A lamppost at the edge of the Worli Sea Link, a villager hired to be the bodyguard of a Haryana minister and an irate airline passenger all spin a myriad views of contemporary India in Rage Productions’ latest play, One on One. The play will premiere at the NCPA’s annual multi-arts festival Anubhuti this fortnight.

One on One was initially planned by Shernaz Patel, Rahul da Cunha and Rajit Kapur of Rage to be a series of monologues. The trio asked ten writers for pieces on any subject relevant to Indian society. However, just as Douglas Adams discovered that he couldn’t finish his trilogy The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy until he reached book six, the playwrights found that ten monologues had more than ten voices. Purva Naresh’s “Aabodana” offers two perspectives on the corrosive effects of city life on small-town folk. In Anuvab Pal’s “The Bureaucrat”, Anand Tiwari, Bugs Bhargava Krishna and Neil Bhoopalam play three stages in a man’s life as he remembers what being a bureaucrat stood for in the ’50s compared to what it means today.

Patel, da Cunha and Kapur have held two editions of the scriptwriting workshop Writer’s Bloc since 2002. One on One was a chance “to encourage new writing as well as to work with more people who are like-minded”, said Kapur, who is directing “The Bodyguard”. Some of the sketches touch recent events, like da Cunha’s humorous fictional account of Kasab’s partner who doesn’t want to be a terrorist. He has also adapted a Neil LaBute piece on gay bashing. Others have more universal themes as in playwright Maia Katrak’s “The Witch”, in which Patel plays a woman coming to terms with losing her son to marriage. Katrak said the sketch skirted clichés like the ill-treated daughter-in-law to highlight the warping of “a woman’s psyche as she tries to regain something she’s lost”. She added: “It’s about a woman dealing with the presence of another. The insecurities and natural tendency to compete, which we all feel.”

For scriptwriter Shiv Subrahmanyam, the project was an opportunity to take a closer look at the state machinery. “Although theatre is exciting today, I think there’s a lack of critique,” he said. “Most plays tend to be within the framework of a relationship or an urban middle class situation.” Subrahmanyam’s “Interview” imagines the nightmarish experience of having to establish your identity in a passport office when you’ve lost all your papers. Subrahmanyam was intrigued that even though a citizen is permitted to keep one’s maiden name after marriage or to withhold caste information when filling out a certificate, there is no accounting for the prejudices of the people who administer the law. “It’s about the state as an instrument of authority,” explained Subrahmanyam. “Even the most innocent set-up, like a ration card office, exerts a benevolent authoritarianism that is frightening. You could be a Muslim and be denied a card for a reason, or [come] from the wrong state and face the prejudice of language or region.” In “Interview”, the role of the interrogator shifts between the passport applicant and the official as the piece explores the power equation between the sexes.

Neither the lamppost nor the airline passenger are inclined to comment on their excellent views and fate is unkind to the bodyguard. Patel believes the critical tone in the pieces has less to do with a bleak view of India than with approaches that make interesting writing. “After having written five minutes of how fantastic we are, then what?” she asked. “Some of the greatest comedies make fun of something negative that we don’t normally make fun of. You’re tired of getting angry and twist it around.”

Article in Time Out Mumbai

Rage Theatre Productions’ latest play, One On One, that premiered last week at NCPA got rave reviews. A collection of ten, ten-minute monologue format pieces, the play addresses issues that concern the common man.

‘Seven playwrights, seven directors, ten actors and ten stories’ -this is how Shernaz Patel puts it. One On One is Rage Theatre Productions’ latest venture to hit the stage. It deals with stories that are relevant in today’s times. Directors, writers and actors have come together to put up this play in the monologues and dialogues format. Interestingly, the pieces are just ten minutes and each of them is about one aspect of our country.

“Most of the pieces are about dealing with issues and slice-of-life dramas. It is about things that we are concerned and talking about, whether political or social. We have tried to infuse humour into these issues so it makes for a good, light-hearted watch.” She takes centre- stage for two pieces, one which deals with the relationship between a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law and the other one, an adapted piece about living life for the moment. “The premiere was fantastic; we witnessed one of the very best openings and people seemed to be enjoying themselves. We managed to put up a great performance and thankfully having the right mix of actors helped.”

