A comedy of mistaken identities

While some say this theatre production is a take off from Shakespeare’s A Comedy of Errors, the director of the The Urge, Aamir Raza Husain, says it’s a hysterical story of mistaken identities.

While some say this theatre production is a take off from Shakespeare’s A Comedy of Errors, the director of the The Urge, Aamir Raza Husain, says it’s a hysterical story of mistaken identities.

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“The play is actually a dated one and was written by a not-so-popular English playwright in the 1930’s, who had compared it to A Comedy of Errors. For the British, the topic of mistaken identities was a new concept, but for us, it is very common and has been seen in many Bollywood movies,” says Husain, who has performed popular plays across the country.

The comic play, being presented by Stagedoor Productions, revolves around the story of a poor chorus girl who becomes a star, an understudy who becomes the lead, and a stage hand who becomes the star — characters who have also been the subject of numerous films and plays.

“In most comedies, the plot is not very important, rather humour is in the lines, the characterisation and the actor’s ability to pull it off,” says Husain. Husain disagrees with those who say that the theatre scene in the country has changed. “The basic elements that make a good play remain the same. Good plays are still being made. Talent is what we need,” he says.

The cast of the play, which includes seven actors, has travelled almost all across the country and will now perform in Delhi tomorrow.