Halahal is the mythical poison Shiva drank to save the world, one that earned him the name Neelkanthak. Writer-director Priyanka Charan found resonance with the story with respect to the country's draconian sedition law, "just like the words that choke us when they can't find a voice." And so, her play that was first staged at the Vibha Mishra theatre festival in Bhopal last year and premieres in the city on Saturday is called Halla-hal.

The solo performance tells the story of a mother (played by Sonali Bhardwaj) whose son asks too many questions. While she questions her parenting at first, she realises that there is in fact nothing wrong in the act of questioning. The son is later booked under the sedition law. The mother's lament is on a largely bare stage, save for a torn bloodied kurta that fills in for the son's absence. The story is set in an unnamed place, the language is Hindustani and the costume can't be traced back to a singular culture. "You can't tell whether the woman is Hindu, Muslim or Jesuit. She wears a headscarf, mekhala, an umbrella skirt and slacks. The outfit is both Indian and Western," says Charan, who gave up a banking job for full-time theatre and films.