Of twists and turns
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“Double Deal” is complete with a sound script and performances.
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Suspenseful Sandhya Mridul and Mahesh Manjrekar in “Double Deal” .
“Double Deal” directed by Mahesh Dattani and produced by Ashvin Gidwani, holds the audience in a vice like grip. Staged recently at New Delhi’s Radisson Hotel, the play is complete with powerful performances, by Mahes
h Manjrekar and Sandhya Mridul, and a taut script, adapted from Richard Stockwell’s “Killing Time”.
Based on an encounter between two “strangers”, it is charged with electric suspense. The two actors hint at undercurrents, which are revealed only with the last laugh of the play. The storyline is a crazy labyrinth of motives, plots and sub-plots. The play makes evident that nothing is as it seems.
In the first act, Jeet (Manjrekar) and Ria (Mridul) confess their secrets to each other as, “A perfect stranger is perfect to talk to, since he wouldn’t judge you.” Destiny seems to play a part in their meeting. Ria says, “Maybe destiny wanted us to meet, two lonely souls with lost wallets.”
But the second act shows there are no accidents, everything is planned. While the first act props up the usual victims and criminals, the second act disseminates those very presumptions.
The script is made most effective by Manjrekar’s talent. His sense of timing is impeccable. Even while being seductive he retains a feral charm, which hints at his power and intent. His monosyllabic replies amuse but also chill. With a deadpan face he says, “What I tell you is the truth, what I don’t tell you is also the truth.” He is capable of tender love and great violence.
Mridul comes to her own in the second act. Her timing and emoting become more innate. She is better at playing perpetrator to victim. From vulnerable, abused wife she changes into a dominatrix. Mridul plays aggression better than fear.
Shock and surprise are the only guarantee as the play spirals crazily towards an end. The play has no constants. Stories are told and untold. Victims become criminals, criminals become victims with surprising frequency.
The sets are dowdy as required. The lighting is evocative. The music adds to the suspense. But at times, it veers towards the excesses of Zee Horror Show. Staged for the first time in January this year, and having travelled to Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, the play ought to return to Delhi soon.
NANDINI NAIR
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