Enjoy a unique take on Shakespeare's play by an actor's studio in Mumbai

William Shakespeare passed away four centuries ago Yet for millions of high school and college graduates stumbling through the subtext of his plays he remains a bane Such students might find some amusement and even schadenfreude in Dafney Productionsrsquo upcoming show that parodies all of the bardrsquos works in a 97minutelong performanceThe bard himself would have enjoyed it assures Bernard Dafney acting coach director and founder of the production ldquoSatire and fun is at the heart of Shakespearersquos work because he was writing for the common man He would poke fun make caricatures of those in power and the royals who were held in high regardrdquo the American theatremaker points outTop from left Sahil Mehta Manik Papneja and Sarthak Sharma rehearseThe play The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged written by three actors mdash Adam Long Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield mdash is an irreverent fastpaced romp through all 37 of the playwrightrsquos works Naturally the script tackles the journey through the perspective of three actors trying to interpret Shakespeare Having premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1987 it went on to become Londonrsquos longestrunning comedy at the Criterion Theatre Dafney recalls reading it back in college in the United States as a literature and performance arts graduate As a student he acted in several productions including Shakespearean works such as Othello and Taming of the Shrew In 2019 he moved to Mumbai along with his wife taking up the role of an acting coach Dafney picked the play while searching for something fun to stage with his team in 2022ldquoIt is a mashup of all Shakespearean plays in 97 minutes The really cool thing is the different ways in which the characters interpret it They do it through farce songs and even interpretative dancerdquo he says warning that it is not your grandmotherrsquos definition of Shakespeare That much will become clear to the audience when Othello begins to rapAhead of the performance the team poses with Dafney in black PicsSameer MarkandeWe ask what traditional Shakespeare fans make of it They are intrigued says the 37yearold musician and director ldquoEven Shakespeare aficionados are intimidated by his work These elements bring out the meaning of the text in a way that is funrdquo he saysIt is the second time the director is staging the play after its first run in February last year which was also staged at G5A This time the performances will be spread over three weekends till May 28 With a cast of three actors taking on the roles the play will be hosted at the productionrsquos own studio in Andheri WestWhile picking the cast Dafney focussed on performers with strong improvisational skills ldquoIn fact the audience is the fourth member of the cast So I needed actors who were comfortable in engaging with the uncertainty of how the audience respondsrdquo he shares The rehearsals focus on the camaraderie and chemistry of the actors as well ldquoA lot of the comedy hinges not only on their unique interpretation but also the camaraderie between the three actorsrdquoAnother key element that adds to the comedy is the Elizabethan language that can prove a stumbling block for many veterans Precisely says Dafney ldquoThe script is about three actors attempting to get through Shakespeare and part of the comedy comes from tackling Elizabethan Englishrdquo Into his second run of the production Dafney looks at the play as an interesting way to approach the bardrsquos work Taking a leaf out of the audience reaction from last year he states ldquoThose who are expecting a traditional Shakespearean performance will be surprised but will grow into the fun Meanwhile those who have little to no idea of Shakespearersquos works will take it for exactly what it is mdash a satirerdquoTill May 28 every Friday 8 pm Saturday and Sunday 5 pm and 8 pmAt Dafney Productions Office No 128 Andheri Industrial Estate off Veera Desai Road Andheri WestLog on to inbookmyshowcomCost Rs 350