The strength of theatre has always rested in the hands of its writer, and the kind of dialogues he/she pens down to make it effective. But Makarand Deshpande’s new play, Jawab, addresses issues that women face currently without any dialogues — in the form of a pantomime act. Deshpande, who is the writer and creative director for this new production, says that the play is an answer to many questions.
“Is a Woman’s Day enough to establish respect for the female sex? Is she treated like an equal? Is she safe even in her own house? These are some of the questions that will be answered through this play,” he explains.
Ask him how challenging is it to write a play that has no dialogues at all, and he says, “I had to work a lot on this. It isn’t like writing regular drama. At times, I had to write the entire scene without words and using only sounds. On other occasions, I would actually include dialogues, complete the scene and then remove the dialogues.”
Despite calling it a pantomime act, Deshpande admits that some lines were crossed. “For the audience to understand the essence and message of the play, it was important for us to get the point across. In some scenes we have used sounds of words, which would give them an idea of what’s going on stage,” he says.
The writer-director is also confident that the play will get good reception from the audiences. “People will want to know what the play is about, and when they see it, they will realise how challenging it is to create something like this,” he says.
{{/usCountry}}The writer-director is also confident that the play will get good reception from the audiences. “People will want to know what the play is about, and when they see it, they will realise how challenging it is to create something like this,” he says.
{{/usCountry}}Catch the play at Prithvi Theatre, Juhu, on March 16 and 17, at 11 am. Tickets cost R200. Call 2614 9546 for more details.