Voices through time: Catch this play in Mumbai that explores democracy through varied perspectives

Sharvari Deshpande, Dusha, Ashwini Giri and Kalyanee Mulay on stage

Democracy is a fragile idea this week. Even as we write, an increasing uncertainty envelops the world, and it only feels more chaotic by the hour. "Finding the right words to articulate the feelings, the anger and even disappointment can be hard at such moments. That's why works like these are all the more relevant," shares Parna Pethe. The director is preparing for the latest staging of her directorial debut, Something Like Truth, at the NCPA this weekend.

The journey of the play began early in 2024 when Pethe was looking to transition from actor to director. "I had worked across films and theatre, predominantly in Marathi, and wanted to explore direction. I was actually reading Gurmehar Kaur's Small Acts of Freedom. But the permissions for adaptation proved quite complex," she admits.

A moment from the performance

The solution lay closer home, in Shanta Gokhale's work, Three Monologues on Truth and Justice. The monologue form of the work, and its context drew Pethe's attention. "Usually, plays are either character-driven, scene driven or narrative driven. This was different," the debutant director elaborates.

Gokhale's work revolves around three monologues - one from the famed Dreyfus Affair in 19th Century France, another set among the 2002 riots in India, and the third from a civil war-torn Sri Lanka. To stage the monologues in a dramatic form, Pethe had to adapt and restructure its form. A challenge, especially when handling a work of a senior playwright like Gokhale. "She [Gokhale] was very sweet to me though. I met her several times to discuss the language, and also to update the text to imply contemporary elements," she shares.

(Left) Ashwini Giri; Sharvari Deshpande perform Gokhale's text on the stage. Pics Courtesy/Parna Pethe

The director approached this using the tools of music, movement and language. The choice of a mixed language of Hindi and English, despite having a cast of prominent Marathi actors (Kalyanee Mulay, Ashwini Giri, Sharvari Deshpande, Dusha and Aabha Soumitra) was purposeful. The decision, Pethe adds, was guided by the ambition of taking the play on tour across the country.

Maitreyee Joshi and Aabha Soumitra played a role in guiding the movement and music for the performances. Pethe remarks, "Everything we explored in the text, was done through the context of movement and music. They were second only to the text, and allowed us to find a new form for the play." In the absence of stage directions, or context of location in Gokhale's text, the choreographed movement and rhythms raise the tempo of the drama.

Parna Pethe

Then, there are the women. Played by Mulay, Giri, Deshpande and Dusha, telling the stories of four women who are part of the context. "The first is a cleaning woman in the legal office where the Dreyfus affair is being debated. The second monologue explores the perspective of Alfred Dreyfus' wife. The third one belongs to a survivor of the 2002 riots. The fourth story comes from a journalist in war-torn Sri Lanka, who speaks from an article by the late Lasantha Wickrematunge, who wrote and predicted his own death in the paper he published," explains Pethe. These perspectives also cover the four pillars of democracy; executive, judiciary, administration and media. "But that is our own interpretation," the 35-year-old clarifies.

Shanta Gokhale. File Pic

Having already made a mark in Pune and Mumbai, the director hopes to set out on a cross-country tour with the production in the second half of the year. "We hope to take it beyond the major metros to venues in Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara as well," Pethe concludes.

ON June 21; 7 pm
AT Experimental Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point.
LOG ON TO in.bookmyshow.com; ncpamumbai.com
ENTRY Rs 400 onwards