Anu Menon, who is a VJ with channel [V], is a part of the ensemble cast of One On One. The actress describes it as a learning experience and considers herself to be fortunate to have got the chance to work with Rahul Da Cunha. “I am a part of The Interrogation a piece directed by Rahul Da Cunha. It is the most incomprehensible, bizarre and weirdest play that I have done so far. The subject is such that you might never understand it in its entirety. I instantly agreed to play the part because firstly I have never done anything like this and secondly I was getting to work with Rahul Da Cunha.” Everything about the piece kept undergoing changes, right from the name to the subject matter. Explaining the theme of The Interrogation, she says, “It is about the system which fails you and the fact that a fool in power is more dangerous than a fool left loose. The play constantly questions the system, but all this is done in a funny way.”

The monologues are diverse and deal with issues like legalisation of homosexuality, Ajmal Kasab’s trial farce, story of a lamp post, a migrant’s life and questioning the Indian bureaucracy system. Anand Tiwari, who is the protagonist of The Bureaucrat, is also a part of two other plays, Abudana and Load Shedding. “I play a lamp-post in Load Shedding. It is about the lamp post’s accounts of the happenings in the city. Akarsh Khurana’s Abudana is about two people coming to Mumbai and their experiences of staying here. It is a beautiful, poignant piece with which anybody will connect.”

One would wonder if ten minutes is enough time to put across the message effectively on stage and Anu says, “There should be enough food for thought. Even if the play was a two-and- a-half-hour affair with an interval, it would put across the same message. The challenge is to keep your audience entertained for ten minutes.” Anuvab Pal and Kunal Roy Kapoor, who have written and directed The Bureaucrat , share the same opinion. Though Anuvab agrees that it was much difficult, he thinks he has managed to pull it off pretty well. “With most monologue style plays, it tends to be like a speech with just one person talking. I didn’t want that but at the same time wanted to use the format for my play. It was tough and I was worried through the rehearsals. But people really appreciated it. I am usually critical of my work and it’s hard for me to appreciate myself but I think we have cracked it this time.” Kunal Roy Kapoor gives all credit to Anuvab Pal for having pulled it off. “Anuvab wrote the play, so it was more his challenge than mine. The piece just skims the surface and talks about the Indian bureaucracy and how it has changed in a span of 30 years, right from the initial days to how it has taken a beating today. Anuvab and me understand each other and have a good working relationship so it’s always great working with him.”

Although Anuvab and Kunal might just explore their options and make a full length play on the piece, right now it is just One On One on their minds.

Article in Screen India

Theatre of convergence

One on One marks the beginning of a series of plays that will bring together young directors and playwrights.

One on One is a socialist play, only none of us make any money,” says Rahul Da Cunha, from Rage productions who have conceptualized the series. The play is a novel effort that gets the best young minds in today's theatre scene under one roof. Eight directors, eight playwrights and 10 actors for one play; the numbers may put you in a tizzy. However, the play is simplistic in design. The effort is what is is gargantuan in size.

One on One has ten stories which are short monologues or duologues and are mostly sweet. yet, they manage to make poignant observations of our society today. That in fact is the only common thread. “We are just going to give the audience so much information, they won't know which story they liked by the end of it. I'm sure they might remember one, and I hope it's mine,” laughs Rahul.

The playlets as Rahul calls them are on diverse subjects. From bad airline food, a terrorist who wants to take part in a dance competition, the state of Indian bureaucracy to more serious issues like homosexuality. The point of the play is to get together minds in the theatre scene and encourage cross-pollination of thought.

This has been done before by Rahul, Shernaz Patel and Rajit Kapoor, a few years back through the Writers' Bloc workshops. By promoting writing among the aam junta, Rage had no stipulations on how the end product of the workshops would be used. In that sense, One on One is a larger project and Rahul hopes that the series will have enough impetus to sustain itself.

Rage just randomly called in eight playwrights who they thought have been doing good original work in English theatre. Among them of course are the Rage favourites, Anuvab Pal and Shiv Subrahmanyam.

“It's amazing to have seven excellent directors giving you constant feedback during rehearsals. You can't possibly get that during a normal play,” says Rahul. The play seems like it has everything going for it.

It boasts of star directors, Pushan Kripalani, Arghya Lahiri, Kunal Roy Kapoor, Akarsh Khurana, Nadir Khan and Rahul himself. Also, it has a great cast. It all boils down to the execution of the play and whether 10 stories will be one too many.

