A Play about Death

Sitting in Alliance Francaise Madras' auditorium on Saturday...The haunting theme from "The Godfather" reached my ears and I made up my mind to love this play, no matter what.Turns out that I didn't have to.

A Play About Death directed by Harish Aditya and written by Thomas Manuel and Visvak Reddy is easily one of the best plays I have seen in recent times.Someone has finally dared to bring absurdist theatre to stage!They called it a gamble and I agree.But it definitely is a gamble well paid off.What a relief it is , to sit back and revel in the dark humor and witty dialogue ,something we seldom have the chance to experience here.

I am not going to put the plot or the synopsis of the play down for the simple fact that I cannot do justice to it.and honestly also because I'm sure I will get something wrong in the process :-P.

The abstract concept of death and the debates that follow are thoroughly enjoyable.In one very poignant moment,A character wonders if Death is the only proof of a real life.The arguments on "Fictional" and "real" characters does make you ponder.The monologue at the start was a welcome departure from cliched beginnings.It grabs your attention and you are at once intrigued.The dry humor about the theatre scene in Chennai,Facebook and so on is a product of the awesome writing that has obviously gone into this.

Ralph,the "method actor" and Peter,the playwright, the two central characters along with Gordon,the common man,make sure you are never bored.The actors are nothing short of brilliant.Be it Ralph's "Method acting" or Gordon's expressions or Peter's Monologue in the beginning ,the well etched characters are complimented by the awesome acting and dialogues.The Audience plant Muzamil was one of the most realistic of his kind.

The Minimal set and Warm lighting set the right mood.The sounds at alliance deserves applause too.Not once did it falter.

Well what can I say...Most of my friends and I had tests the next day and we inadvertently kept remembering the quirky lines from the play and laughed to ourselves during the test.If you saw the play last weekend You are probably nodding in agreement to this post..If you didn't..please do not miss it the next time they put it up.Death will be at your doorstep for sure :-P