Dario Fo and his wife Franca Rame’s Orgasmo Adulto Escapes from the Zoo was staged for the first time in India about 20 years ago, directed by Arundhati Raja. Kirtana Kumar decided to direct the play when Jagriti was planning a 30-year retrospective. “They wanted this play, which has been so successful in the past, to close their season. So, here we are,” says Kirtana in an email interview.
Kirtana loved every bit of the directorial process. “I am a complete theatre junkie, you see. I love it all — the scripts, the actors, finding an approach to the text, designing for the production, the sets, the carpenters, the lights, the greenroom, the make up artists. It’s a huge collaborative party, a human soup, all working to make a play. It’s a complete delight.”
Kirtana points out that the plot is nothing like Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues, which were based on “realistic situations that emerged in workshops with women”. Dario Fo uses devices such as comedia dell’arte and creates “fantastical situations out of original sources”. Kirtana goes on to explain: “For instance in Woman Alone, Dario Fo shows how a housewife, alone in her home, has to deal with multiple situations, stretching the limits of human existence. In We All Have the Same Story, he uses fable and allegory.”
Orgasmo Adulto Escapes from the Zoo will be staged at Jagriti Theatre, Whitefield till November 18. The performers include Arundhati Raja, Kirtana Kumar, Anuja Ghosalkar and Fizz. The music has been designed by Konarak Reddy. Tickets are priced at Rs. 300 and are available at www.bookmyshow.com and at the venue.
