A fun and relatable take on lockdown life

Theatre corner

The fact that there is no panic around the new variant of Covid-19 reflects the inevitability of the pandemic. Like it or not, the virus is here to stay. That’s perhaps why watching Abhishek Iyengar’s entertaining Kannada play ‘Lockdown’ felt like a warm recap of memories that will last forever.

The lockdowns produced a pall of gloom on the streets. But inside our homes, the atmosphere was as chaotic as ever thanks to our smartphone usage, which went beyond control as we continued to miss social life. ‘Lockdown’ is an anthology of four stories of people from different stratum of society. We see conversations over mobile between a newly married couple forced apart by the pandemic, a youngster and her stepmother, an NRI couple and their college-going adopted son and a couple from a small town.

Just when you think the play is treating its subject on a superficial level, Abhishek adds more details to the anthology and the play begins to deal with serious issues (like the plight of migrants). The wounds of the disgruntled relationships tend to heal organically as the characters learn to forgive, a personality trait developed and celebrated in the uncertain pandemic world.

The play touches upon the effects of loneliness, which forced us to develop new skills and also lean towards philosophy. The performances heighten the vibrant mood of the play with Rajan and Madhuri, as naive and chatty villagers, being fantastic and hilarious.

Soumya Pujari and Shreyas Sharma, as the newly married couple, are delightful as well. The dialogues ramble a bit and the characters slightly remain one-note in the adoption story but Krish Jain’s earnest performance makes us forgive the jarring bits.

At just over one hour, ‘Lockdown’ is an easy watch. It also shows how both in performance and writing, Kannada theatre towers over cinema as far as humour is concerned. The hall at Ranga Shankara erupted at the quirky and organic humour and the acting that lifted it several notches higher.

In the end, as the proverbial cherry on the cake, women find a way to the pandemic-induced complications and guide their men. The play premiered at the Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival, which had the theme of ‘Staying Alive’. That explains the anthology’s hopeful ending. The triumph of ‘Lockdown’ is in its ability to convey its intentions without forgetting to entertain.

The play will next be staged at the K H Kalasoudha on May 29.