Reading Edgar Allan Poe changed my life: Actor Vivaan Shah ahead of his solo act based on the writer's short story

Growing up under the wings of veteran theatre makers Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah Vivaan Shah doesnrsquot remember a time when theatre wasnrsquot a part of his life ldquoI would often hang out backstage and be fascinated by the crew loading props onto trucks after performances Being an overenthusiastic child I would rush to lend a hand sometimesrdquo he recalls fondly As Shah prepares to present his new mystery thriller this weekend we reckon hersquoll miss the trucks doublyEdgar Allan Poe PIC COURTESYWIKIMEDIA COMMONSDirected performed and narrated all by the actor the literal onemanshow performed with minimal props is the actorrsquos take on The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether a short story by American poet and author Edgar Allan Poe mdash an old obsession for Shah ldquoReading Poe changed my life He wrote about the human mind in a singular way and probed some of the greatest mysteries of the mind Interestingly not a lot of people know about Poersquos humorous side that lends itself effortlessly to some exciting theatre adaptation possibilitiesrdquo he explainsAmong the few who always knew is the actorrsquos father and mentor Naseeruddin Shah ldquoWe Motley would stage big productions of Shakespeare George Bernard Shaw and Tennessee Williams I remember being a part of Androcles and the Lion by Shaw when I was all of five But with time all the taamjhaam arrangements became an ordeal Imagine getting more than 30 actors together every single time Thatrsquos when my father turned to seeking inspiration from prose which led to plays based on essays and stories by Ismat Chughtai Manto Stephen Leacock and now Poerdquo the 34yearold reveals Ratna Pathak Shah and fiveyearold Vivaan at a performance of Androcles and the LionThe upcoming play follows a naiumlve visitorrsquos misadventures at a mental asylum in southern France that hides more than meets the eye ldquoThe magic is in the characters My favourite part is putting on multiple European accents over the course of the play because Irsquom playing all the characters I enjoy it to the corerdquo laughs Shah who calls the solo act liberating ldquoWhen you see me act you might call it overthetop Itrsquos dramatic and unabashedly so Naturalism and method acting has become the norm because you see it all around you mdash in TV shows web series and in plays But my heart lies in surrealismrdquo the actor reveals We arenrsquot surprised Shahrsquos Instagram handle gave it away before he did thesurrealvivaanshahThe artiste while taking a detour off the beaten path is still mindful of the responsibility he carries ldquoGrowing up I only ever cared about what my parents thought of my art If they liked it I would be the happiest man in the world Now therersquos an audience that I also need to take into considerationrdquo he points out However Shah has no plans to leave his carefree version behind as he gears for the performance ldquoAs an adult I am constantly looking to tap into the child inside me The unmotivated purely impulsive style of expression fits my genre perfectlyrdquo he assures usNaseeruddin Shah FILE PICAt this point in the conversation wersquore met with a classic noir trope We learn that Shah has a close companion who has been working from the shadows Kunal Sharma who is entrusted with the light design carries a mammoth responsibility on his shoulders ldquoSo much of what noir and macabre are is because of the lighting The interplay of light and shadow or as the Italians call it chiaroscuro is the key to setting the right ambiencerdquo Shah shares adding ldquoRecreating the emotions that yoursquod experience watching films from bygone eras like that of German expressionism isnrsquot an easy task to pull off on stagerdquoThe actor admits a play like this comes with its own share of downsides too Missing your theatre peers for instance ldquoI miss the collaborative spirit that fills the room during a rehearsalrdquo he reminisces Another creative pursuit that the actor continues to kindle might help with that With two web series mdash a medical drama and a finance thriller mdash on the cards and a movie that will speak about communal harmony in the pipelines wersquore sure the actor has been in great companyON August 17 6 pm and 8 pm August 18 5 pm and 7 pmAT Prithvi Theatre Juhu Church Road Janki Kutir JuhuLOG ON TO inbookmyshowinENTRY Rs 150