A play booting for the spinal column

Dolly Thakore

The COVID-19 crisis goes down as a paralysing turning point in recent times. But as we battle with a virus, can we lose sight of the other medical conditions which threaten lives and restrict mobility? That's why a digital play to create awareness about spinal cord injuries makes so much sense.

The 75-minute English play titled Turning Point, a collaboration between Kolkata-based theatre group The Red Curtain International and the Association of Spine Surgeons of India (ASSI), premieres today to mark the International Spinal Cord Injury Day, observed worldwide since the last five years, with this year's theme being the use of technology to keep survivors mentally and physically healthy. The play addresses the safety and sanity of those suffering from spinal cord ailments, considering the narrowed scope of opportunities for the differently-abled in pandemic times. Through the lens of wheelchair-bound tetraplegic Darius, the audience locates a hopeful world where an accident/defect doesn't spell lifetime gloom. In their own sweet-sour-bitter, emotional and practical ways, friends and family help Darius realign a life despite the handicap.

Meher Pestonji

Senior writer-poet Meher Pestonji had initially submitted the play for the Sultan Padamsee Playwriting Award. It became part of the selection team's long list of notice-worthy works, and during online readings, Kolkata-based Sumit Lai Roy, the founder of Red Curtain International, decided to take it on as a full-scale project.

For Lai Roy, who has practised "good theatre for a good cause" since the '70s, Turning Point rung a bell. He was reminded of the Spine Society of West Bengal, which had hosted the Mastermoshai play on the first SPI Day in 2016. As he signed up the sponsors in July, he adapted the script to the Zoom virtual meeting platform, working closely with Pestonji for all rewrites required for the medium of digital theatre. Turning Point is also a patchwork of artistes based in three Indian cities. Lai Roy repeats happily that "geography has turned history" in the cyberspace. Just as the audience can be from anywhere, the play's cast is situated in Bengaluru, Kolkata and Mumbai, from where the veteran Dolly Thakore plays Mrs Paymaster. Passing props across geographies takes a lot of attention to detail, which is why a stage manager in Chennai shipped similar props to artistes, so that a cup of tea poured by a character, performing from Mumbai, can reach an actor in another city, but in the same scene/screen.

The Red Curtain International runs on a pay it forward philosophy. Anyone can watch the play free, and donate its show to a new viewer as a token of support to a cause. There are no tickets and that's a turning point!

WHAT: Turning Point
WHERE: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/turning-point-tickets-166967707909
WHEN: September 5, 7 pm IST