Lovers of drama typically rely on a conventional-sized playhouse or overstated make-up and props when thinking of on-stage acts. But the stage — rejoiced for its intimacy — can best impart nearness in simplicity. As happens in a classroom. Chairs are pulled out, regular clothing replaces costumes, and we hunt for paper crowns or dusty goblets for an audience to see actors invested in making artistic capital. Guldasta, a production with 14 short stories, will lead us through minimal prompts to lay the text bare. “We are following the text closely,” says Hidayat Sami, director of the play. He adds that although they have translated short stories by great writers, they have done it without embellishments. “The actor in any of these plays is quite like a fly on the wall that’s watching the story unfold. I have trained with the likes of Satyajit Dubey and Naseeruddin Shah. I try to keep it simple, and ask actors to make the story their own.” The play takes after a uniform colour palette of red, black and white — hues Dubey liked.

Hidayat Sami