Candy cigarettes, anyone?

Directed by Sishir Challa and written by Swayamsrestha Kar, the 30-minute play Candy Cigarettes by city-based group Grim Pumpkin Theatre, was about a young couple — Aditi and Varun — leading a seemingly ordinary life, but it’s not so as they suffer from schizophrenia and imagine that their stillborn baby has grown into a 10-year-old son Ronnie. And the actors delivered a good performance. But they do accept that handling a sensitive topic like this was difficult. Ushasi Banerjee, who played Aditi, says, “It was crazy to delve deeper into all of Aditi’s layers. I’m not sure if I’ve managed to fathom her character still. But I am thrilled to have played Aditi for my first major role.”

Nayana Raj, who played Aditi’s sister Jiya, made a stellar debut on stage with this play. “I was terrified before my performance. I’m glad that people liked it,” Nayana says.

The group practised for about a month before bringing the show on stage. “The moment we understood the concept, it was a no-brainer to do the script. Swayam really worked hard on it. It was a bit tight with the cast as we were also busy with a few other projects, but it worked out well,” Sishir says.