Sixth sense works in Kolkata just as well as in Venice

Don't Look Now is an adaptation of a surreal short story by Daphne du Maurier, which has been set in Kolkata's Shantiniketan

Director Trishla Patel and actor Akarsh Khurana take a break during the stage setup of Don't Look Now. PIC/MEHJABEEN JAGMAG

Don't Look Now is an adaptation of a surreal short story by Daphne du Maurier, which has been set in Kolkata's Shantiniketan

Don't Look Now, a play that opened at Prithvi Theatre this Tuesday, takes off on a short story based in Venice by Daphne du Maurier. Akarsh Khurana of Akvarious Productions first came across the play when he was in Edinburgh in 2007. Intrigued by the story of grieving parents trying to deal with the loss of their child, he brought the script back home and passed it on to director Trishla Patel, and adaptor Manjima Chatterjee last year.u00a0

Manjima who had read the original short story, decided to readapt it into a new script, which was developed further with Trishla. After months of work, the two decided to base the play in Shantiniketan, Kolkata. It is here, the lives of the bereaved parents change when they meet two Banjarans who tell the father that he must pay heed to his sixth sense. "The play deals with the strong emotions of the parents, but also has an eerie, mystical aura about it," says first-time-solo director. The 21-member cast worked closely to recreate this play, which Akarsh admits is a "challenging script".u00a0

The choice of Shantiniketan as the setting was integral to the adaptation, making the play even more surreal. Akarsh, who plays the father adds, "In the original, Venice was an important location in the script. The narrow streets and canals were essential elements to the storytelling. The test was to adapt our play to Shantiniketan, which is self-contained and insular. We have tried to recreate this mood through the soundscape and sets."

Trishla, who has never visited Shantiniketan, recreated the rustic sets with designer Dhanendra Kawade with bamboo, slatted furniture and a tree slung with voodoo dolls. The Durga Puja celebrations find their way in the play and the characters switch between Bengali, English and Hindi.

Akarsh states that many people have reacted questioningly to the script, which seemed ambiguous to them because it doesn't follow any rule of linear storytelling. "The play is about how a normal situation goes bizarre.

The story of coping with loss explodes into various spaces within the play," he says.u00a0

The mystical-thriller is unlike Akvarious' earlier plays, primarily because Akarsh admits to consciously look for scripts with different subjects. The group presented the play Blackbird earlier this year and is working on a children's play next.u00a0

Don't Look Now is scheduled to play at NCPA in May and Akarsh hopes that they have been successful in creating a balance between the mood of the unusually-set play and the complex feelings of its characters.

At: Prithvi Theatre, 20 Janki Kutir, Juhu Church Road, at 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm.
Tickets Rs 80

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