Theatre is more than mere entertainment. It is a powerful medium of human expression and exploration. The stage brims with emotions manifesting through various characters and one is instantly transported to a parallel reality.
With the fifth season of Aadyam Theatre Festival, 50-year-old veteran thespian Shernaz Patel has curated a line-up of plays echoing this essence. The festival opened with the classic, A Few Good Men, on September 28. The second show is slated for September 29.
Patel says she was drawn to the script like a magnet, besides the fact that one seldom sees military dramas in productions made this a novelty.
“What’s exceptional about the play is that even though it speaks about significant issues such as what constitutes honour and the goodness of men, it is written with abundant humour and wit. It’s a taut court-martial story with characters to remember for a lifetime,” she says.
It is not always easy to mantain the same quality during a theatre festival on a year-on-year basis.
Besides the excitement, there is also an increasing sense of responsibility towards keeping the reputation of the festival intact.
But Patel has been able to do so with aplomb. “It is essentially about telling genuine stories, ones that will engage the audience. Therefore the script selection is paramount. This, coupled with top-of-the-line directors, actors, producers and designers, is what makes good theatre. And that’s what I look for in a season. I also try to ensure a mix of languages and genres,” she says.
Little wonder that her gravitation towards the adaptation of The Kite Runner was natural. Originally written by Khaled Hosseini, it is set to be staged on October 5-6.
For Patel, this play portrays a continuing crusade to bring back a memorable story that every generation can relate to. Even after the curtain comes down, the audience is left thinking about it. “That to me is the mark of a stellar play. With passing time, this story gets etched deeper than before,” she says.
All the plays under the banner are set in very different worlds. “I believe, if they are told with truth, they become accessible.
Also, these plays speak about the struggles and triumphs of humankind. Therefore, even if they may be set in very different worlds they automatically become relatable, because human stories are always universal,” she smiles.
Since its first season, Aadyam has been committed to bringing adaptations and original plays that have a modern resonance. And with the growing professionalism in the industry, its time to accelerate performance quality with new ideas, young energy and atypical storylines. “I see a new crop of actors who believe in committing fully to theatre.
They may go off and work in other mediums, but they do not abandon theatre for more lucrative work as earlier. This is the pinnacle of professionalism that automatically affects the theatre-watching experience,” says Patel, who is working on the remaining two plays.
“What I can reveal for now is that the two to be staged in November and December will be riveting and thrilling and well worth the wait,” she laughs.