A 70s play talks politics with humour and music; check out at NCPA

I have no symptoms I have opinionsrdquo says Alexander Ivanov played by Neil Bhoopalam a political prisoner in a mental asylum In response his doctor played by Sohrab Ardeshir says ldquoYour opinions are your symptoms your disease is dissentrdquoRelevant to todayrsquos times this exchange forms the crux of awardwinning British playwright and screenwriter Tom Stoppardrsquos play Every Good Boy Deserves Favour A political satire first performed in 1977 at the Royal Festival Hall in London as part of Queen Elizabethrsquos Silver Jubilee the play criticises the Soviet practice of treating political dissidence as a form of mental illnessldquoDissident stories from Russia were a big thing in the 1970srdquo shares Bruce Guthrie director adding that the idea of someone being held in a mental hospital emerged from there But what led him to put up a production of the play after 45 years ldquoIt is always good to look at these plays as signs from history They ask important questions which arenrsquot restricted to a particular part of the world likemdashhow far would you go for your political beliefs and is it worth giving up your family or liferdquo he shares adding that the real reason this play is difficult is that it demands a 40piece live orchestra ldquoBut here at NCPA we have access to the Symphony Orchestra of IndiardquoBruce Guthrie Neil Bhoopalam Sohrab Ardeshir and Deepika Deshpande AminBefore one assumes it to be a musical the cast clarifies that the 40piece orchestra is the sixth character in this 60minute play Denzil Smith who plays a schizophrenic prisoner in a mental asylum imagines a live orchestra and thinks of himself as its conductorldquoIt is a challengerdquo admits Smith adding ldquoThankfully I am somewhat familiar with classical music and have always been a keen observer of the conductor and his gesturesrdquo He adds that the play is also about what is sane and what is not ldquoIf you donrsquot subscribe to a particular opinion you could be labelled insane The orchestra here also makes a political statementmdasheveryone has to toe the linerdquoSmith shares his cell with a political prisoner played by Bhoopalam ldquoAlexander Ivanov is an intellectual who was thrown into a mental asylum about two and a half years ago for his opinions even though he doesnrsquot have any mental disorder He is caught in a system where one has to weigh how much strength it takes to hold on to freethinking I also have a son played by Mihaail Karachiwala grandson of veteran actor Amjad Khanrdquo says BhoopalamldquoMihaail is being used as a pawn by the system to convince the father to give up his beliefsrdquo adds Deepika Deshpande Amin who plays a teacher with no name ldquoThe teacher represents the system She believes in the ideology of Soviet Union in the 1970srdquo says Amin adding that she is also aiding indoctrination of propaganda ldquoShe is moulding young minds including Ivanovrsquos son to believe in certain things and behave in certain waysrdquoJust like the teacher the doctor doesnrsquot have a name either ldquoHe represents doctors of that system whose job is to follow rulesrdquo says Ardeshir adding ldquoIf he has been told to give a particular treatment or medicine to someone he does it without questioning So it is again about conforming following the rulesrdquo While it sounds like a very serious play which it is says Ardeshir it has a generous dose of humour ldquoThere are going to be a lot of laughs emerging from the ironies and idiotic statements that people makerdquoWHAT Every Good Boy Deserves Favour WHERE NCPA Jamshed Bhabha TheatreWHEN November 4 to 6 730 PMPRICE Rs 500 onwardsTO BOOK ncpamumbaicom