In a city stage premiere, Naseeruddin Shah takes on the mantle of director as he pays tribute to George Bernard Shaw in the three-piece play By the author
In a city stage premiere, Naseeruddin Shah takes on the mantle of director as he pays tribute to George Bernard Shaw in the three-piece play By the author
While in college, actor and director Naseeruddin Shah read many works of the well-known Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. However, over time Shah's comprehension of Shaw's versatility and humour deepened and thus was born the English play By George. Produced by Shah's Motley Theatre Group, the play will premiere in town this Saturday and is a collection of three of Shaw's popular pieces: English Pronunciation, How He Lied to Her Husband and Village Wooing. It's a family affair with Shah directing, wife Ratna Pathak Shah designing sets and elder son Imaad acting in one of the pieces. And Shaw's sharp wit and perfection with the English language binds the stories.
Kenny Desai remembers that when for the first time Shaw's long poem English Pronunciation was read out to the crew, nobody could get it right. However, it took him five days to master the poem by heart and By George will be opened by Desai's recital of the poem. A solo performance, Desai says that English Pronunciation brings out Shaw's pet obsession with the use of the language. "The poem shows how frustrating, confusing and puzzling the English language can be. It is spoken throughout the world but follows no phonetic rules," says Desai.
With words like corpse, corps, horse, and worse in a single line, the poem may confuse the audience, admits Desai but says that if English is relevant then this piece of Shaw's work will appeal to the contemporary audience. Also, audio visual aides will be provided for the audience to fathom the difference between spelling and pronunciation of certain words.
How He Lied To her Husband, on the other hand, is a three-act play set in a small flat in London and revolves around Aurora Bompas, her husband Teddy and admirer Henry. Anand Tiwari, who plays the role of Henry, describes How He Lied To her Husband as a farcical love story and a spin off on Shaw's famous play Candida.u00a0 The story begins when Aurora misplaces some poems written on her by Henry. She is scared that her
husband will somehow find them and fears the confrontation.u00a0
"The play shows love stories are not like fairy tales. Henry is a charismatic young man, who sees the world through a small filter. But as the play progresses, he gains some wisdom," shares Tiwari. He also adds that By George strictly adheres to the original script since Shaw is timeless and universal. However, for Tiwari, who is used to the Mumbai English, Shaw's verbose script with long sentences was the biggest hurdle, which was
overcome by long and arduous rehearsals.
Aahana Khurana, who plays Z in the final piece, Village Wooing, says that her character is quite like her own dramatic and energetic personality. Ambitious and focused village belle Z meets the misanthropic author A on a cruise. As their romance blossoms, the inherent difference between man and woman's nature comes to light. Z falls in love with A the moment she meets him and feels that he is the only way she can escape her middle-class existence. But A is a grumpy man who at first pays no heed to her.
u00a0"Z is like most of Shaw's female characters. The man tries to dismiss her views, but she emerges a winner at the end," says Khurana describing Village Wooing as the most relatable play in the world. The play, according to Aahana, shows how bickering has always been a part of a man-woman relationship. And despite the age-old battle of sexes, the mutual need for each other was and will remain alive.
Where Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Malleswaram
On August 20, 6.30 pm
Call 42064969
For R 500, 750, 1,000, 2,000 and 2,500
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