A man riding a make-belief bullock cart (a film producer), with two humans (could represent the lower-rung actors) as bulls.
A boy swearing at his friends, who rough him up for not paying for his share for alcohol. A star being drenched in milk and his fans prostrating before him; these are some of the images that stay with you after the play, Lifeof An Actor , a Koothu-P-Pattarai production, directed by Gil Alon.
The play on the travails of actors in a world that did not think it was worthwhile, was designed as an audition.
The signature aspect
Each actor came and delivered his lines, as if the audience was the judge. This is a signature aspect of Alon’s plays. He admitted that he liked his audience to be involved in his productions. The connect was palpable.
The actors presented to the audience stories of pain and disappointment. They talked about how much they missed their home back in the village and the families. But, it was their love for the arc-lights that brought them here.
Alon scored as a director with his ability to convey a simple theme in imaginative formats.
Take for instance, the man, who ran from his village to Chennai to make it big. The actor kept running for, perhaps, ten minutes, speaking his lines, as sweat dripped down his nose and throat. We could feel the exhaustion as he talked, puffing and panting.
Another actor abused his friends and swore at them. The abusive words, somehow, did not offend, as they revealed the deep-seated frustration of an individual, who was seeking acceptance in a society that continuously shunned him.
The play ended on a bitter-sweet note. Sitting together, they joked about their embarrassing moments during the performance and clicked selfies. An aimless discussion? No. It was a prelude to a stronger statement.
The actors rushed into the audience and pulled out a spectator, (an actor in disguise) and made him stand on a pedestal in the middle of the stage.
A placard reading ‘actor’ was hung around his neck. Flipped around, it read ‘God’ and all the actors prostrated in front of him.
This was the moment, when Alon’s play became a political one, thumbing its nose at an industry that commercialised talent, made acting a money-spinner and crushed creativity of artistes.
