The Feroz Khan-directed play “Dinner with friends”, written by Donald Margulies, will be performed for the second time in Bangalore. It will be staged as a fund-raising show by the Delhi-based theatre group, “Jana Natya Manch” (Janam). Featuring Tisca Chopra, Vinay Jain, Perizaad Zorabian and Joy Sengupta, “Dinner with friends” is about four married friends. One couple is on the verge of a breakup psychologically affects the other couple. The play traces the different stages of both couples' lives.
“Dinner with friends”, after its opening in 2010 , continues to enjoy successful stagings across different Indian cities. The play was recently performed in Colombo to an enthusiastic audience. Feroz attributes the successful staging to the powerful script. “The play connects with the people it targets — namely the upper-middle class. They see a lot of their lives being played out. The audience aren't passive spectators; they get drawn into the story.”
Feroz mulls over a script before he puts it into production. “My reaction is always subjective when it comes to reading a play or coming across an idea. If I'm not moved enough by a script, I will not direct it. Unless a script is contemporary in scope, it will fail to move an audience. It has to address the here and now,” contends Feroz.
Feroz works well with Hindi, English and Gujrati. But Hindi comes most naturally to him. When he read the script of “Dinner…” he realised that it wouldn't be possible for him to stage it in Hindi. “I chose to adapt the play in English as I realised that our emotional landscape has been globalised to a great extent. So it made sense that the play be performed in English.”
Feroz also selected the cast with much deliberation. “The characters in the play are reflective of people like us. So I wanted actors who wouldn't be affected by any style of acting. Tisca, Perizaad, Joy and Vinay fit into this conception perfectly. My endeavour was to remove the theatricality and bring the truth into the play. I knew that all of them would fit into their respective characters and situation well.”
Speaking of his association with Tisca and Vinay, the director says, “They've worked with me for a long time; Tisca for 14 years and Vinay for eight to ten years. They're unaffected and motivated, besides being very dear to me. Perizaad has a rare and wonderful quality of truth and Joy has great acting skills. As a director, I've seen how all of them have raised the bar.”
Feroz emphatically says performing free for Janam is a privilege. “We've also performed ‘Tumhari Amrita' and many other plays for them. I admire the work they're doing in theatre. Through their work, they've addressed important social and political issues. To me, Janam is not merely a theatre company but a theatre movement.
“Dinner with friends” will be staged on August 25 at Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Malleswaram, Bangalore. For more details visit www.bookmyshow.com .
