Acting on the spot

Jayati Bhatia

There is usually a gaping void left in the lives of the actors after the final staging of a particular play. They had been rehearsing for months before that, going through the motions to perfect the performance. They had mugged up the lines of the script and internalised the emotions. The cast and crew becomes almost like family in the process. And there is thus a feeling of vacancy when the curtain drops, because they have to readjust their lives once that routine breaks.

Quasar Thakore-Padamsee

But Mantra Mugdh, Jayati Bhatia and Pushkaraj Chirputkar will not have to go through that experience when they stage White Rabbit Red Rabbit online this evening, in three different languages - English (Mugdh), Hindi (Bhatia) and Marathi (Chirputkar). That's because this unique production is devised in such a way that the actors are expected to read the script for the first time when they get up on stage to perform the play. There are no rehearsals. They have no prior knowledge of what the plot entails. So, they have to think and act on their feet, improvising on the spot as and when they read the lines for the first time, discovering the plot along with the audience.

Mantra Mugdh

Quasar Thakore-Padamsee, who's produced the play, explains that it was written by Nassim Soleimanpur, an Iranian playwright who was barred from leaving his country. Padamsee says, "He had refused to serve in the military, and his passport had thus been impounded. So, he came up with this concept where his play could travel all over the world even though he couldn't. He didn't want directors like me interfering with his work. That's why Nassim devised an idea of writing a letter to the audience, with the actor relaying his message even though they have no prior knowledge of what it entails."

Pushkaraj Chirputkar

Padamsee adds that while this concept can be liberating for an actor, it can be nerve-wracking at the same time. "Jayati had called me up panicking one day, saying, ‘Haan toh bol diya maine, lekin ab haalat kharab ho rahi hain.' The thing is, you have to be absolutely truthful and honest as an actor because by the time you have read a line, you have already said it out aloud. Your instinct comes to the fore, and it's almost pure theatre in that sense," he says.

The play being staged this evening, Padamsee continues, is part of a global initiative called Let There be Theatre. It is meant to commemorate March 13, which is the date last year when most theatres across the world were shut down due to the pandemic, throwing the lives and incomes of the people involved in disarray. Over 100 productions of White Rabbit Red Rabbit will be staged across different countries at 8 pm local time. The funds collected will be donated to Stayin

Alive, a platform to help artistes affected by the prevailing situation. So, book a ticket but don't ask what the plot will entail. Your guess is as good as ours, or even the actor's in this case.

On: Today, 8 pm
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Cost: Rs 300