Mumbai's theatre company aims to make productions more evocative for audience

Olafactory memories have the power to exhume long-forgotten episodes from the recesses of the mind. When Ghatkopar-based Rangaai Theatre Company founder Tushar Dalvi thinks of roasted potatoes, he is transported to the day he read Hindi literary legend Munshi Premchand's Kafan in high school. The memories of the heart-wrenching story of destitution, where two famished men choose to protect their booty of stolen potatoes over saving a woman in labour, come flooding back to him every time the otherwise tantalising smell fills the air.

The founders of Darkroom liken the experience to a literal dark room, where stories are treated as negatives waiting to be developed through over and under exposure

This is a memory that he hopes to share with the audience when Kafan is narrated in the dastangoi format as part of a bouquet of three stories for The Darkroom 2.0, an immersive sensory theatre experience that has come to be associated with Rangaai since it was founded in April 2016. This time, though, they aim to make the stories more experiential. "Immersive theatre is a popular art form in the West, but in India, very few companies create such work.

The audience enters the venue blindfolded

The idea is to engage all five senses, as opposed to just the sense of sight. In fact, it's a known fact that when you take away sight, other senses are heightened,"Dalvi explains. Keeping this in mind, the group has devised several productions in the past where the audience is blindfolded for the first 15 minutes, or is even led to a secret theatre venue blindfolded.

"In the beginning, we were apprehensive about how people would take to this experiment. But this time, we have decided that for Saadat Hasan Manto's story, Khol Do, the audience will remain blindfolded throughout. Plus, the smell of antiseptic liquids and disinfectants will help them situate the plot in a hospital, where a part of it unfolds,"he shares.

A scene from Kafan

In Durga Poojo, written anonymously by a survivor of child abuse, the story will be staged in a pandal-like set-up, with the scent of dhonuchi (traditional incense) wafting through the venue. "For this piece, we will be using the principles of the Theatre of Cruelty, which was born in France. It brings out emotions of guilt, anger and resentment in the audience, and for this particular story, it won't go forward until the audience gets involved and takes a decision,"says Dalvi.

Tushar Dalvi

Making theatre more immersive will be the way forward for the theatre company. In the coming months, they plan to stage a production on rape based on Italian dramatist Franca Rame's personal tragedy, interjected with three true Indian stories. "But we don't want the audience to leave feeling anguished, not knowing what to do about it. We plan to help them channel their outrage through a forum, where they can come up with solutions," says Dalvi. The perfect end to an immersive experience.

On: June 24, 6 pm,
At: Si Bambai, no 25, 105, Mumbai Samachar Marg, Kala Ghoda, Fort; June 30, 7 pm, OF10,
Prudential Building, Hiranandani Gardens, Powai
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Entry Rs 500

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