For those who think that a Kannada play deeply rooted in language and folklore cannot be performed in any way other than in a traditional form, you should have watched Thukra’s Dream performed by Working Title, Mumbai, which was performed as part of the Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival on Thursday. Thukra’s Dream which, a translation of a play originally written by Chandrashekhar Kambar, is a musical set in a village in pre-independence India.

The story revolves around Thukra, who is a servant in the small village. We see his dreams and his reality intertwine and create a bizzare effect. The story gives us different perspectives to the freedom struggle, showing us that for those in the lower classes, independence was something they couldn’t relate to in the same way that the upper classes could. The freedom struggle and Gandhian principles seem alien to those who will remain labourers even after we gain independence. And as the play mentions, Thukra isn’t important, in fact, he is small and insignificant... like the grass. So in the end, he is urging the audience to sometimes pay attention to the grass.

The production was very neat, with song and dance sequences coming out in harmony. The chorus did a great job of keeping the energy levels high. The music which was performed live and directed by Armod Bhatt was interesting as they used various genres and styles of music. The performances were average and none really stood out, except for that all the actors were really good singers. In fact, the performances were enhanced by the great music.  Performed in English and Hindi, the dialogues were light and as the director, Jaimini Pathak mentioned, “Great stories transcend language and so it doesn’t make a difference what language they are performed in.” The audience was in for a double treat as the playwright Chandrashekhar Kambar was also present and was willing to interact with them. On the whole, the performance was neat and fresh but not extraordinary. But then the group can go home satisfied as they managed to win the heart of the playwright, Kambar , who said, “I loved the play. And though I have seen many groups perform it, this is my favourite!”