Unveiling the mask

Deepal Doshi enacting a scene wearing a mask

By Ketaki Latkar

Physical finesse, engaging change-overs and tongue-in-cheek humour — A Tale of Two Treaties gave the city audience not just a slice of the Italian theatre form of commedia dell’arte but also took them on a roller-coaster ride of the primal drives of hunger, lust and greed through the lives of its zany characters. A rambunctious concoction of flavours of ten masked characters that ran for about 70 minutes, the one-man comedy show was directed by Kathryn Doshi and performed by her husband Deepal, Mumbai-based actor, creator and educator.
Talking about the masked theatre form, Doshi elucidates, “The origin of commedia dell’arte dates back to the 16th century that later came to be recognised as one of Europe’s most sought after theatre forms. It is known to have left a lasting influence on Shakespeare, Moliere, Opera, Vaudeville and contemporary musical theatre.” Commedia dell’arte translates as ‘comedy of craft’ — craft referring to the fact that for the first time the performances were by professional actors who had perfected a specific role. Its legacies include the first professional theatre companies and the first European female actors allowed on the stage. Doshi adds that the style is characterised by the use of masks, improvisations, physical comedy and twisted humour. The characters typically comprise classical archetypes such as the young lovers, greedy old men, know-it-all professors, sneaky servants, and boasting heroes among others.
A Tale of Two Treaties is the story of Pantalone’s lust for money and Dottore’s desire for vengeance, which is threatening the love between their two children. With their nutty servants Pulcinella and Arlecchino, Pantalone’s rather desperate wife Señora and an outrageous Capitano, no havoc-wreaking stone is left unturned. While Pantalone is the stock character of Alazon, who is a metaphorical representation of money; Dottore is the stock character of the person creating obstacles for young lovers.
The show that is highly physical and is marked with bawdy and scatological humour, has been performed in Sweden, USA, Bali, Canada and India with the most recent performances at the esteemed Kala Ghoda Festival of Mumbai (2013) and the International Commedia Dell’Arte Conference (2013) at the University of Windsor, Canada. Doshi completed a year-long diploma from the acting school Vårdinge By Folkhögskola in Sweden, followed by a three-year degree course in fine art from the Dell’Arte International School Of Physical Theatre, California, where he studied commedia dell’arte in greater detail in addition to other forms such as melodrama, mime and tragedy. Apart from studying traditional Balinese mask carving, mask dances and shadow puppetry, his work with renowned productions from around the world such as Washington DC’s Ambassador Theatre, California’s Raven Project, Sweden’s Kompani Komedi and so on, has brought him critical acclaim.
Masks are the primary medium of playing characters and the genre of physical comedy is the underlying element of virtuosic story-telling. Doshi remarks that commedia dell’arte is certainly not unknwon to the Indian audience, given the extensive use of character masks that are already a part of the socio-religious and cultural landscape of the nation because of traditional arts like Ramleela or Dashavtar.