Indeed, nothing like this has been seen on Indian stage in a long time. I was spell bound by the sheer intimacy of Vinay (Pathak) with the role he essayed in the play ‘Nothing Like Lear’.
He wanted to say even more and with boundless energy. It was in complete congruence with the nebulous swing of the character from the present to the past and from innocence to grey intentions and from helplessness to flirtation with the externalities. It was a splendid, solo effort of assorting emotions in a way I have not watched much in Indian theatre. Because somewhere individual story telling has not travelled to such depths.
The legitimacy of progeny, complexities of sibling bullying, helplessness of abandoned ageing and impotency in venting frustration were portrayed amidst dashes of playfulness and wanton jiggery pokery. It was a seamless journey of a pile of complicated inner churnings and Lear was going back and forth. He was here with us and he was suddenly knocking on the doors of a self-centred daughter. He was a tragic figure, but never ever stopped entertaining the world—he was the quintessential joker. The jester in everyone. The connect was fast and firm.
Lear did his best to seek solace in laughter to couch his inner turmoil. The tumultuous relationships in his life had kept him so engaged that perhaps he realised late that he was old. Till then, his being a ‘fool’ overpowered him. Even if he was a fool, he was not old. Till one day he came face to face with the scare of the putrid last phase of his life. Such was the intensity that each observer of the play was in him or maybe he was in everyone. This rapport that he developed in about 90 minutes was simply magical.
Even while travelling through his roller coaster ride, you would never sob with him. Because he never sobbed. Neither was he defensive nor dripping in self-pity. He was a narrator maintaining the distance with you and yet engulfing you.
That was the power of the script transformed to a breath-taking flight between reality and fantasy, between now and then, between humour and utter pain.
Rajat (Kapoor) confirmed to me that he had scripted and directed the play and Vinay confirmed that he was there, and he was not. Such was his tease with the audience. The music & the lighting was minimal and appropriate.
Certainly Nothing Like Lear. This Friday, Bhubaneswar had a tête-à-tête with the inner ‘prankster’ in all of us.
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