.......And the heart, the mind, and what not. Newbie theatre group, The Skins Production's debut play depicts the changing avatar of love in the urbanscape

The helpless romantic, the bimbo, the ball-busting tease, the closet case, the boy and girl next door, the healthy cynic and the poetess obsessed with scatological aspects of life these are the varied characters that make Lovepuke, a contemporary romantic (or not) play.

Model-turned-actor-turned theatre director Saba Azad says the debut offering from theatre group, The Skins Production, of which she is a part, promises to be an entertaining script that Mumbai audiences will connect with. That's a good start.



New Zealander Duncan Sarkies' script Lovepuke, written in 1993, has been performed all over the world in the last 17 years. Sarkies himself is a stand-up comic, so a good laugh is guaranteed. "The humour is tongue in cheek, sometimes terse yet relatable.

That makes it a perfect first play for the group and for me as a debutant theatre director," says Azad. Her mother Shehla Hashmi and late uncle Safdar Hashmi are well known names in the theatre circuit.

Actor Imaad Shah, who plays Joe the narrator, seconds Azad, "In fact, everyone in the audience is likely to connect with one character or the other. They are all slightly exaggerated but there's that one aspect that you will associate yourself with."

Befitting the present-day love scenario theme, is a cast that includes promising, young actors from the English theatre scene. Azad says she has tweaked a few details to contextualise it for Indian audiences. "The changes are mostly contextual or cultural.
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For instance, Christmas becomes Diwali, and the names of characters are tweaked. The, language, especially slang, has been changed in a few places. And, yes, we have toned down the very sexual conversations."

Speaking of changes, we ask if Azad has changed the end of the play where the entire cast breaks into a romantic song (it has been universally criticised as corny). "Well, you'll have to drop by to find out," she says.