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Jump: A two-person play on battling mental health issues and loneliness in a big city
This two-person play will be performed by actors Vidushi Chadha and Sandeep Shikhar at Prithvi Theater, Juhu, Mumbai, on June 6 and 7.
It is often said that people who look the happiest on the outside feel the most sadness. Basing their entire story on this phrase, actors Vidushi Chadha and Sandeep Shikhar, will be performing in Mumbai over two days (June 6 to 7) in Prithvi Theater, Juhu.
Titled Jump, the story revolves around a female professionalwho seemingly has the best of everything and tasted success at a young age. Ready to end it all, she sneaks into a highrise and her plans are interrupted when she meets a cab driver, a frequent visitor to the terrace. This sets the stage for a collision of two worlds and economic statuses, but the end result is that they have more similarities than differences.
Written and Directed by Maneesh Verma, this two-person play focuses on normalising talking about mental health. Under this overarching concept, the story touches on everything from life and death and that in between. Conversations between the characters jump (pun intended) from having healthy relationships with themselves, family and loved ones, understanding and accepting themselves for all their flaws, and also about alcoholism, depression and more.
With such intense subjects being thrown around, for Chadha, who Chaddha “really connects with my character”, says, “For me, practising Nichiren Buddhism and chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo helped me feel calm. My character is dealing with a lot of mental health issues and has undergone everything from holistic practises to therapy, but can’t overcome them. And as someone who has dealt with her own battles with mental health, seeing a therapist, on a regular basis, also helped me with any emotional upheaval.”
On the other hand, actor Sandeep Shikhar’s challenges were more artistic. He says, "As an actor, for me, to portray any simple character is the most difficult job. In the play too, it was challenging to keep the character's simplicity while not making him ordinary."
