A play dream comes true

When a dream come true, it feels so un-dramatic that you pinch yourself to see if it is real.

It could be as simple as watchng a play. Yet when you get a chance to watch it after many missed attempts, it comes as sheer joy.

For starters, a long ride from Goregaon to Matunga's Karnataka Sangha (made me feel home) courtesy friends, and some uncertainty about tickets only led to some anticipation about the show. Am not a theatre-aware person although I have watched plays in Bangalore. 

Karnataka Sangha and Prithvi Theatre have partnered to take theatre further through monthly shows at the premises. Antigone, the play directed by Satyadev Dubey, was staged yesterday, Friday the 13th.

As for the venue Karnataka Sangha, its acoustics are not great, but Karnataka Sangha's auditorium is a well-built one despite propping up in the crowded streets of the southerner-dominated suburb. Pictures of Bendre, Kuvempu, Masti Venkatesh Iyengar and other Kannada writers on the wall near the hall's entrance were such a relief from Bollywood image onslaught that I felt subjected to all these months! 

Streets adjoining this road reminded me of Chennai in character.

An hour on, the show begins. Poor audio quality and my own bad ears made me miss out on a lot in the story. Some people made the problem insignificant though. Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah mainly. And the supporting star-cast. It took me this play to understand the how of what I would hear in plenty from theatre lovers in Bangalore, that Naseeruddin Shah is an institution. 

When he makes an entry, he can take over the entire stage by his mere presence. Ratna Pathak Shah is no less either. Her portrayal of an individual against authority - Antigone against King Cleon, outdid Naseeruddin Shah's power-packed acting in many instances.

Antigone in many ways is relevant to current day politics as much as it belonged to Greek era of yore. Who among the two could be right? Antigone, the stubborn citizen who wishes to give a decent burial to one of her brothers decreed as a traitor, or Cleon who you think is ruthless for a start, but justifies his actions so convincingly that you the viewer become confused?

Their long conversation provokes many thoughts you would otherwise not have paid heed to. When Antigone's death by hanging leaves her husband-to-be Haemon to commit suicide and his mother who dies too, you have reason to empathise with Cleon, the dictator who flexed his will wrongfully, but with conviction.

When the star-cast takes the last bow after the play's tragic end, a new-Mumbaikar like me had reason to wonder if it was indeed a dream just flitting by.

Dreams do come true. And this one inspires me to watch more plays.