Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Hyderabad
The show goes on
|
THEATRE Shernaz Patel and Rajit Kapoor on what makes ‘Love Letters’ one of the longest running plays
|
Photo: G. Krishnaswamy
MAGICAL TWOSOME Rajit Kapoor and Shernaz Patel in ‘Love Letters’
Fifteen years of giggles and tears. That’s a long time for a turbulent love story. Especially when it’s – strictly speaking – not really a romance. Rather, a story about two people who nurture a tempestuous relationship with j
ust letters.
This is the age of e-mail. Of quick, cheap, convenient flights. Of snazzy, high-tech mobile phones. How does a story like this, written in 1988, work now? And how does a production that should — practically speaking — be passé by this point, manage to draw enthusiastic young audiences, 15 years after its launch in a rapidly changing country (making it possibly India’s longest running English play.)
A lot of the magic has to do with the brilliance of the two-actor cast: Shernaz Patel and Rajit Kapoor. Both are well known on the Indian theatre circuit, with stage, television and movie credits. However, their roles as the stormy Melissa Gardner and ambitious Andrew Makepiece Ladd III in this A.R. Gurney’s ‘Love Letters’ might just be their most enduring.
In Chennai to perform the play at the MetroPlus Theatre Fest, they take a break from rehearsals at the Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall at Lady Andal School, to discuss the play.
Phenomenon
Did they suspect this production would become such a phenomenon when they were first given the scripts in the March of 1992? “We didn’t think all this would happen” Shernaz laughs. She adds that they both had no hesitation in taking their respective roles, neither expected to be playing them for this long. Or in so many places. Rajit reels out the list. Besides all the major Indian cities, the play has travelled to Dubai three times. Also Malaysia, Muscat, Colombo…
It does seem to be able to soar above cultural barriers. “It’s just the fact that it expresses someone’s life...” says Rajit, stating that its power comes from its ability to capture the most important moments in two people’s lives, all in the space of a couple of hours. Shernaz nods, adding “people would come to me and say, ‘It reminds me of letters that I wrote to my girlfriend. It strikes a chord with audience…” “Which is love. Romance,” Rajit adds. “It’s got a universal language,” she concludes.
The fact that they finish each other’s sentences is an indication of just how well-tuned the actors have become over the course of more than 250 performances and the countless rehearsals it takes to make the play look both slick, and yet fresh.
Never bored
“It’s always about learning and evolving,” says Rajit, “We never get fed up or bored with this show...” It helps that the audiences always respond. “There are days when they take a while to warm up,” says Shernaz, adding that, however, once they do, the actors and audience connect, making every show with every new audience a unique experience. “It’s a live interaction. And nothing can beat that high,” says Rajit.
“There are all kinds of audiences. The ones that clap in between… In Muscat we had a silent audience that seemed unresponsive. Then, they gave us a standing ovation,” says Rajit. Shernaz adds with a laugh, “in Ludhiana we had someone come up and ask, ‘Why is that there was no song or dance in your show?”
In the original version, the action on stage is far more static. “We have gone against the writer’s instructions for the props: it’s supposed to be just two actors, two chairs and a table,” says Shernaz, “And that works too. It works in ‘Tumhari Amrita’. (A Hindi adaptation of ‘Love Letters’ starring Shabana Azmi and Feroz Khan.).” In this version, directed by Rahul da Cunha, the actors move huge, colourful blocks around the stage, creating imaginative props. “Back then we were just having fun, when we put it together,” says Shernaz, adding thoughtfully, “I can’t remember where the idea came from.”
How much longer will it play? The two burst out laughing. “There’s a whole new generation that hasn’t seen it,” says Rajit. “Only,” smiles Shernaz, “I was just telling him I don’t know how much longer I can lift those blocks!”
SHONALI MUTHALALY
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Hyderabad
|
