Playing a part

A screenshot from a previous play-reading session

After false hopes of a return to the physical stage, theatrical productions have now been consigned to the online medium all over again with the outbreak of the pandemic's third wave. But a play reading being organised this week reverses the role that actors and audience members have, because people who register for it and opt to read the script will be given an opportunity to do so. They will assume the role of a character from Dario Fo's Accidental Death of an Anarchist, and it doesn't matter if they have had any prior experience in theatre or not.

Dario Fo

Aanchal Jain, founder of Thought Project, the group that's hosting the reading, says that the idea is to negate any sort of inhibitions that people might have about performing in front of others. "People think that they need to be trained to act in theatre, but that's not true. Anyone can do it, and we want to show that plays can be fun," she tells us, adding that those who opt to read the script can either choose to dramatise the lines or read them as is.

Aanchal Jain

The play itself revolves around the correlation that the state apparatus has with vested interests. The plot is centered on the police force in Milan trying to cover up the death of a suspected anarchist, who was pushed off a window by an officer. But a fraudster who's brought in for questioning gets wind of the cover-up and hatches a plot to expose the corrupt policemen. Jain tells us that the plot mirrors the present day, when there is a lack of transparency in the way that the state machinery is colluding with private companies in handling the Coronavirus crisis. "Even in the Bulli Bai case, there is a faction saying that the arrested people are innocent, with another faction saying otherwise. We also wanted to see what effect this sort of [divided] opinion has on certain communities," Jain tells us.

She adds that the play reading will be held in such a manner that people will also read out whatever stage directions Fo added to the script. There will be a discussion at the end of the performance, too, where people will talk about some of the themes that stood out for them. "Sometimes, you might be reading lines assigned to a character that you don't identify with. How do we carry those experiences forward?" Jain tells us about some of the possible topics of discussion, reiterating that the whole exercise is aimed at bridging the gap between performers and audience members. So, check out the link below and sign up for the reading if you, too, want to put yourself in a theatre actor's shoes.

On January 16, 4 pm
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Cost Rs 300