It was an evening of colour and laughter last week at the MLR Convention Centre, where Padma-Bhushan awardee and renowned theatre and film director and writer Sai Paranjype’s new play Rigmarole was performed. Presented by the Bangalore Little Theatre (BLT), Bangalore’s oldest theatre group, Rigmarole saw some stunning performances by not only talented adults but also very expressive children, including those from the Association for the Mentally Challenged (AMC).
The play, set in Mumbai, which retains its old-world Bombay charm, revolves around the visit of Princess Lizinia, from the mythical country of Batuslavakia, to the state city. The city goes into a tizzy to welcome the Princess, with corrupt politicians, socialites, the media, the underworld and even dabbawalas going out of their way to impress the Princess. In the midst of all this, the Princess’ necklace of rare diamonds is stolen. What follows is a hilarious turn of events. The play, a total of 23 scenes, was performed by a 30-strong cast.
Vijay Padaki, the director and co-founder of BLT, brought out the essence of the script beautifully. Stage space was effectively utilised and the direction was so meticulous that each scene stood out distinctly from the next. The scenes played on in the mind of the audiences’ for long.
Vijay explained the creative process that went into designing the play. “We worked together and arrived at certain principles on stage space and technical solutions. We structured the play in a way that the scenes would move smoothly from one scene to the next. For this, the children played an important role; the actors themselves changed the props. Sai was thrilled by the idea,” explains Vijay over phone.
Even though the play is set in Mumbai, Bangaloreans loved every bit of it. They could relate to the corruption, the superficiality of elites and middle-class life, all of which formed a part of the play.
Wonderful indeed was the way the large cast worked effortlessly together as a beautifully orchestrated team. This showed the principles of BLT being a community-run theatre group. “BLT is not personality-driven, but membership-driven, which gives it a certain character. We are committed to working with a large cast for our annual production. My aim is to expose many people to our theatre productions,” explains Vijay.
Rigmarole will be performed today and tomorrow and on September 7 at ADA Rangamandira, opposite Ravindra Kalakshetra, J.C. Road at 7.30 p.m. Tickets are priced at Rs. 150 and can be purchased at www.bookmyshow.com. For details call 8095695052. All proceeds from the play will be used to support AMC’s programmes.
