Inside Out

Yet, despite a prolific career, Ninaz seems disillusioned.
Having studied in New York, at institutions as prestigious as the Herbert Berghof Studio, the Lee Strasberg Institute and the School of Visual Arts, and trained here in Mumbai under Satyadev Dubey, she has all the right credentials for a flourishing professional career, but somehow Ninaz is disheartened. quot;As an actor looking for serious work, you8217;re lucky if you get more than one role a year and finding sponsorship is a huge problem. For most actors, theatre is an evening thing, we all have day jobs in order to live comfortably. The theatre is very low on people8217;s priorities.quot;

So what about serious theatre itself? Does the future look as bleak as Ninaz8217;s outlook?
quot;Things look pretty dismal. The circumstances just don8217;t exist for serious theatre. It8217;s not economically viable and the majority are unresponsive. Initially, as an actress, that was the sort of work I wanted to do, but I found there was a certain self-consciousness in the writing. People have very fixed notions of the messages they want to get across, so there8217;s an element of dishonesty, which is why in Charivari one of Ninaz8217;s directorial successes, most of the time, the script was improvised.

So why is she even attempting the enactments of Eliot8217;s work? Isn8217;t that a fixed message play? Given the content 8212; themes like the imperfectability of man8217;s quest, the endless war with the self 8212; won8217;t the nature of the audience be limited? Fixed, in a sense?
quot;It is a very fragmented poem, with numerous references in it, just too complex for the common man. I8217;m assuming that those who attend will be educated, with a knowledge of Eliot8217;s work.quot; A Catch 22 situation. The subjects that interest Ninaz are too complicated for most people. And yet, she despairs that theatre is losing its bite.

Is that why she used the Prithvi theatre8217;s alternative space, Horniman Circle? Was Ninaz trying at some level to make theatre more accessible and non-elitist in nature?
Originally, the play was performed in an art gallery and thus had a niche in the audience. quot;Actually, I8217;m quite surprised it has gone beyond its first performance. Horniman Circle just happened to be where it was performed this weekend. The concept of non-elitist theatre wasn8217;t really a focus.quot; It seems that Ninaz is not too clear about where her life, theatre and her life in theatre are headed.

Does she at least know what8217;s up next?
quot;I really don8217;t know. It8217;s very difficult to say. I8217;m looking for direction.quot; The thirtysomething has yet to find her feet, a place where she can reconcile all the inherent contradictions her chosen field has thrown up.

8212; BEATRICE GIBSON