A glimpse of 'The Retreating World'

A flawless direction, a simple stage setting and a commendable dialogue delivery were all that held audience watching the play ‘The Retreating World’ glued to their seats at the Chowdiah Memorial Hall on Saturday.

Directed by Keerthana Kumar, the 75-minute play was performed in the City as a part of the five-day Deccan Herald theatre festival. Involving six artistes – Ajith Hande, Salim Sheriff, Rebecca Spurgeon, Manasi Paresh Kumar, Kirthana Kumar and Konark Reddy, the play was produced by the Little Jasmine Theatre Project.

The first part of the play, also known as the ‘Last Tuesday’, is set in a metro train where the five passengers aboard are engrossed in their daily lives, unmindful of the ghastly happenings. While excerpts read out from the newspaper by one of the passengers indicate a bomb blast having taken place on the previous day, the others appear detached to the happenings. 

Salim Sheriff, having lived in the Arabian Gulf for many years, has interactions with many victims of Iraq and Afghanistan. The play also revolves around how the Mesopotamian civilisation was reduced to merely a nation of ‘unpeople’. It was the last melancholic part of the play that had the audience hooked to their seats. A part of the play speaking about the death of over 700 who were shot at as they walked towards the commanders of the US unit.