It hasn’t started yet! You can do something else,” announced a very casual Vinay Pathak at the Music Academy, as the audience suddenly fell into a deep silence as they saw the actor enter the stage for Rajat Kapoor’s much awaited play Nothing like Lear. The play started off with the weeping actor explaining his depression — his loved one leaving him, his looming old age and more than anything else, circumstances that forced him to perform in this play!
This modern day adaptation of the Shakespeare’s King Lear was presented with an interesting monologue with social satire and, hold your breath, even Facebook wasn’t spared!
Quick wit, catchy humour interspersed with horror and Vinay’s effortless transitions in portraying the two polar emotions kept the regaling crowd constantly on the edge of their seats.
There were moments when the packed auditorium echoed with laughter, but also went down in complete silence. The audience willingly participated as they watched the protagonist dance with “nothing” as a prop, the same for which the stage was perfectly lit.
Parallels were drawn with the Shakespearean tragedy as the character compared himself with King Lear, where he called himself a fool - who is seen as a man, as a father, an outcast and a child.
Vinay as the clown brought to fore various stages of his life crammed with rejections, false love and depression. Kapoor proved his directorial talent with the execution of the play and the many funny references.
One could easily draw pictures of familiarity in their minds as he narrated scenes from his life and even drew sympathy from the much-involved crowd more than a few times. Catering to Chennai’s educated theatre buffs, the play threw many open-ended questions that most definitely made the audience think. A screenplay seasoned with witty humour, Nothing Like Lear was nothing but an eye opener to the realms of mortality, presented in a simple fashion.