A fun take on life

Have you ever tried talking during a theatre performance? Everyone around you glares and hushes you within minutes. But on Saturday night at hotel Lalit Ashok, it was an altogether different scenario. As the actors performed, glasses tinkled and the sound of food being broken could be heard.

In its seventh edition, the hotel organised ‘Theatre Konnection’ along with Bangalore-based theatre troupe Dramanon. The concept was scripted on lines of a ‘supper theatre’ or ‘dinner theatre’ which is popular in the US and UK. There are three components to these dinners: live performance, a restaurant and a bar.

The event brought together the finest by chef Subodh Goyal and Dramanon. The theatre group brought to the audience four short plays under the title of ‘Mr and Mrs Takes’. In an attempt to explore and reflect everyday interactions and show them in a new light, they highlighted misunderstandings, miscommunication, misgivings and mistakes.

The first play was titled ‘Immobiles’ and told of the nightmares that could possibly ensue without a mobile phone. The hilarious take on the situation had a couple trying to coordinate between a friend they were trying to pick up from the airport and each other.

The second one, titled ‘The Arrangement’, had a ‘liberal’ father taking his son to a brothel for his 19th birthday to make him a ‘man’. But like most parents, he is unable to watch his boy grow up and the father takes his place instead.  ‘Meet Cute’, the third play for the night, had Rekha and Amit meeting at an airport lounge for the first time.

While Rekha wants adventure and is unsure about whether she should marry her boyfriend, Amit tries to flirt with her and convince her that they should run off together. In this serendipitous meeting of two people, anything could happen.

 The last play, titled ‘The Sneeze’, was about an employee sneezing on his boss and overthinking the matter. This leads to a series of funny events between him and his boss, who is a General.

Although the event was filled with technical difficulties, it was received well by the audience. Nita Srinivas said that the food was amazing. She said, “The plays were wonderful but I didn’t like the sound quality and thought they should have done a rehearsal once before.” Her companions were of the same opinion.