20 November,2010 06:25 AM IST | | Aditi Sharma
Through the satirical-cum-musical play Refund, director Avneesh Mishra expresses his anxiety about the self-centred schoolteachers and rising student suicides that plague the country's education system
What does Avneesh Mishra, a theatre student from Lucknow, have in common with Roger Waters, that legendary bassist for the rock band Pink Floyd? They voiced an opinion against a depraved schooling system. Waters achieved cult status through his protest songu00a0-- The Wall (Part II), back in 1979. Closer home and to our time, Mishra, will stage his first commercial play titled Refund, tomorrow.
The production is inspired by a little-known play of the same name written by Hungarian playwright Fritz Karinthy and adapted into English by Percival Wilde. Mishra's version is in Hindi and has been contemporised to reflect the Indian state of affairs. "Since 2004, I have travelled across the country to conduct workshops for school students.
In most small town schools, I saw such apathy on the part of the teachers towards their students," recalls the 30 year-old.
He began to ponder over the quality of education the children were receiving. "The parents of these children were also not well-educated. So these kids had no choice but to mug up what they could, to please the teacher and prevent being punished. If their foundation was so weak, how would they face the future," questioned Mishra.
The protagonist of Karinthy's play seems to have answered Mishra's doubts. In the play, an ordinary, unsuccessful middle-aged man blames his school and teachers for the failures in his life and returns to his alma mater to demand a full refund of his education fees, with interest.
This incredulous plot is brought to life on stage by a competent cast, including actors Akarsh Khurana, Gopal Tiwari, Shivani Tanksale, Sumeet Vyas, Satchit Puranik, Pawan Uttam and Lokesh Rai. Assembling the cast was quite a task for Mishra. "I watched plays by AKVarious, Aranya, QTP, and others in which I saw the work of the actors who are now part of the cast," says the director, who was keen on an intelligent cast for his play.
Catch this one for it's quirky twist to a typical problem.
On: November 21, 7.45 pm at Rangsharda Auditorium, KC Marg, Reclamation, Bandra (W).
Call: 26430544
