Valuable lessons from history

The people of Bangalore took a step back in history with the Bangalore Little Theatre Foundation recently. Based on letters exchanged between two symbolic personalities in Indian history, the play ‘The Prophet and the Poet’ performed by a team of three, reiterated the narratives of Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore at the Royal Orchid Hotel.

The unique aspect about the performance was its minimalist nature. Instead of elaborate sets and extravagant costumes, the play was staged with a sketch of each of the greats as the backdrop, and a set consisting of two simple writing tables and mattresses.

Even the actors — Mohammed Shameer as Gandhi, and Abhijit Ganguly as Tagore — were dressed in simple white kurtas befitting their roles. The only speck of colour on the stage was the young narrator, Madhu Shukla, who’s well-articulated and powerful dialogue delivery, along with her conversational style, helped the audience relate to the situation in India before their time.

One of the stage managers, Priya Rao, explained that the clean-cut stage presentation was to draw the attention of the audience to the actors and their lines.

“We wanted to make sure that nothing took away the audience focus from the letters and their content,” she clarifies. She then explained the logic behind having the narrator dressed in vibrant purple and rust. “The narrator is dressed in colour because she represents the younger generation, torn about what to believe of her nation’s history,” she reasons.

“It is a rather content-heavy play,” admits Mohammed, referring to the simple set, minimum movement and emphasis on dialogue.

 “We tried to use a few simple theatre gimmicks to keep the audience interested, even though the play doesn’t really allow it; making eye contact and focusing on dialogue delivery helps break the monotony,” he said after the show.

This being his fourth performance of the act, he laughs and says that it was better than his first, in which he had much trouble remembering all his lines.

Abhijit, who proudly describes how the play was well-received all over the world, from Bangladesh to Trinidad and Tobago, draws an accurate analogy. “Performing a play is like writing an exam in school. The audience’s reaction is the result,” he says. “The only difference,” he laughs, “is that we actors get our results on the spot!”

The play, which describes the relationship between the two historical figures from the time they first met, until the last of the numerous letters exchanged between them, is highly informative.

Describing historical events such as the ‘Passive Resistance Movement’, the ‘Non-cooperation Movement’ and the memorable ‘Dandi March’, it paints a chronological picture of the events that had played out during the British ‘Raj’ in India. As mentioned in the play, it brings out “a political debate on a philosophical plane’’.