Naatak’s ‘Party’ raises questions

What is genuine? What is credible?

Naatak Production Company had the opening night of its latest play “Party” last weekend. It is based on the Hindi translation of the Marathi play by Mahesh Elkunchwar.

The title “Party” would have you believe that you are about to enjoy an evening, at a friend’s home, in the company of good friends, with food and libations punctuated by pleasantries. The story reflects an ecosystem of outwardly suave and polished individuals, who divest their facade, and become catty, petty, cynical and pretentious, as the evening progresses.

This party is set in the home of a wealthy and well connected patron of arts, Damyanti Rane, to felicitate an award won by a well known playwright, Diwakar Barve. The slew of guests represents an eclectic mix of individuals, who through their myriad interactions with other guests reveal some telling attributes about themselves to the audience.

There is Barveji, who is upheld as a symbol and stalwart of what a successful award winning playwright should be like. He, however, in a moment of shared weakness confides his insecurities to Damyanti and in turn hears about her deep seated struggles behind the ultra sophistication front.

Barve’s female companion, the neurotic Mohini bares her soul every chance she gets to whoever would listen. Soni, an unwed mother, and Damyanti’s daughter rebels against the pseudo intellectual society she finds herself surrounded with, and wants to lead a life with her head held high. This situation forces the group who claim “it’s the duty of the well-to-do to help the needy” to confront their own prejudices.

Another guest, the Doctor, appears as the host’s sounding board and critic of other guests. The self righteous, up and coming playwright, Bharat, tries hard to be considered Barve’s protege to be accepted by this group, and pretends to have higher ambitions than merely fame and fortune. Other characters include a gate crashing couple Malavika, a wanna-be socialite and her reluctant husband, Naren, who provides comic relief as the perpetually sleepy member of the party.

The communist, outspoken Vrinda, while analyzing the motivation of other characters, reveals her own insecurities and challenges. An interesting addition to this mix, is the character of Agashe about whom everybody at the party has an opinion. He, however, challenges the claim that Barve’s plays are intellectual, and not commercial, while candidly admitting his plays are written to make money.

The pivotal character of Amrit, in absentia, who, disgusted by the games his literary colleagues play has lived up to his ideals and turned into a social activist trying to restore the rights of a tribal community. The guests laud his commitment, while, themselves lacking the courage to act on their beliefs. Joginder, the journalist ultimately communicates the fate that befalls Amrit to the gathering.

In a conversation, Director Ravi Bhatnagar emphasized the Chekhovian nature of the play and said that he aims to raise questions in the audience’s mind, and make them think. He says this is “theater in real time” where the story is bookended by the beginning and end of the play. He suggests that the “changing relationships of characters is like a kaleidoscope”.

The stage was set with just enough props to depict three separate locations, deftly isolated with spotlights. The main party area was rather drab however, and not convincing as a set for a high society party.

The actors shared that they spend two to three months in rehearsals and “try to get under the skin of their character, so they can be the character, not just play the character”. They also noted how live theater allows them to interact with the audience, who become a “lens” through which the performance is viewed.

The character of Mohini, played by Priya Satia stands out particularly as an authentic depiction of someone who gave up all, and got nothing more than mere reflected glory and neurosis. Agashe’s character, played ably by Puneet is probably the most in sync and has great interaction with the audience. A noteworthy performance by Ashish Divetia as Bharat portraying the unsure, yet bold facade. An understated Barve is Vijay Rajvaidya’s forte.

The director takes his time to develop the interactions among the guests at the party, to the point where it begins to drag, with many repetitions of the same theme, and takes the play to its conclusion 100 minutes later. Because of the multiple iterations of similar issues, the tension between the characters appears contrived at times.

At other times, the direction is tight, and the subtle weaving of the comic relief is welcome to break the on-stage tension. The play does live up to the promise of raising questions, and I came away with “What is genuineness”? “How do we know when someone is credible”?

Ultimately, as a social commentary and a charade, the play was credible in that it reflects the duality and insecurities in all of us. Boxed in by their beliefs and prejudices, individuals can only expand their thinking to the limits within which they bind themselves. I look forward to witnessing more thought-provoking, question-raising performances in the future by Naatak.

Archana Asthana
India Post News Service