The place is Vadodara. The period the late 1990s. Or it could be today and anywhere because communal and class bias are universal problems that lies concealed within middle-class sophistication and hypocrisy. This forms the theme of Chanakya Vyas's “The Prelude”, presented by Our Theatre. This is the second script he has written and marks his directorial debut.
The monologue, performed by Inlaks scholar, Vivek Vijayakumaran, “The Prelude” follows a middle-class man's personal journey rife with a violent past and tragic endings. The man, “whose cries clash with the slogans of the mob outside,” is born in a riot-prone area.
His father, a shop owner, and his mother, a good cook who teaches Hindi to the local children, survive through tragic circumstances, with riots erupting at the slightest provocation.
The family sell the house following the death of the man's father. When the man returns many years later, he finds nothing has changed. He recounts the many moments when he's known fear, which at times stares him in the face and at others stands on the edge, threatening to reveal itself but doesn't.
The man's mood, which also dictates that of the play, shifts from introspection to hypocrisy. With changes in location, from the house to a crowded market place, there's a change in the opinions of the character.
The audience at times feels close to the character while he narrates his struggles, but other times, they feel alienated as he reveals his darker side. This is an attempt by the playwright to hold a mirror to the audience. The unnamed character could be any of us, hero when we consider ourselves above the pettiness of other's politics, victims when we cannot discern our own prejudices. “The Prelude” stands by the strength of its script and powerful performance. Vivek Vijayakumaran, with his emotive skills and convincing dialogue delivery, has an almost hypnotic effect on the audience.
Mention has to be made of the way in which the production was handled with minimal sets, the interesting use of lights and sound design by Ayush Gupta and Chanakya Vyas. Furthermore, The Basement at Begur Koppa road, where the play was performed, serves as a good intimate theatre space. One would never guess that it's a basement of a house. A word for the playwright and director—Chanakya Vyas: they say humility speaks volumes; Chanakya does so through his script and direction.