Article in Mumbai Mirror

This form of many ‘playlets’ in one evening is catching on – perfect for the TV generation with short attention spans. Rage has done it before with Going Solo, and years later; it works just as well with One On One, a series of 10 short plays. As it happens with a production like this, some are excellent and some just don’t fit the bunch. The one quibble with One On One is that some of the pieces have been adapted from foreign plays – it would have been so much better if they were all freshly written for this production. On the other hand, it was heartening to see that the original pieces, written by local playwrights, were better than the adapted ones. The other good thing was the confirmation that Mumbai has some outstanding acting talent – and these actors can make even soggy material seem crisp. Like Shernaz Patel, who was given two of the collections most clichéd pieces, like Anand Tiwari, who can move from tapori Mumbai accent in the role of an all-observing lamp-post in Farhad Sorabjee’s hilarious satire Load Shedding (directed by Nadir Kahn) to smooth Allahabadi speech in Purva Naresh’s poignant Aabodana (directed by Akarsh Khurana); like Anu Menon in Rahul da Cunha’s Hello…Check mimicking a wannabe Delhi socialite to perfection. The pick of the lot was Anuvab Pal’s The Bureaucrat, directed by Kunaal Roy Kapoor in which an old babu (Bugs Bhargava Krishna) in a safari suit, laments the good ol’ pre-liberalisation days. Anand Tiwari and Neil Bhoopalam play him at different ages and in 10 minutes Pal encapsulates what happened to the country in the last 25 years, when Indians moved from a government controlled life to uncontrolled consumerism. Rahul da Cunha’s Instant Behosh about a reluctant terrorist, played by a boisterous Amit Mistry, Ashok Mishra’s bitter satire Kachre Ki Hifaazat (directed by Rajit Kapur) about a politician’s bodyguard, played by Yashpal Sharma, Dear Richard, directed by Nadir Khan in which a disgruntled flier (Rajit Kapur) complains about inedible airline food, were the other notable and funny plays that hit the target.

One On One is a collection of ten pieces set in contemporary India. The stage design and costuming vividly create a variety of settings and characters. The play makes for an engaging two hours, and most of the sketches hit the spot. The opening piece is Anuvab Pal’s “The Bureaucrat”, directed by Kunaal Roy Kapoor. The witty narrative of a government officer’s life viewed in 1968, 1983 and 2010, is delivered with panache by Anand Tiwari, Neil Bhoopalam and Bugs Bhargava Krishna. Imran Adil plays an increasingly lackadaisical office peon. The script’s attention to detail translates on to the stage. Three tables display paraphernalia such as telephone models and the light atop an officer’s car. They capture the metamorphosis of the bureaucrat as well as office décor. “Kachre Ki Hifaazat” written by Ashok Mishra and directed by Rajit Kapur has an intriguing beginning; a man carefully steps out from under a white sheet to discover he is a ghost. Yashpal Sharma effectively evokes the humorous, exciting and often -vague experience of being bodyguard to a bumbling self-serving chief minister. Also in Hindi is Purva Naresh’s “Aabodana”, directed by Akarsh Khurana. Tiwari and Preetika Chawla deftly move between wit and heartbreak as they play small town immigrants who come together and fall apart in Mumbai. The plot may not be novel, but the poetic turns of phrase and insight make this love story worth telling. In “Load Shedding” directed by Nadir Khan, the diminutive, gifted Tiwari sits on a ladder to depict a speaking lamppost at the edge of the Worli Sea link. A rich vein of humour runs through playwright Farhad Sorabjee’s speculations on the murky political water under the magnificent bridge. Joanna Murray-Smith’s “Creado, Constance” was adapted for One On One by director Arghya Lahiri. While the vignette doesn’t correspond to the state of the nation, it is one of the shows finest. Shernaz Patel puts in a sensitive, sensual performance as a widow rediscovering her sexuality. A patch of light falls on the floor as if through a window, and fallen apples at her feet complete the intimacy of the scene. Patel returns to the stage as a conniving mother-in-law in Maia Katrak’s “White On White”. The play isn’t a direct comment on the country and the plot is not entirely convincing. Director Pushan Kripalani skillfully uses Adil’s presence to sketch in the son-in-law. “Dear Richard” is an adaptation of a letter by real-life irate airline customer Oliver Beale, tweaked for the Indian stage by Khurana and director Nadir Khan. Rajit Kapur performs the piece, which entertains despite its length and occasional snobbery. Khan who designed the sound for the show along with Ayaz Ansari, puts in a cheeky song at the end of the piece. Neil La Bute’s “Bash”, directed by Rahul da Cunha, comes across as a rather conventional, even stereotypical, piece on a well-to-do couple (Chawla and Bhoopalam) who get off on gay bashing. Da Cunha’s next piece, “Instant Behosh”, features Amit Mistry playing a terrified colleague of Kasab. The piece could do with some fine-tuning and some of the humour could rankle members of the audience. But da Cunha’s ability to connect the sensibilities of Pakistanis and Indians while taking the philosophy underlying acts of terrorism to its extreme makes for great farce.