BENGALURU: The Ruchika Theatre Group, under the direction of Feisal Alkazi, son of Ebrahim Alkazi, former director of the National School of Drama, will perform two iconic plays The Dark Road and Devyani at Ranga Shankara, the performing arts theatre in Bengaluru, on August 6 and 7, respectively.
Educationist, social activist, a master trainer and theatre director, Feisal Alkazi has established himself in the Indian theatre scene over the past 42 years with Ruchika, and has over 200 plays to his name. Since its inception in 1972, the group has been consistently offering a season of at least three new performances every year. Set in three languages English, Hindu and Urdu the edifice of these plays is social issues.
Strindberg’s The Father, Kurosawa’s Rashomon, Marsha Norman’s Night, Mother, Goldemberg’s Letters Home are some of the best of the constellation, which have enthralled audiences in Mumbai, Pune, Kanpur, Shimla, Kathmandu, and even Hong Kong. Members of the award-winning Ruchika are now famous film and television personalities like Neena Gupta and Harsh Chhaya.
The first play, The Dark Road is based on China’s one-child policy, which was in force between 1980 and 2015, giving rise to a new class of refugees: those who practice family planning. The play is based on a book by Ma Jian, a British writer, about the arduous journey of a young couple Meili and Kongzi as they try to flee by travelling down the Yangtze. “After the show ended, we thought it had flopped. Then came a huge applause as the audience was weeping,” recounts Alkazi.
In the first scenes of the play, a young girl is seen with a toothbrush which is tied to a string around her neck. A mug is fastened to her waist to prevent theft at night. There are no dialogues for the first seven minutes of the 80-minute play.
The play, which opened last week in Delhi, revolves around two neighbouring boats, and the dock. “We have worked on the process over the past three months. We even observed the lives of the downtrodden, those who live on the streets, to make it convincing on stage,” reveals Alkazi.
Their second play, Devyani– which is 1 hour and 40 minutes – will be performed on August 7, and comprises two acts. The story encaptures the beginning of the Mahabharata. Only Shukracharya had the secret of sanjeevani. So the Devas send a young attractive man Kacha to Shukracharya to learn from him, and he falls in love with his daughter.
The play uses several traditional forms like Kalari, Kathakali, among others for certain scenes. “For the first half of the play, the forest is a huge character. The whole atmosphere makes you feel like you are in a dark, enchanted, magical, and an impenetrable forest,” describes Alkazi.
The crew rehearsed for almost six months, working on the movements and minute details. “I did not want people to say, ‘This is Kalari or Kathakali’. So we had to blend it all together with music and sound to make an effect in the minds of the audience,” he says, adding, “We don’t train, we really evolve as we do it, improvising and trying again till it is perfect.”