Bhopal: The Caretaker, a Hindi play directed by Raj Bisariya was staged at Ravindra Bhawan on Friday as part of 8th Theatre Olympics. The play is based on English play by same name written by British playwright Harold Pinter.
The one hour fifty minute-play is a tragi-comedy. It portrays power, allegiance, innocence and corruption among two brothers and a tramp. It also talks about isolation, migration, human relationships that changed after World War II. The play revolves around three characters Mick (Ashish Tiwari), Aston (Prafulla Tripathi) and Davis (Lalit Singh Pokhariya).
Play’s language and plot blend realism with the theatre of the absurd where language is used in a manner that heightens the audience’s awareness for it. The language is either a choppy dialogue, full of interruptions or long speeches.
Although the text is presented in a casual way, there is a message behind its simplicity. Pinter appears concerned with communication or rather the deliberate evasion of communication. The play was presented by Theatre Arts Workshop, Lucknow.
Bangla play
Bangla play, Kinu Kaharer Thetar, was staged at Bharat Bhawan on Friday. Directed by Kinu Kaharer Thetar, written by Manoj Mitra, the one hour thirty-minute play was presented by Prachyanat Theatre Group, Bangladesh. It is about a minister of state of Putna who has abused a woman. The governor general says, “If it is not settled by law, the throne will be seized.”
The king is now in trouble. The minister of state is his best friend. He asks him to find out someone who can come to court and say that he is the one who committed the crime. Both shows were houseful.
