Going round in circles

A scene from Catch-22

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Trishla Patel finds herself to be in a catch-22 situation, quite literally. The actor-director tells us that financially speaking, she's relieved that theatres have opened up again after the barren years of the pandemic. But at the same time, she's unsure about how the Omicron variant of the pandemic will act out, and whether this period will end up being too brief a window for people whose bread and butter depends on the stage.

The play satirises war

She's also literally in a ‘Catch-22' situation because that's the name of the play she has directed, which will be staged at Prithvi Theatre this evening. It's a theatrical adaptation of Joseph Heller's iconic novel of the same name, written by the author himself. The plot takes a satirical look at the futility of people's attitudes towards each other. "No one cares about anyone else as long as they get what they want," Patel explains about the narrative based on the quandary that an American bombardier called Captain John Yossarian finds himself to be in during WWII, when the vicious cycle of war renders him as helpless as a hamster spinning continuously on a wheel.

Trishla Patel

That symbolic wheel has been turning for ages, though. Patel tells us how the plot could well have been set during the time of the Vietnam War in the 1960s and '70s, or in the present day, when we are battling an invisible virus. "We are all holed up in our homes and are scared to get out, and just like in a war where it's the bureaucrats who win, here it's probably pharmaceutical companies who are replacing them," she reasons. That sounds like a fair enough metaphor, but either way, watch the play in a safe, socially distanced environment today because like Patel says, you never know. Avenues for entertainment might soon shut shop again like they did in 2020, taking us back to square one, which is exactly the sort of cyclical time frame that Heller built in his seminal novel.

On Today, 6 pm and 9 pm
At Prithvi Theatre, Juhu Church Road, Juhu.
Log on to in.bookmyshow.com
Cost Rs 350