BHUBANESHWAR: Theatre lovers in the City will witness Bollywood filmmaker, theatre director and actor Rajat Kapoor’s popular play ‘Nothing Like King Lear’ at Rabindra Mandap on Friday.
Starring Bollywood actor Vinay Pathak, the play will be staged as part of the annual charity fundraiser event organised by The Zain Foundation.
The play will explore the depth of human emotions by transporting the audience to the era of kings and queens. Though the title is inspired by William Shakespeare’s tragedy ‘King Lear’, there are a lot of differences in its depiction and the plot. Rajat’s play is presented as the clown’s version. But the clown here is different from the Shakespearean jester. Enacted by Vinay, the clown has been presented as an old, irritable and depressed character.
The director has interpreted the Shakespearean subject in his own way to suit the realities of the contemporary world. Dressed as a clown, Vinay will deliver an almost two-hour-long monologue in front of the audience. The monologue will make the audience laugh, cry, contemplate and self-introspect. Vinay’s character in the play, Philip, narrates various episodes from his lives and cites the reason for his mental depression. His stories are interrupted at regular intervals as he enacts scenes from King Lear. The inclusion of such scenes conveys the relevance of Shakespeare in the modern era.
It’s been five years since Rajat Kapoor had first staged this play. It is part of his series of plays inspired by Shakespeare’s works.
Over the last four years, the Zain Foundation has spread awareness on autism by hosting workshops, art exhibitions and rallies in the City.
The Foundation had brought theatre personalities and Bollywood actors like Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shan and Darsheel Safary to the City as part of their annual event. The tickets of this year’s play are available at Bookmyshow.com.