BENGALURU: Rupesh Tillu has a lot to look forward to this weekend. When the pandemic struck, the theatre director found himself dealing with mass cancellations of his shows Madbeth and Shakuntalam. But even as others took the online route to stage performances, Tillu decided to wait it out until theatres reopened. So it’s with much excitement that the shows are being staged after a long wait. “Madbeth is a highly-interactive physical comedy which didn’t fit the digital model. So it didn’t really make sense to go that way,” says Tillu about the performance which is loosely inspired by Shakespeare’s classic.
“It’s an allegory that dissolves the space between observer and performer. The performance is a combination of slapstick, acrobatics, mime, songs and improvisations,” says the Mumbai-based actor, director and independent filmmaker. The plot involves one man, one throne, one crown and one hilariously tragic experience.
“Laughing out loud is a collective experience which is why the wait,” he says, adding that he hit upon the idea during his MFA in Physical Comedy from The National School of Dramatic Arts, Sweden.
While clowning is associated with Shakespeare’s works, Tillu wanted to give it a desi twist, which is what he does in Shakuntalam. “It tries to merge clown and mime techniques with one of India’s oldest plays – Kalidas’s classic Abhigyan Shakuntalam,” he says, adding, “Clown Mindy portrays Shakuntala, defying the stereotypes attached to it, making her own decisions about her life unlike how it’s written in the original play. Clown Kamla and clown Tinu try their best to fit into the roles of sage Kanav, Dushyant, Priyamvada, Indra, messengers and Bharat.”
He goes on to explain the intricacies... their Hindi script doesn’t get the censor clearance and now the clowns are pushed to perform the whole play with the original Sanskrit script. “Will the goof-ups with the ring, Shakuntala’s pregnancy, Dyushant’s memory loss and language barriers add confusion to the clowns’ already chaotic lives or will it give the audience a different perspective on these archetypal characters?” he says.
Both shows have been performed at various theatre festivals across the country. Madbeth has also been played in Europe, Israel-Palestine and USA. Now, he hopes, the play will resonate with the Bengaluru audience as well. Madbeth and Shakuntalam will be staged on Feb 20 and 21 at Ranga Shankara. Tickets: bookmyshow.com
