HYDERABAD: Theatre personality, director and actor Vinay Varma is back after two years this World Theatre Day (March 27) with a full-length production Aadhi Raat Ke Baad. Written by Dr Shankar Shesh and directed by Vinay, the play is all about a thief who breaks into a judge’s house in the middle of the night and insists that he be arrested.
“What ensues is a satirical take on crime and sin, and if what the thief does professionally — theft — is better than being a cheat. The dialogue is periodically interrupted by a neighbour who happens to be an investigative journalist. Does the thief merely want to get arrested or does he have a larger game-plan, forms the crux of the play,” Vinay tells CE.
Given the intriguing exchange of each others’ idea of morality, one wonders how the play aims to bring about a balance between both the characters. Vinay says the answer lies in the right casting. “The physicality of characters is striking, considering their generation gap, so that the audience is drawn in almost immediately.
The thief is a rattler with a conscience and makes the honest judge, who doesn’t speak much, uncomfortable with quite a few moral questions. The balance was brought about by brevity of speech in the judge’s character, along with the dignity, poise and stoicism associated with his profession.”
We ask him where theatre stands today, in the day and age of cinema, OTT, etc., and a confident Vinay responds, “Theatre stands tall and will remain so till Qayamat, regardless of the technological onslaught.
It’s a human medium and no one can ever snatch that away. A mother will remain a mother, always, no matter how many people come into her child’s life.” Vinay, who is also the director of Sutradhar, an acting school and casting agency, minces no words in saying the government should step in to create performing spaces. “Hyderabad is perhaps the only big city which doesn’t boast of a single, comprehensive performing space. There’s a dire need to get a PPP rolling.”
What: Aadhi Raat Ke Baad
Where: Rangbhoomi
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When: March 26 & 27, 2022 at 7:30 pm