Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

The Director's cut

Mithran Devanesen

Why have you opted for so desolate a theme?

Usually you take liberties with play scripts — change, edit, paraphrase... But "The Shadow Box" is so deeply thought out and crafted that I didn't have to take a single word out. I like to do only those plays, which I can take apart and restructure with my stamp on it. Since "Anna Weiss" four years ago, I haven't done any play that made me go so much into subtexts and nuances.

What intrigued you in the inevitable journey towards death?

Three patients, amidst their families, writing their own death scripts! Everybody goes through anger, denial, bargaining, resentment, depression, and finally — acceptance. There are many phases to go through before that final end.

Was it a challenge to layer these moments with lighting?

No. Three spaces for three families — in the kitchen, sitting room, on the steps... But in this play the lighting designer (Manasi Subramaniam) functions like a conductor, giving cues for action. I'm getting on in years, and it has been great to find someone like Manasi, who is willing to work hard, ask intelligent questions, and comes up with ideas of her own.

As director, what was the crucial factor in interpreting the play?

Years ago, when I did Murray Schigal's "Luv" at the Museum Theatre, despite a fantastic cast and great production values, the play did not connect with the audience. I realised that when we do a Russian or an American or an Irish play, we have to find a connecting thread for our viewers in India. Otherwise the play becomes cinema, you watch it passively from a distance. I've made sure that "The Shadow Box" has that thread. After all, every one of us has known what it is to take a loved one to a hospital. We know illness, pain and death.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail