Stage of hope

Mona

The theatre is so endlessly fascinating because it’s so accidental. It’s so much like life. — Arthur Miller

Life in all its intricacies is analysed, mirrored and critiqued on stage. On the World Theatre Day, we ask theatre persons about their experiences that gave them hope amidst gloom.

Emotional chord

Many times in my journey, I have come across moments that filled me with awe and hope about life but this particular one has stayed afresh years after. We enacted the play Ek Armaan in a village in Punjab; the play was about drug abuse. Post the show, an old man came to me and cried on my shoulder; sobbing, he said, ‘Had you done this play 15 days back, my son would have been alive’. To see that our story made an immediate connect with our audience made me resolve to do more such productions. Even in times like the present, I am urging my theatre friends to read a good play and share the message that they learnt with all. Life’s not to be given up, but let’s make productive use of our time.

—Kewal Dhaliwal

Keep the hope alive

I had adapted O Henry’s story The Last Leaf in 2007. The character of Behrman has stayed very close to my heart since; an artist living an insignificant life, always claiming to paint a masterpiece one day. At last he paints one, saving the life of a girl, while sacrificing his own. There are many Behrmans around the world in these times; they will become the reason of us being alive.

—Zubin Mehta

The show must go on

Twice in my career I realised that the show must go on. First it was when I had to do Loona with Kewal Dhaliwal. That I had not read but within a matter of 2-3 hours I was up on the stage giving lip movements as my co -actor said the dialogues backstage. While I had learnt the first few poems, by the end of the show it was my hair doing all the talking! The audience who had seen me on stage before wondered what happened to my voice, but then the show won the audience. Another was when I lost my father-in-law. Uncertain on how to go about, I and Shabdeesh went to stage the play right after the cremation – the opening lines of my character in Nati Binodini were — Main abhagan dukhan mari, bullan te muskan haan rakhdi. The learning, whatever the circumstances, was that the human spirit triumphs in the larger good.

–Anita Shabdeesh

Inspiring moment

Theatre has given me a chance to peep into the soul of many legends, an experience I owe to the stage. I distinctly recall when I played Bhagat Singh the first time, trying to enact the night of his shaheedi – what went through the mind of this great revolutionary and scholar made me value our revolutionaries, country and freedom even more. That this clicked with my audience too makes all those experiences even more cherished. It’s been more than two decades that I played Subhas Chandra Bose, but this one regular theatregoer, a septuagenarian, still calls me Subhas. Not that theatre artistes don’t get bogged down by the hardships, but experiences as such, make it worth it; just like life.

—Sahib Singh

Harmonious notes

I have had most valuable lessons through the acts on stage. One that made an indelible impression was playing Maulana in Jis Lahore Nai Vekhya. Not that I ever gave into Hindu-Muslim dichotomy, but getting to play Maulana reaffirmed my faith in humanity sans the religious labelling. The NRC, CAA have again made our nation relive the wounds of Partition that 70 years on are still raw. I strongly go with the ideology that theatre makes one a better human being, and consequently life.

—Sourabh Sharma

—mona@tribunemail.com