Funny man Makrand Deshpande’s new play
Joke
is based on the idea of faith. “Joke is about a writer who chooses to believe in his childhood faith of fairies rather than in God. We are all told what to believe in, in our childhood, right? It’s a story about a man who questions this idea of faiths,” explains Deshpande, the writer and director.
Deshpande says the brainwave of the play was the current political, economic and social happenings world over. “The protagonist thinks, that he can’t change or fight the world alone, but he can definitely fight himself and thus tries to find his fairy.” And does he find the fairy? “His fairies are in the form of humans,” answers Deshpande.
Is the title
Joke
, a satire? Deshpande explains, “No it’s not. It’s because of the way society is right now. If we take everything seriously, then we will die out of anxiety. We are all living on the edge, with economic collapses, terror attacks and being questioned on who we are randomly. The play attempts an honest question and humour comes out because the answer if funny.”
Deshpande finished the first draft of the play two months back, after which he dashed to rehearse it. He’s excited about the actors, most of who are new and believes that this play will be a fresh experience. “These actors are wonderful, the performances will be real and there’s a lot of unpredictability and surprise in store for the audience,” he says. “Viewers will feel that the play is being written in front of them,” adds Deshpande who has already written the sequel, Joke 2 during the rehearsals.
{{/usCountry}}Deshpande finished the first draft of the play two months back, after which he dashed to rehearse it. He’s excited about the actors, most of who are new and believes that this play will be a fresh experience. “These actors are wonderful, the performances will be real and there’s a lot of unpredictability and surprise in store for the audience,” he says. “Viewers will feel that the play is being written in front of them,” adds Deshpande who has already written the sequel, Joke 2 during the rehearsals.
{{/usCountry}}The sequel,
Joke 2
will be of the folklore type. “Having set this one in the urban backdrop, the sequel will pose a rural one. And later I wish to stage the two plays together,” he says, hoping to stage the sequel by March.
About faith and power, political and philosophical existence, Deshpande believes
Joke
will be a sweet and charming experience, and his “most important play till date”. Get ready for two hours of a serious Joke.
The play is a production of Ansh Theatre Group. Cast: Makarand Deshpande, Abir Abrar, Aseem Hattangadi, Kshitee Jog, Sanjay Dadhich, Nivedita Bhattacharya. Music: Shailendra Barve, Lights: Dhanendra Kawade.