Can society function without money? In a world driven by fervent consumerism, it might sound like a fantasy. Yet, theatre is meant to use fantasy to shake people out of their illusions, director Mahesh Khandare of Goa-based Theatre Flamingo, tells us. Their upcoming production, Hattamalachya Palyad (Beyond The Land of Hattamala), seeks to do just that.

Written by the late Bengali playwright Badal Sircar back in the ’60s, the play is a surreal take on consumerist capitalism, with a touch of irony and humour. “Sircar looked at money as the root of evil, and saw society being caught up in the cycle of surplus, profit and greed,” Khandare explains. The story follows two likeable thieves in an idyllic village that is ignorant of the concept of money. Through the interactions and misunderstandings that follow, Sircar raises questions on society’s treatment of people as products and markets.