In a new English play that opens this weekend, Mandira Bedi and Darshan Jariwala battle loneliness with humour and bar stools
In a new English play that opens this weekend, Mandira Bedi and Darshan Jariwala battleu00a0 loneliness with humour and bar stools
They are the most incongruous protagonists, but mirror images of many single, urban Indians. He grey haired, carrying the beginnings of a pot belly, and a razor sharp mind. She pixie-haired, attitude-dripping, flaunting a surf board tummy under a sleeveless tee. Theatre actor Darshan Jariwala and actress and host Mandira Bedi fight angst with humour, and each other with bar stools in a brand new English play, Conditions Apply.u00a0
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Mandira Bedi and Darshan Jariwala rehearse for Conditions Apply. pics/Pradeep Dhivar |
"It's about the great truth of life that everything comes with a rider, like that asterisk you see in most contests. If life is beautiful, then surely, some conditions apply," she smiles during a break in an evening rehearsal session at her Bandra residence.
Written and directed by long-time friend Vikranth Pawar, the play tracks the lives of two nameless inidividuals who seem normal at first, but are actually hanging on to shreds of dignity to make sense of their lives. "You see the pathos and sadness in theu00a0 lives of these two characters, and you also see how they try and tackle the situation. They are trying to make it through with a few laughs. That's something I'm sure the audience will relate to," Mandira believes.
Mandira and Vikranth have explored contemporary themes in earlier plays, including Anything But Love, but this one is different, she promises. "If audiences come in expecting something like Anything But Love, they are in for a surprise," says Vikranth. "We haven't followed a conventional script structure. Audiences will see the two characters breaking down and trying to gather themselves right in front of them," Darshan shares.
Although the underlying tone of the play is dark, the trio say it's far from morbid. "Yes, the theme is serious but there is dark humour too. It's about the silence after the laugh, not just the laugh," says Darshan.
On August 23, 7.45 pm, at Tejpal Auditorium, Gowalia Tank, near August Kranti Maidan, Grant Road.
Call 66337196.
Tickets Rs 500, Rs 400, Rs 300, Rs 200, Rs 100
