This play is for nature

In a world that keeps inching steadily towards an environmental catastrophe can we afford to have a limited number of conservationists fighting a battle on everyones behalf Or should teachers doctors engineers lawyers artistes and other professionals be their own environmentalists When author Amitav Ghosh made a strong case for the latter in a podcast around two years ago asking listeners if their work features concern for nature Bengalurubased theatre director Aruna Ganesh Ram got thinking Her immersive theatre company Visual Respiration had produced performances on gender memory food and traditional games but not so much on the environmentAruna Ganesh RamThat was the trigger for me to start engaging with the subject recalls Aruna about her teams research that began in July 18 We did a lot of reading mdash books by Vandana Shiva Rachel Carson David Attenborough and Robin Kimmermer guided us along the way We had insightful conversations with Bittu Sahgal and Prerna Singh Bindra And all the questions that we grappled with found their way into the performance she adds Under Pressure a theatrical piece devised by Deepika Chauhan Asha Ponikiewska and Aditya Garg which Aruna has directed premiered in Bengaluru in January It makes its Mumbai debut this FridayThe performance explores our relationship with nature in three partsThe performance combines poetry movement and storytelling and explores the human bond with nature through multiple perspectives Divided into three segments the first part depicts the 385millionyearold existence of trees on earth There is a poem called Aam by Gulzar that he graciously allowed us to use It speaks of his relationship with a tree he grew up playing beneath It reminded me of how climbing trees was a part of my childhood while my son plays on the manicured lawns of a gated community shares ArunaThe second segment brings in multiple players in the environment narrative mdash the rag picker capitalist journalist and consumerist mdash through a language of gestures and masks When it comes to caring for nature everyone is on a different journey While some of us are conscious of composting waste others keep it at the level of switching off fans when not in use But we are all battling systems that function to make us buy more than we need explains ArunaThe final part titled Polymer is centered on the plastic problem Through puppetry and movement we create a dystopian world that urges the audience to take a moment and think of the fact that since the time the first bit of plastic entered our planet it hasnt left she addsFittingly the play uses a set made of upcycled plastic while also swapping theatre lights for regular lighting With the action unfolding in close proximity of the audience they often come away overwhelmed by the state of environmental destruction we have reached Aruna says The information we present is not new But has all the talk on climate change left us cold As practitioners of the live medium of theatre the idea is to be one spoke in the larger wheel of conversationON June 28 and 29 8 pmAT The Cuckoo Club 5AA Pali Hill Road Bandra WestLOG ON TO insiderinEntryRs 400Catch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates