New and improvised

Shernaz Patel, Rahul DaCunha and Rajit Kapur

In 2010, Shernaz Patel, Rajit Kapur and I realised that the monologue format was a tremendous vehicle to cover issues and themes, and present vignettes of the city. It's not always easy to write a full-length play. Monologues, on the other hand, allow you the flexibility of channel-surfing on stage. In that, you are not restricted to one full-length play or story and can explore several themes. We also wanted to create events where we can bring talent together. These ideas led to the inception of One on One," explains Rahul daCunha, co-founder, Rage Productions, which is helming One on One, a compilation of humourous and incisive monologues.

Through One on One, the audience will explore a variety of stories that cover an expansive range - from a satirical look at terrorism, to the impact of Page 3 reporting on the modern socialite, to the unbearable dullness of airline food. "Anand Tiwari and Preetika Chawla are presenting an interesting piece about what it means to be an outsider in the city. We also have other stellar performers such as Gagandev Riar, Neil Bhoopalam, Amit Mistry, Shikha Talsania, and Zafar Karachiwala," daCunha adds. Each actor will present eight to 12-minute solos.

Anu Menon

The last One on One edition was scripted and hosted during the lockdown, presented entirely on Zoom. Befittingly, the themes explored were all related to different aspects of the lockdown. "The format gives us a broad canvas to explore and we try to keep updating the topics to stay current and relevant," he adds. Anu Menon, who will be presenting a piece that was penned by daCunha back in 2010 about a socialite conducting a press conference, says that the process of continuously updating pieces is engaging for her, as a performer. "For our Zoom edition, we focused on Arnab Goswami and Kangana Ranaut. For our next update, which features the best of the first two One on One editions, we may explore Donald Trump's inglorious exit. Considering the rapid rate at which the news cycle operates today, we can't plan in advance as our material may lose relevance by the time we stage it," she elaborates.

This event will also give Rage Productions some much-needed insight into what the audience wants from theatre. "Having been closed-in for so long, do theatre-goers crave mindless entertainment or do they want us to pursue serious themes? It has almost been a year since the theatres closed down. While they have reopened in a circumscriptive way, we still don't know the impact - we can't sell all 200 seats [in a venue] due to social distancing restrictions. We have to see if the economics allows us to continuously stage shows," he reasons. With plans underway to stage the Zoom edition as a theatre production, daCunha is contemplating shooting and streaming the monologues, as the format lends itself well to a Zoom audience.

At Prithvi Theatre, Juhu
On January 16-17
Cost Rs 500
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