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Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Existential angst The play followed the intertwined lives of four youngsters

Staged on Tuesday by Q Theatre Productions, Mumbai, the play follows the tangled lives of four young adults. Zamiel, the existentialist hero of the play, climbs mountains to get away from a world he doesn’t like. Jojo, abused and now abusing marijuana, is frustrated by Zamiel’s distance from her. Priya is the other woman, withdrawn from her life because she can’t take the bleakness of her world. And Rocky seesaws between his concern for Jojo and the shame and guilt of his darkest violence against her.

On the face of it, the story has a great deal of material to work with. Particularly the relationship between Zamiel and Jojo, with its debate on where one draws the line between personal space and uncaring distance. In the same vein is Rocky’s dilemma, a decidedly grey texture in Rocky’s otherwise black and white view of the world. And in a larger sense, there is the very futility of young adult lives and possibilities squandered on angst.

In a sense, the play does explore these ideas. At all points, there is a sense that playwright and director both recognise there is more to this tale than the characters realise. Occasionally, you can see that shine through, in a character’s description of artificially stuffed top-heavy chickens on broken legs, for instance. There’s a grain of it even in the big line of the play: “Anyone who’s moved in a relentlessly straight line will tell you that things move in circles.”

And some of it is also visible in the more cynically funny lines of the play. However, between these occasional moments are long periods when the playwright’s perspective mingles too closely with that of his characters. Thus, for the most part, the characters take themselves too seriously. And here is where the play falls apart. None of the characters has anything new or interesting to offer. Instead, they tread very regular, very scripted paths, running around in the aforementioned circles instead of straight lines. This could be a great play if only it rises slightly above the emotional levels of its characters and treats them with more maturity.

Directed by Arghya Lahiri, the production staged at Ranga Shankara still manages to be fairly watchable because the execution has some shining moments. The set design is excellent, with minimal clutter and maximum use of stage space and levels. Lighting too, takes the play to another level, especially when Rocky’s face is cast in shadow at an emotional moment through the use of a cleverly hung boxing glove. But that comes as no surprise when one considers that the director is a well-known lighting designer and has earned many accolades for it.

Ankur Vikal’s underplayed portrayal of Zamiel was interesting in contrast with the other actors’ high-intensity performances, although one wished he didn’t remain deadpan throughout the play. Dilnaz Irani’s Jojo should also be commended especially because Dilnaz reportedly entered the play only three days prior to the staging. The staccato speech that peppered the script was well executed, giving the play a nice contemporary, urban terseness. The actors’ sense of comic timing also helped earn more than a few laughs, particularly in the initial stages when the sarcastic one liners came thick and fast.

RAKESH MEHAR

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