011
Why so Serious?
Ten clowns with a musical instrument each dole out lessons in coexistence in the play,Infinite Stupidity.
Earlier this year,as a merciless sun beat down on central Delhi,actor-director Ashwath Bhatt found himself squashed in an auto with 12 other commuters. With a shuddering jerk,the auto came to a stop,and the dozen people erupted through the little door in one grand explosion. Even before he caught his breath,Bhatt,one of Indias few theatre clowns,was hit by the idea of his next performance. He decided to name the next play,Infinite Stupidity.
The hour-long performance,which will be staged in Delhi this month,features 10 clowns playing different musical instruments. As the sounds of guitars,violins and ghungroos converge in a symphony,Bhatt makes his point about harmony in diversity. The play has no linear narrative,and the clowns on their instruments make up most of the action. Like each instrument has its music,each person has his own language and,despite this diversity,we manage to coexist, he explains.
Fittingly,the 10 performing clowns,including Bhatt,are from different parts of India and from different professions. When I was on that auto,I realised that it was just a microcosm of the pandemonium that exists in our country, says the 35-year-old artiste.
In theatre,unlike in circus,clowning evokes emotions like sorrow and pathos as much as humour. The clowns wear the smallest mask in the world,the red nose,and enact their roles through strong physical movements. Bhatt,who is collaborating with Red Nose Foundation,a clowning organisation in Vienna,says that theatrical clowning is still new genre in India. To be a clown,you need not be inherently funny. In fact,you discover your funny side once you become a clown, says Bhatt,who trained in the the art form at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 2001.
Infinite Stupidity will be staged at Epicenter and India Habitat Centre,on December 29 and 30 respectively. Contact: 24682005
Advertisement
More Entertainment
Advertisement
Photos
Photos
Top Stories
After new V-P takes oath‘No awkwardness’: Dhankhar makes first public appearance after quitting as V-P
Must Read
Advertisement
- 01
- 02
- 03
- 04
- 05
Advertisement
