BENGALURU: What happens when three big names in theatre–Vinay Pathak, Rajat Kapoor and Shakespeare – come together? You expect to see magic happening on stage. Nothing like Lear, a clown presentation of the Shakespearean classic King Lear, comes back to Bengaluru on Sunday. The one-actor show, featuring actor Vinay Pathak, is directed by filmmaker, actor and director Rajat Kapoor.
The play is nothing like the Shakespearean tragedy you would have read, but yet you see the parallels. So how did the two bring in a contemporary clown to speak this father-daughter tragedy? Pathak answers, “You always find a clown funny because it has flaws and it falters even in a tragic situation. In our interpretation of King Lear, we tried to bring out the modern-day clown’s rendition to what happened to the king and his relationships.”
This is not the first time the 51-year-old actor is playing a clown for a classic, but each time he goes on stage, a different kind of preparation goes into bringing the clown out. “Rajat and I first discovered clown in C for Clown, which was first staged in 1999. But each time you go on stage, your individuality makes your clown unique. When we thought of doing the clown version of King Lear, it was difficult because Rajat was particular about it being a one-man performance and we didn’t want to leave anything out,” says Pathak.
The decades of experience does not, however, rule out stage mistakes. “During one of our shows in Israel, I almost jumped three pages in the script. Without that part, it was impossible for me to take the show ahead. It was really chaotic for the technicians. But somehow I managed and the best part was that the audience didn’t notice the flaw,” says Pathak.
He has visited the city for multiple performances, but he can’t help but emphasise that he is excited to see the theatre scene evolve in the city.
The play will be held at Jyoti Nivas College at 7:30pm on Sunday. Tickets are available on Bookmyshow.