Anita Nair, the bestselling author of The Better Man and Ladies Coupe , is out with a new venture. ‘A Twist of Lime' is an adaptation of three of her short stories for the stage. The three pieces are bound with a thread of irony. If you find yourself laughing and wincing through this play, you'll know it has had the effect it was meant to have. This new play will feature as part of the Jagriti Season and will run for two weeks in Bangalore.
“Sushil and the Maybe Virgin”, “Half a Sin” and “Trespass” are the three Anita Nair creations that have been adapted into ‘A Twist of Lime'. The play runs from one story to another and is, in Anita Nair's words, intended to enable audiences to “…look at life differently…Comfort zones are shattered and predictable responses cast out. To me, that probably is one of the most important functions of any piece of art; to make you look at life with different eyes.”
The first setting of this Vivek Madan directed play is that of an arranged marriage. Sushil, scion of a Tirupur garment conglomerate, is sent to meet a family friend's daughter. The prospective groom and both families are hoping for an ‘alliance' that will prove fruitful to the family business. Malini is Indian but sports very little of her Indian roots as a result of having lived in Manhattan for 14 years.
The second part of the play shows two sisters tell their sordid story at the confessional of a church in Thrissur, Kerala.
‘A Twist of Lime' ends with a piece set in a beauty salon called Trespass. Xavier, the successful hair stylist who runs the salon, is a chameleon of sorts. He has a smarmy way of pleasing his clients. However, his ultimate test comes when two prized clients who walk in at the same time, demanding to be made to look beautiful because their ‘respective' beaus are expected back home earlier than planned. A bartender is thrown into this mix for a certain dramatic effect.
Bottomline: Theatre buffs may enjoy an authentic twist of a dramatic experience.
Where: Jagriti Theatre, Bangalore
When: March 9 – 25, 2012
How much: Rs. 300 per ticket
Note: The play is suitable for audiences above the age of 16
