Brewing a conversation

Danish Husain and Vrajesh Hirjee. Pics courtesy/Anindo Ghosh

There is something of the greedy actor within director Danish Husain. He shyly admits that the experience of playing both parts in Ira Lewis' Chinese Coffee was revelatory. "I had tasted blood," he says of the moment in 2019 when he was forced to look for a new cast mate in lieu of the busy Vrajesh Hirjee.

By then, the actor-director had already staged the play for close to seven years. Hoshruba Repertory's return to the Prithvi Theatre this weekend with the trio of Husain, Vrajesh Hirjee and Naved Aslam marks 10 years of the production since 2012. "It is a story about almost everyone in this city who is working against hope to break through," he tells us. The play is built around the conversation of two artists and friends, Jake and Harry, struggling to come to terms with their lives and their work. Husain adds that it is also about not giving up. "It tells you that if you believe in what you have done and have done it well, then there will be a way out."

Danish Husain and Naved Aslam

Written by Lewis, the play was first showcased on Broadway back in 1983. The actor-director recalled discovering a box-set of Al Pacino's movie adaptation while on a holiday in New York. It led him to stage his first adaptation in 2012. In the new production, Hirjee and Husain alternate the roles of Harry, while Aslam plays Yaqub aka Jake. Returning to stage after a hiatus of three years, the director admits there is a nuanced perception of the text. "Today, it is not so much about performance, but the deep layering, the sub-text," he says. "After all," he adds, "Art should be transformative. If it doesn't do anything to you and is just a good laugh, then it is not great art."

On: June 9; 8 pm
At: Prithvi Theatre, Janki Kutir, Juhu Church Road, Juhu
Log on to: in.bookmyshow.com
Cost: Rs 500