HYDERABAD: ‘The Final Cut’. No, it’s not the album by English rock band Pink Floyd released in the early 80s. It’s the name of a play to be staged in the city soon.
As the name suggests it does showcase a cut at the end of the play but begins with much deeper ones eating the soul and mind of a troubled individual. The person in question is a college student named Kiran in her first year who has just lost her parents, is socially shy and hence is bullied big time at her college. But the play doesn’t give a specific timeline or geographical location. City-based author Devika Das has directed the play. She plays Kiran and shares with us, “This is a universal problem. Hence, the exact location and timezone is not given. Kiran can be anyone or could have been anyone.”
The story is written by Krishna Ahir, a Hyderabad-based writer.
Quite interestingly parts of the plot are interwoven with poetic pieces composed by Shriya Gupta, founder of Nation’s Rock Beat (NRB), a platform for creative artists. The play will also have live music by Anagha and live painting with handprints and footprints by the actors. But whose story is it anyway? Shares Krishna Ahir the playwright, “It does have connotations of personal experience. I have taken fragments from that and have woven the story around that. Even a small bullying event can lead to serious effects later. I want people to realise that it should not be taken lightly. It’s a serious social problem.” She adds, “The bullying as light teasing appears normal. But add it to the state a victim is already in and the same can be disastrous.” That’s how the protagonist Kiran suffers more. She’s already depressed and on top of it suffers at the hand of bullies in her college. The only support she has is Kunal, played by Harshad Fad. But despite the faint glimmer of hope in a friend she kills herself by slitting her wrist. And that’s what is the final cut.
The play is only for adults not for young kids as it has a dark ending. Krishna sums it up, “The value system a grown-up needs to give to society has to be inculcated from the very beginning. That’s why it’s open only to people who are 18+. We need to pass on a better value system and which doesn’t include hurting others.”
The preview is on December 5 at Phoenix Arena 6 pm for a select audience
For public on December 17, 8 pm at Lamakaan
Duration: 60 minutes
The play is presented by Navarasa, the theatre wing of NRB