KOCHI: A Gujarati play, ‘Blackout’, on a husband-wife relationship, will be staged at Kochi this weekend
The Guajarati play, ‘Blackout’, about a husband-wife relationship will be staged at the JT Pac, on Sunday, November 9, at 7 p.m. It is directed by Dhiraj Palshetkar. Siddharth (played by Dharmendra Gohil) and Maitri (Sneha Desai) lead a routine life in their apartment in Mumbai. Like most husbands Siddharth is not well-versed with the household chores, while Maitri is a perfectionist and prefers to be ready for any kind of emergency.
The couple has a dialogue often but seldom communicate.
There is an underlying tension between them. Maitri has had a miscarriage and Siddharth was not around at the time. Maitri is not able to forgive him for this. Or should we say that she is not able to accept the reality and wants to blame somebody? As a result, their relationship goes cold.
One day there is a notice on the society board which says that between 7-9 pm every day there will be an electricity cut in the area due to some repair work. They are now forced to have candlelit dinners and faced with the prospect of talking to each other in the absence of their TV and computers. To writer Sneha Desai’s credit, moments between the couple are fresh, lively as well as convincing. There are humorous as well as sad episodes.
The penultimate scene where Siddharth leaves the house is touching. The subsequent twist will surprise the audience.
Aalap Desai and Kamlesh Mota enhance the impact of the play with their music and light design. Kamlesh Mota’s set design is in sync with an upper, middle-class household.
The play is by the Mumbai-based production house Tej Raj Production
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