A theatre group will present the works of Bertolt Brecht in a play in Mumbai this weekend

The students perform a creative exercise

In 1933, German playwright and poet Bertolt Brecht fled the country at the cusp of the Nazi takeover. A wise move on his part. Not long after, his explicitly anti-Nazi works were publicly burned by the regime under Adolf Hitler's orders. Today, at an artiste's retreat in Wai, nearly 200 kilometres away from Mumbai, and worlds away from the Brecht's hometown of Augsburg, students of the Drama School Mumbai are revisiting his stories. Die Sect, a collection of these stories will be presented in the city to mark the end of their artiste residency this weekend.

"Choosing Brecht was a conscious decision. We wanted to promote critical thinking and develop political thought in the new generation of actors through theatre. Through 12 stories from Brecht's Fear and Misery of the Third Reich, both - the actors and the audience - will be compelled to rethink their political beliefs and biases," shares director and theatre educator Neel Sengupta. These stories, dubbed playlets by Brecht, revolve around ordinary citizens of Nazi-ruled Germany navigating fear, guilt, treachery, love and shame in extraordinary times.

A moment from the rehearsals in Wai. Pic Courtesy/Drama School Mumbai

"One of the things a student pointed out during the first reading is that the play is boring," Sengupta laughs, admitting that the sentiment might resonate with many who prefer lighter, easy-going stories. The key, he believes, lies in finding yourself in these characters. "Separated by time and space, the characters somehow still resonate with us today. The students have come to realise it through repeated readings and discussions," he reveals. The picturesque views at the residency space in Satara might have helped, suggests course leader Chanakya Vyas. "Being away from the bustle of the city without having to constantly worry about the logistics is a blessing. It shifts the focus onto the collaborative spirit of theatre," he adds.

Comprising students from all corners of the country, the production also marks what is possibly the first Brecht adaptation to be presented in Hindi, English, Bengali, Tamil, Bhojpuri and Malayalam simultaneously. "It would have been ironic to enforce just one language in a play about fascism," laughs Sengupta. The playlet titled Worker's Playtime, for instance, revolves around an interview that takes place in a factory where the interviewer censors the workers' words before broadcasting them. "In our play, Bengali actors take on the role of the workers. With running subtitles displayed on the stage, you can watch their words being twisted in real time. Similarly, the multilingual cast has come in handy at multiple occasions," he reveals.

Bertolt Brecht, Chanakya Vyas and Neel Sengupta

Vyas sees an optimistic future for his students. "I hope that with the experience of forming thoughts and performing in their language, these students contribute to the theatre culture of their own hometowns," he shares. In an age where aspiring actors have a variety of pathways such as content creation and building online personas available to them, we ask the director if theatre will continue to be the sacrosanct foundation that veterans swear by. "Theatre is more than what you see on the stage. It teaches you the value of discipline and staying grounded that other mediums don't. If you visit a digital media production set today, you'll see a theatre actor not only acting, but guiding the entire shoot. In that sense, theatre is definitely here to stay," Vyas assures us.

ON September 27, 7 pm; September 28, 6 pm
AT Drama School Mumbai, Charni Road; G5A Warehouse, Mahalaxmi.
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ENTRY Rs 150 onwards