Deccan Herald Theatre festival gets off to a rousing start

It was a full house at Ranga Shankara on the inaugural day of the Deccan Herald Theatre Festival. Theatre aficionados were in for a laughter riot as the play Twice Around The Park, directed by Bimal Desai and presented by ‘Theater Lab’, unfurled the different facets of human relationships in a relatable yet hysterically funny way.

 Kept to its original script by playwright Murray Schisgal, it had two one-act comedies performed by Priyanka Dasgupta, Salmin Sherrif and Hema Narayan, who were given a standing ovation by the audience for their versatile acting skills.

 The first act, ‘A need for Brussels sprouts’, explored the miserable life of a middle-aged actor who hoped to get a role in a TV commercial for pizza. His miserable life took a turn of hope when a lady cop living upstairs entered his living space to issue him a summons for disturbing her peace. In the process, she recognised him as the ‘meow meow man in the Pussy Grub commercial’ and this way one thing led to another, and they both came to reveal how painful relationships were. Accompanied by hilarious dialogues, the play received much appreciation from the audience. “I had a great laugh,” said Daya Prahlad, a theatre aficionado.

The second act, ‘A need for less expertise’, unveiled the everyday situation of the most married couples.  The director of the play Bimal Desai rightly put it, “It connects with the lives of audience.” The act opened with the couple practising exercise moves guided by an audio tape of a self-help Hindu tantric (voiced by Ashok Mandanna), played to improve their spiritual awareness as a last-ditch attempt to save their marriage. The play progressed to reveal the repressions of each of them and ended with a humour-filled scene.

Vijayalakshmi, a regular at the DH Theatre Festival, said, “I do not wish to miss any plays as last year was a delight. This year, the festival had a good opening with the first play getting us a healthy share of laughter. The second act of the play was hilarious. I am looking forward to the upcoming play ‘9 Jakhoo Hill’ and I do not want to miss other plays as well.”