It is unfortunate that many Indians have a conception that when a woman gets married and moves into her husband's home, she will be at loggerheads with her mother-in-law like two cats meowing at each other and raising a ruckus. There are numerous soap operas across languages that have reinforced this notion, either painting the young bride as someone who is a willing thorn in the relationship that her husband shares with his mum, or vice-versa (close your eyes for a second and imagine the dramatic background music that underscores the pivotal scenes of their evil machinations, to get a better picture). Why does this tu-tu-main-main take place? What can either person do to mend the situation? These are some of the questions that are at the root of a new play called Bed Bugs, which will be screened online this weekend.

Namrata Sharma of Kela Natya Sanstha has directed it, based on a piece written by Manjula Padmanabhan. Sharma tells us that the plot revolves around a newly wed girl who enters her husband's home, only to find that his mother will share a large bed with them every night. It's a complicated situation, because even though the older woman wants to be around the young couple all the time, she doesn't really want to share the bed with them, just like they don't want to either. Sharma, who's also an actor in the play, says, "This is a common Indian scenario, and the story talks about how the mother deals with the situation. It talks about her frustrations and loneliness, and reflects on how we sometimes expect our children to mirror our own lives."