Five characters from disease-ridden London come to Mumbai in Rehaan Engineeru00c3u00a2u00c2u0080u00c2u0099s rendering of award-winning play, One Flea Spare
The cast rehearses a scene from the play. PICS/SAMEERu00c3u00a2u00c2u0080u00c2u0088MARKANDE
There is a potent kind of energy in a room, when actors prepare, and the evening at Andheri West's Laxmi Estate is no different. The small rehearsal space has expanded into a stage with Rajat Kapoor doing tai chi, while Jim Sarbh stretches and does headstands, as Tom Waits' Satisfied blasts on a speaker. Everyone's individual efforts blend into a collective as director Rehaan Engineer calls for actors to change into costumes and enact a scene from One Flea Spare for us.
Having first premiered in 1995 at the Bush Theatre in London, One Flea Spare is an award-winning play by Naomi Wallace. The story revolves around five characters in plague-ridden London in the 17th century. "When you have a crisis, such as a war situation, then the norms of society break down. The situation is anarchic, much like in this play, and anarchy is good to throw away existing structures," says Kapoor, an acclaimed theatre director, who plays William Snelgrave.
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The affluent Snelgraves, William and Darcy (Dipika Roy), are about to end their 28 days of quarantine and flee London, when the forced entry of two people into their house means that they have to repeat the exercise all over again. The two entrants are a young street-smart adolescent girl, Morse (Kalki Koechlin) and a sailor, Bunce (Jim Sarbh). "The play is about boredom and social deconstruction — people who usually won't find themselves together in a situation are stuck with each other. Gender and class order are broken down in this situation," says Koechlin. She refers to Wallace's notes that accompany the script, and continues, "Though a contemporary writer, Wallace set this play in the 1600s because these things are still relevant today. We glaze over social class distinctions, and think it's impolite to refer to people as 'servants', but this is set in a time when people are not embarrassed to say such things. We think it's not about our time, but have we really come very far from all that?"
From left: Actors Rajat Kapoor, Dipika Roy, Hitesh Malukani, Kalki Koechlin and Jim Sarbh
Also, as Sarbh and Koechlin tell us, it's a "highly sexual" play. Take Roy's character, Darcy, for instance. "She is a bit of a stranger to herself and the two people who enter the house turn into a catalyst for her to reach within. Somewhat uncontrolled elements leap out from her nature. It was a powerful statement for Wallace to make — that a married upper class woman, who is neglected by her husband, finds a flame of passion in a dirty young sailor," says Roy. Look out for fingers, oranges, and toes. Sounds mysterious? We are not telling you more.
Wallace's script allows some of the best lines to Morse, who, as a child is exposed to the ways of the adult world. It comes as little surprise to have the talented Koechlin cast in this curious role — we have seen the actor take on strange parts like these in both her theatre and screen performances.
The seediest of the lot, however, is Gabe, the guard, played by Hitesh Malukani. Koechlin says that Gabe is almost representative of the plague itself. "He is much like Shakespeare's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, a side-show but also says a lot about the social structure of the time," she says.
One Flea Spare also marks Kapoor's re-entry as an actor, after nearly 12 years. The last major production that the thespian acted in was Atul Kumar's The Blue Mug, and the audience will relish this chance to catch one of their favourite directors as a vile Snelgrave. Kapoor has worked with both Sarbh and Koechlin extensively over the last four years, directing them for his plays. "He has come down to our level, from boss to co-worker. He is in this mess with us," jokes Sarbh. Kapoor says that as a director, this is not a play he would have chosen. But Engineer, who has earlier directed Caryl Churchill's Far Away, is someone he greatly admires.
The play, which sounds dystopian and dysfunctional, could take some amount of preparedness from the audience. But, the cast is conflicted. Is it a tragedy or a comedy? "If we were locked together for 28 years, it would be a tragedy. But, since we are locked only for 28 days, it's a comedy," laughs Sarbh. The cast eventually settles on the description "tragicomedy", with Kapoor wisely evoking the popular line, "Tragedy is close-up, comedy is long-shot."
The biggest mystery, of course, remains Engineer himself, who we believe has played Bunce in an earlier production of the play. The director and actor refrains from commenting, even when it's a play he is directing, and insists on remaining a greater enigma than "oranges and toes".
When: June 26-July 1, 6 PM & 9 PM
Where: Prithvi Theatre, Juhu
Entry: Rs 500
Call: 26149546
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