This drama production delves into the lives of six individuals wrongly accused

(From left to right) U-Jay, Asif Ali Beg, Avantika Akerkar, Suresh Venkat, Nizwar Karanj, Joy Fernandes, Sandeep Jayaram, Meher Acharia Dar and Zervaan Bunshah at the reading rehearsal. Pics/Pradeep Dhivar

In a small, intimate theatre in New York in 2000, a documentary drama had showcased stories of six people whose lives were turned upside down on the day they were arrested for a crime that they never committed. The play - The Exonerated - was written after the playwrights, Jessica Blank and Eric Jensen, interviewed people who lived through its reality. Today, Avantika Akerkar is bringing the play to India, and will be performing with an ensemble of actors, under the direction of Bombay Theatre Company's Raveesh Jaiswal.

"When playwrights write their plays, they often base them on something they've experienced. Then, they build on it, creating imaginary characters and dialogues. This play is the complete opposite. What you'll hear is a culmination of the actual words of these six people, with only a few words thrown in by the playwrights to bring the piece together," Akerkar tells us when we drop by to attend a rehearsal at a Bandra space. The sanctity of the script was most important for Jaiswal and Akerkar to preserve. "Everything else that we did in tandem - the beat, the sound, the lights - had to just convey the text," Jaiswal reveals.

Director Raveesh Jaiswal with Avantika Akerkar at the rehearsal

There is an infectious energy as the actors finish their warm-up and ready themselves to play the roles. Jaiswal began the rehearsal days by spending a good amount of time with each actor individually. One of the most interesting elements that came out of this process was his work with U-Jay and Zervaan Bunshah, who will be playing 10 characters within the play as part of the male ensemble. "The use of the male ensemble is for world-building. They are the supporting characters who give legitimacy to the visual aspect of the play by taking the audience back to the stories of the exonerated characters," shares Bunshah. To this, U-Jay adds, "Raveesh had given us strict direction to not change accents. We worked on variations in voice and body, but the words themselves are so powerful that they are enough." Jaiswal then brought all the actors together, to finally orchestrate their energies.

Asif Ali Beg plays Kerry Cook who was bullied all his life and called names even by his inmates in the prison; Nizwar Karanj plays Gary Gauger, an organic farmer arrested for murdering his own parents; Suresh Venkat plays Robert Hayes, accused of raping and murdering a female groom on the racetrack; Sandeep Jayaram embodies the voice of David Keaton arrested at the age of 18, and released after 22 long years; Akerkar plays the role of the wives of three characters, giving us a glimpse of the impact of wrongful accusation on the lives of their loved ones. In this darkness are two lights: Sunny Jacobs played by Meher Acharia Dar and Delbert Tibbs played by Joy Fernandes, who carry hope in their hearts. "Tibbs is a poet who adds a lightness of spirit throughout the play. He believes that if he internalises it all, he'd be dead already," says Fernandes. These stories are built on what it took to survive injustice. Akerkar concludes, "All we can do is allow them to be told with dignity."

On: March 11, 5.30 pm, 8.30 pm
At: G5A Warehouse, Mahalaxmi
Log on to: in.bookmyshow.com
Cost: Rs 500