Art' thou ready to be individualistic?

Ever pondered about the significance of everyday conversations and friendly banters? In an attempt to find beauty in the mundane, three theatre lovers conjured up Art a play, which throws a set of questions straight at the audience through an underlying message — the importance of respecting perspectives and valuing relationships over materialism and vanity. We caught up with the team for more…

Set against the backdrop of purchasing a steeply priced painting, the play attempts to portray arguments from a whole new light. “Art is a living room comedy drama that could happen with anybody and their friends. In fact, I am certain it would have happened with most of us. The play follows a very conversational and casual tone throughout. But at the same time asks some pertinent questions about individuality, choices and personal tastes. The idea was to celebrate and look at differences in opinion from a whole new light,” shares Laukik, the director of the play.

Echoing similar thought, Sarvesh Brahma, who plays Serge, the protagonist, says, “Serge is a man with a failed marriage and obviously has enough money to buy a white painting which doesn’t make any sense to two of his close friends. Serge, looking to earn respect for being an art lover, fails to gather any of it from friends. While playing the part, I constantly thought of instances when I thought I had done some light bending job only to see it go unnoticed. That’s how I got into the character.”

Staged by three IT professionals, who moonlight as theatre artistes, the drama will be performed in two languages, English and Hindi.

“We want our audience to realise how some conversations and relationships are universal. Since we were preparing for the play in two languages, I wanted to ensure the flavours did not get mixed across languages. The second important aspect of the play was to keep it as natural as possible. As actors, we were told not to ‘act’ like anyone. Also having worked together for a long time on various other plays helped the cause!” states Riyaz Usman, one of the artistes. Directed at individuals above the age of 16, Laukik reiterates the team keeps its expectations to the minimum.

“I hope the play makes the audience nostalgic and makes them remember their friends. If people reach out to their old buddy’s after watching our play, we will call it a success. The play will be a reminder of all the friendly banter, fights (even some serious ones) you have with your best buddies. It will also be a tongue in cheek comment on modern art and its relevance.”

— The play will be staged on November 5 and 6 at 5 pm and 7 pm at Atta Galata.