Curtain Call: A solo act play, on stage and online, hits home social message - Hindustan Times
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Curtain Call: A solo act play, on stage and online, hits home social message

ByNipun Dharmadhikari
May 09, 2021 04:12 PM IST

“Every Brilliant Thing” adapted from the eponymous play written by Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe, the Indian version was adapted and directed by Quasar Thakore Padamsee and produced by Toral Shah and Vivek Rao of theatre company QTP

One of the last plays that I saw live, in a theatre, was “Every Brilliant Thing”. This was in 2019. Weird. Yes. But let’s move on, shall we? Even though it’s nearly two years since I watched it, the play is still fresh in my head. This statement is meant more for the play than my ability to remember things. Adapted from the eponymous play written by Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe, the Indian version was adapted and directed by Quasar Thakore Padamsee and produced by Toral Shah and Vivek Rao of theatre company QTP. Vivek Madan is the protagonist and the only actor who has rehearsed the play! We’ll get to the details in sometime.

Adapted from British playwright Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe’s play, “Every Brilliant Thing” is a solo act by Vivek Madan (in pic) that deal with mental health issues. (HT PHOTO)
Adapted from British playwright Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe’s play, “Every Brilliant Thing” is a solo act by Vivek Madan (in pic) that deal with mental health issues. (HT PHOTO)

Before the play begins, Vivek walks amongst the audience. Chats with them informally. He hands a few people some chits with a seemingly random number written on it and requests them to open it only when he calls out that number. Once everyone has arrived and is seated, he walks to the centre of the stage and addresses everyone and the play starts. Just this structure of interacting with the audience beforehand diminishes the line between pre-show and actual performance. You are a part of the atmosphere from the moment you enter the auditorium. The story starts with a seven-year-old boy, finding out that his mother has just tried to take her own life. It starts with him asking his father a series of “why?”, because naturally a seven-year-old hasn’t understood the reason behind this act.

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“Every Brilliant Thing” is an interactive piece of theatre. So, Vivek asks an audience member to play his seven-year-old self and he plays his father. The person playing the son just responds with a “why?” to every explanation that Vivek, as a father, can give. Most adults have a hard time understanding what depression is, let alone a seven-year-old child. So, in whatever he grasps from that situation, he starts making a list for his mother. A list of every beautiful thing he has encountered. He decides to make a list of hundred things first. When he realises that there is so much beauty around, he continues with the list well beyond the hundred. While the subject of the play is extremely serious, the writing and presentation isn’t. But it is this combination that hits the message home!

The protagonist grows up, makes friends, gets into a relationship, gets married and continues his dialogue with his parents. All other characters are played by members of the audience picked by Vivek. I wasn’t aware about this format till I watched the play and it was one of the best evenings I had experienced in a long time. The crowd that day was sensitive, some were even natural actors. It was a cathartic experience and it made me understand what a few of my friends might be going through in real life. I even gifted a ticket to one of them for the next show.

Once we entered the new normal, Quasar and company took this play online. As far as I know, Quasar wasn’t too keen as he belongs to the group of people who doesn’t consider online performances as “theatre”. But he was convinced that the need to discuss this subject during the lockdown was extremely important and they decided to go ahead with a limited run. I bought a ticket for my entire family and watched it with them. The play had been adapted again for the online performance – with Vivek at his house in Bengaluru, Quasar and the technical team in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and Lucknow! It was a good show but like any other play, I felt the impact was a lot better when I watched it live.

But what was different about the online performance was that after the show there was a two-minute break and the audience was asked to stay behind to have a conversation. And the producers had made sure that the conversation was conducted by a psychologist. This sensitivity towards the material and the subject was new to me! The producers understood that many of the audience members might be isolated, probably out of work and also dealing with their personal demons. They wanted to provide a way if they wanted to vent if the play triggered them in any way. This kind of social responsibility is hard to find.

I do not know what the future holds for theatre in general. But if I were to make a list of every brilliant play I have ever watched, I am sure “Every Brilliant Thing” will feature in it till the end.

Nipun Dharmadhikari is a storyteller and looks forward to telling them on stage, in front of the camera or in person.

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