Two theatre pieces portray the effect of overworked crematoriums and families sustaining ties over Zoom as part of a project to help theatrewallas
A still from the trailer of The Body
Taking an artiste away from the execution of their craft is like cutting off a limb, believes Vinita Sud Belani, artistic director of US-based theatre company EnActe Arts. “It’s hard to live without practising your craft; it’s an integral part of artistes,” she tells us, looking back at how the arts community across the world has been one of the hardest-hit in the past year. Amid a bleak scenario for theatre opportunities, Mumbai’s Rage Productions teamed up with EnActe Arts to support theatremakers. And starting this weekend, they will showcase two plays — The Body and Dum Biryani — that are part of this cross-border theatrecollaboration.
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A still from Dum Biryani
Although thematically, the two plays are vastly different, the common link between them — and the other plays that emerged from the collaboration — is how life was looking after COVID-19. The Body, written by Nayantara Nayar and directed by Gurleen Judge, revolves around a Tamilian Brahmin man trying to cremate his mother, who passes away amid the pandemic, in his building’s playground. “The Body addresses an issue that was very visible in every country. In New York, for instance, we saw hospitals renting trucks from fast food companies to store bodies because there was no place to bury or cremate people,” Sud Belani explains. Featuring actors Aseem Hattangady, Devika Shahani, Tavish Bhattacharyya and Vivek Madan, the play looks at how difficult it is to give a good send-off to your loved ones during the pandemic, she says, adding that it also delves into issues of caste, and the complexities of human relationships.
Vinita Sud Belani
Dum Biryani, which is written by Rutwick Deshpande and directed by Sud Belani, on the other hand, is a “deceptively simple” play. In it, the audience will meet members of a quintessential Indian family who decide to get on a Zoom call to wish the father on his birthday. “The mother has sent out a recipe of dum biryani for all of them to cook as it’s the father’s favourite dish. You meet the family, and they immediately endear to you, reminding you of your own. However, as they talk, we realise that everybody has a secret that they’ve been hiding,” the director explains. The piece, peppered with love, humour, family antics and reconciliation, builds up against the backdrop of the dum biryani, which each of them prepare. Starring Anjali Kirloskar, Deesh Mariwala, Heren Patel and Roshni Datta, it’s a beautiful story about the quintessential meaning of life, and what it means to be a family, she sums up.
On: October 8, 9 and 10 for The Body and October 15, 16 and 17 for Dum Biryani
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