BENGALURU: Recovering from Covid- 19 is hard enough, but many people find themselves doing it all alone, removed from the comforting physical presence of loved ones and bogged down by fears. This is where Art Cross Theatre Main decided to step in, performing plays for Covid- 19 patients on request.
In the first week of May, they launched Manushyata (humanity), an initiative to entertain people ill with Covid-19 by performing plays live over Zoom. Sumit Acharya and Vishal Bhandary, founders of the theatre group, conceptualised the initiative as a blend of short, theatre snippets, play reading, poetry, singing, instrumental music that would give patients hope, optimism and positivity.
“We initially started with poetry reading with different theatre communities last year in April. However, since the second wave hit the country and we were surrounded by pain, grief and agony, we introduced Manushyata,” says Acharya, who doubles up as artistic director of group.
The group has put up five plays in English and Hindi so far. Requests for performances have come in from Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and also from Indians living in the Netherlands and Malaysia.
“All they have to do is send us a WhatsApp message requesting a play. We rehearse the play at least four times before going live. All the artistes rehearse and perform remotely, which is more challenging than performing on stage in a packed auditorium,” says Acharya.
It is a challenge to perform all alone, without the physical presence of fellow artistes, lights, and props, and an audience. It’s an atmosphere devoid of aesthetics and vibrance. Actors’ movements are controlled, and minimal, with entry and exit points out of the question. Voice projection in a virtual atmosphere lacks the gravitas of performing on stage.
Complicating this, are technical glitches, slow internet speeds, and power cuts. “We once had a power cut during a play. We waited for the power to come back on, and resumed from where we had stopped. We are okay to wait patiently until all such technical glitches are sorted on our audience’s side,” says Acharya.
The plays they’ve performed so far include Nasha (a play about a zamindar and a poor man) based on a story by Munshi Premchand, and Hum Dono (on a couple who share a close bond) inspired by the writing of Bashir Badr.
“We felt that people are already traumatised due to Covid- 19. We thought we need to present them with light-hearted stories that can bring a smile on their face,” says Acharya.
They can be reached via WhatsApp on 9845757570.