Review of experimental theatre production "Beyond"

Thank you Rajiv for sending in this review. You too can send one at at@right2review.com


Yours Truly theatre group is a Bangalore Based English (primarily) theatre group which was set up sometime in 2002 by Ranji David and Nandini.

YT presented its latest production “Beyond” based on a play written by Badal Sircar, which was first staged in Kolkata sometime in 1972. The play was a culmination of a 6 Sundays workshop by professionals who rarely had any previous experience of proscenium theatre.

Although, the play did not complete as Badal Sircar wrote, it did add little spice and novelty by incorporating the idea of letting the audience complete the story by stopping it just 15 minutes before the end. This gave the opportunity to the audience to script the climax and improvise end of the play.

Liked more by the children than adults, the original play had 2 thieves Kena and Becha, who in order to escape from the hot chase given by the villagers, jump into the river only to be flown to a place called - Hattamala.

The play an adaptation of the original had a bunch of 6 thieves. After having funny experiences with the inhabitants of the land, the thieves led by Dada (Ranjan), soon realize that they have come to a place where there is no concept of money. Buying, selling and money were all alien concepts to the Hattamala people.

The thieves soon realize that this is the place they can easily have a soft kill when they come to know that there is a library in the town where besides books, jewellery is lend and borrowed and that too without anybody keeping a watch. So, the thieves come back to their natural instinct and strike at the library. As they were trying to vanish from the town with the booty, suddenly the Hattamala people catch them red-handed.

This and henceforth is what Badal Sircar had not written but conceived by Ranji the director himself. One more thing which I did not read in the script from Sircar was that the Hattamala people were puppets. Which again, I think is the director's vision to infuse some excitement for children and adult alike. The thieves are presented before their queen. While the public demands that the thieves must be exceuted. Now there is when, the play is stopped and audience is asked to script the climax of the play...
a) what would happen to theives?
b) will they be exceuted as demanded by the local people?

Ranji intervenes and with the help of the inputs from the audience, weaves a story while actors are on-stage waiting for the climax scent to be narrated by Ranji and then performed - impromptu.
The audience, gave suggestions from injecting Hattamalan virus (puppet like behaviour), to Dada blasting the court as Suicide Bomber. Anyhow, after a dicussion of over 10 mins, finally the actors were narrated the climax which was : The Queen falls for Dada as she realises that she herself was an alien and then ruled the land of innocent people while she orders the rest of the thieves who were dissuading Dada to fall in love with Queen to be injected with Hattaala Virus...and then the Queen leaves dada and runs away with rest of the Thieves while Dada is declared as King of Hattamala...
The villagers make merry and the show ends...
This climax was bound to get into chaos and the actors need not get any time to coordinate among themselves and keeping in mind the nascent stage of their acting skills they pulled up a great end which made audience to burst into laughter.

The play is considered to be a big hit especially for the children as there are very funny yet easy to understand incidences in the play.

In this play directed by Ranji David, the actors were professional working with Tech Mahindra in Bangalore. Well, prior to this main play there was a kind of prelude - Freedom play. It was actually, not a play but just a representation of how communal riots take place especially in rural areas were the population is not civilzed and how the leaders use the innocent people for their selfish gains. Ended with Mahatama Gandhi's - Vaishav jan to...it depicted that violence does not have any solution.......all it results is in - Destruction.
Ranji plans to take this play with more changes to the children. The group is involved in staging plays for NGOs from time to time and had recently performed at a Labor Camp in the outskirts of Bangalore.
In a nutshell - a good show and good Sunday entertainment.