STAGECRAFT

The plays that were presented were Five Point Someone by Evam of Chennai,Project S.T.R.I.P. by Q Theatre Productions from Mumbai,All About Women by Akvarious Productions,Mumbai,Gentlemen by Goblin Produ- ctions from Bengaluru,Woody Allens God from Theatrecian,Kolkata and The Leela Tapes from The Actor Factor Theatre Company,Delhi.

Five Point Someone,directed by Sunil Vishnu,is adapted from Chetan Bhagats best-selling novel of the same name that also inspired the celluloid blockbuster 3 Idiots. It chronicles the misadventures of three friends 8211; Ryan,Alok and Hari who is also the narrator at Delhis Indian Institute of Technology.

The play is a beautiful blend of fun,pathos and struggle that captures the coming-of-age of three bright young men who are as different as chalk and cheese. It introduces the audience to the jargon that is synonymous with IIT culture 8211; quizzes,projects,term papers,vivas 8211; that do not quite jell with the youngsters but can neither be swept under the college canteen mat. Pink Floyds musical support is so strong that its like a character in the play. Over all,its a completely entertaining play!

All About Women,directed by Hidaayat Sami,has an all-woman cast with a flexible set of boxes that are moved by an interesting male chorus dressed in black. They sway this side and that,dance away to their hearts content,look happy and sad,suggesting the mood of the scene to follow.

All About Women offers a rare insight into the female psyche in a laugh-now-cry-now manner. The play has been adapted from Miro Gavrans original work by Purva Naresh and comprises five different stories of relationships,female bonding and misunderstandings that are interlinked. The actors,who appear as different characters in diverse situations,have given effortless performances thereby making the play an enjoyable experience and a finished production to boot.

Project S.T.R.I.P.,written by Ram Ganesh Kamatham and directed by Q,was the only play in the festival that had an important social message. It explores how globalisation,corporatisation and urbanisation can endanger the lives of an indigenous population.

The issue of climatic changes that come about as a result of the umpteen board meetings,project files and pretensions to funding anthropological research are built up steadily,with a large frame of a flexible Venetian blind forming a convenient backdrop. The presence of the indigenous tribe is established through sounds and rhythms created by the characters along with a huge fish tank that gets filled with waste towards the end of the play,suggesting pollution caused by industrialisation and affecting all living beings.

Modern-day interjections have been turned into situation-specific acronyms like OOPS Oolongongalong Organised Peoples Society,ABBA Alliance of Abu Ben Adham and HIP HOP Humanist Independant Party for the Happiness of the Oolong People. The pace of the dialogue and incidents was a bit too fast for an audience uninitiated into such a serious subject. Wonderful characterisations and incidents made it a play worth watching.

Gentlemen,directed by Dr. Anil Abraham,revolves obsessively around the pervasive male angst called performance anxiety. It zeroes in on different kinds of insecurities about the phallus. The play comprised four male monologues where each actor narrated his problems related to sexual performance from his perspective.

A female character is introduced in the final act who gives the men a dressing down for their obsession with you-know-what,making them realise the plight of women who have to live with this male obsession. The play takes a serious turn a little too late. As the hall almost emptied out during the interval,one kept wondering whether the blatant and brazen philosophising over things like erectile dysfunction,the size factor,the condom issue were meant to amuse,entertain or shock.

The one-liners were more shocking than funny,spoiling the mood of the audience who expected wholesome comedy rather than in-your-face sexual comments. The play lacked action,movement,interaction,light effects et al 8211; in short,everything that goes into a stage production. Even good performances from the cast could not save this play from turning into a disaster.

Theatrecians God,directed by Kanak Gupta,played to a packed theatre thanks to its popularity in the city. Woody Allens God brings back memories of Harold Pinters Theatre of the Absurd in a happy way. In one word,it is crazy and funnily so,drawing active participants from the audience to add some meat to the proceedings.

After a point,you do not really know which play you are watching 8211; one that has been put up by Theatrecians,or the other being planned by the Greek writer and his slightly ignorant actor or the final performance that includes two actors from the audience. Its a hilarious play and part of its entertainment value is elevated by its condensed performance time.

The Leela Tapes,directed by Sunit Sinha,is a dark,brooding and intense play 8211; literally,in terms of the narrative,presentation and performance. A suspense-thriller set against the backdrop of a dark prison cell,it evolves into a dark story of sad memories,broken relationships,death,rape and revenge narrated in an unusual manner.

Leela Mitra comes to visit Adrian Pillai,a man sentenced for a heinous crime. The two do not know each other at all but still become sounding boards for each other,purging their pain and their struggle for life in different ways.

The director has used four actors to play different dimensions of Adrian. Leela,too,is portrayed by two actresses,one a picture of bitterness and hatred and the other who is resigned to accepting what life has in store for her. The Leela Tapes is a well-directed play but at times its too cerebral and confusing for the audience.