Hindi adaptation of Agatha Christie’s work marks Day 1 of theatre fest
The Hindi adaptation of Agatha Christie’s classic murder mystery opened a two-day theatre festival to mark the conclusion of the month-long national theatre workshop organised by the National School of Drama in collaboration with Manch Rangmanch. The play ‘Chuhedani’ (The Mouse Trap), written by Agatha Christie, and directed by Pritpal Rupana, was staged at Virsa Vihar. True to the essence of being a crime thriller, it presented the story of seven strangers stuck together, with their dark sides looming around.
‘The Mouse Trap’ is a popular English play by Agatha Christie. It has had more than 25,800 performances from 1953 to 2019. The play is a well-known and celebrated murder mystery, where layers of each character are revealed gradually as the true crime story unfolds.
If the first play was high on conventional thrills, edge-of-the-seat drama, the next production, ‘Punjab Vey’, by Kewal Dhaliwal was a poignant exploration of the unhealthy fascination of Punjabi youth for migrating overseas in the hope of a better future. With his distinct style of presenting burning social-political issues of Punjab packed with layers of emotional intensity, Dhaliwal’s narrative was a success. The play portrayed the desperation of young Punjabis, the torch-bearers of its culture, to move abroad.
“This play is about the Punjab that is becoming deserted because of migration. Eh Khaali honde Punjab Di Kahani Eh,” said the actor-director and playwright who has highlighted the infliction that Punjab has been suffering from through his various plays.
Weaving through several stories, inspired by real life experiences that Dhaliwal had, the second play ‘Punjab Vey’ presented how the youth, the future of Punjab, are not interested in staying in their state due to unemployment, lack educational of policy, failure of governance and accountability. They are struggling to go abroad by any means whether legal or illegal. They even put their lives and land in trouble, walking barefoot on the edge of swords to get foreign visas and are becoming victims of immigration agents. “They are losing their honour, money and family. Fake marriage, foreign education or illegal entries through dangerous international borders are their means to go abroad. Even so, living life in a foreign land has become more difficult. ‘Punjab Ve’ highlights these naked truth and appeals to the youth to stay in their state,” said Dhaliwal.