24 July,2009 08:22 AM IST | | Balaji Narasimhan and Michelle Wilfred
Theatre-lovers get to savour two plays over the next three days John Guare's Six Degrees of Separation and Antaheen, an adaptation of Sartre's Huis Clos
Adapting an old play to suit modern tastes is not an easy task, but Manav Kaul, the director of Antaheen, says that he decided to do it because Arundhati Nag of Ranga Shankara asked him to do a Hindi play.
Antaheen is an adaptation of Jean-Paul Sartre's 1944 existential play Huis Clos (No Exit).
"I read the book a long time back and made some notes, and when Arundhati Nag asked me to direct a Hindi play, I checked out these notes and character sketches and decided to base it on this," he says.
A lot of changes had to be made, he said, adding that, "It is an old play in the old style with too many monologues, but the idea was very interesting, so I was excited and rewrote the whole thing and even changed the ending." Sartre dealt with a lesbian in the book but in light of the changed attitudes towards gays and lesbians, Kaul said that, "Today, it is a way of living and so in my play it is normal and subtle." He further adds that in the 1940s, lesbianism was a modern concept and so was dealt with in a particular way.
The biggest change in the story is that in the original, humans were condemned to be free, but Kaul's story is about bondage. Kaul said, "Freedom is a very relative term. In Afghanistan, I just want to breathe freely, but in India, I want a lot more. In fact, in the play, there is a time when the door of hell is opened, and the people are free to leave, but they don't."
Kaul's characters are from Bangalore, Delhi and Rajasthan and the set is a life-like posh plastic room.
Play: Antaheen
Directed by: Manav Kaul
At: Ranga Shankara
On: Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm, Sunday at 3:30 pm and 7:30 pm
All play, no work
Six Degrees... explores human connections
WATCH human drama unfold as Bangalore-based theatre group Version One Dot Oh! (VODO) stages John Guare's Six Degrees of Separation.
Directed by Srikrishna Sridhar Murthy, the play is based on the true story of David Hampton, a conman who managed to convince a number ofu00a0 people that he was the son of a famous actor. Guare uses props of the late 20th century to create a picture of a fragmented society, one in which those simple six degrees that bind people together are overlooked, blatantly ignored and, very occasionally, celebrated.
"The play has multiple themes, one of which is human connections. The play moves at a fast pace and is packed with humour, sarcasm and farce. It basically analyses human connections," says Srikrishna.
VENUE: Alliance Francaise de Bangalore, Vasanth Nagar
TIMINGS: 7.30 pm on Friday; 3.30 pm and 7.30 pm on Saturday
TICKETS: Rs 200
