Natak Nako
Director:
Alok Rajwade
Writer:
Dharmakirti Sumant
Alok Rajwade
Writer:
Dharmakirti Sumant
Synopsis:
This play is not a play. They are young.
They have renounced theatre. Nobody will perform scenes, say dialogues, play characters.
There is no curtain, no make up, no music cues, no plot, no story, no acting, no set.
You are cordially invited to explore the Real.
They have renounced theatre. Nobody will perform scenes, say dialogues, play characters.
There is no curtain, no make up, no music cues, no plot, no story, no acting, no set.
You are cordially invited to explore the Real.
Writer's Note:
“The rebel undoubtedly demands a certain degree of freedom for himself; but in no case,if he is consistent, does he demand the right to destroy the existence and the freedom of others. He humiliates no one. The freedom he claims, he claims for all; the freedom he refuses, he forbids everyone to enjoy. He is not only the slave against the master, but also man against the world of master and slave. Therefore, thanks to rebellion, there is something more in history than the relation between mastery and servitude. Unlimited power is not the only law. It is in the name of another value that the rebel affirms the impossibility of total freedom while he claims for himself the relative freedom necessary to recognize this impossibility.”
The Rebel
Albert Camus
Is there any Rebel in ‘Natak Nako’ ? yes. There is. May be. A rebel which is unclear about the freedom it demands, it is impulsive yet demands right to destroy the existence (and/or the freedom others.) Humiliation, arrogance is for the sake of it. Or for the sake of humor. Characters play slaves against the director. But they don’t believe that there is a world of master and slave. There is only one world according to them-their own world. The practice hall of their X college and their dry, lonely haunting afternoons. They want absolute freedom they get it too. They can play as many characters they want to play. They suck their evenings just for this freedom. The freedom of playing characters, characters of characters. So who cares for what Camus wants to say? I did not want to write play. The only play I could write was a play of some actors playing Elkunchwar’s ‘Holi’ juxtaposed with the Seva Dal Vs. Sangha debate (so called left wing and right wing) during the emergency. But there was lethargy. Tremendous lethargy to write it down. Vaibhav Abnave over a beer, suggested me to write actors playing Seva Dal and Sangha activists at the same time and their dialogues get mixed up. Still there was tons of labour. There was something right there, which I was not able to
find.
With all its explicitness and lack of complexity, I love rap. I am die hard fan of the rap fights. The bare anger, violence, vulgarity, arrogance the rap generates, relates to me. That’s the only music makes me exhausted. There is metal, but the fighting part of rapping is just not there in any other form. That is theater for me. Theatre groups - to whom I do theatre with, do not take theatre as a medium of liberations from their personal issues. The rehearsals, in a way are so lame. We do nice theatre. That I believe too. But the problem is that’s just nice. People want to talk, fight, be rude, be so frank that somebody might get hurt. Everybody is so alone in a way, everybody is in pain. Nobody wants anybody to get into their personal space. On the other hand
the people are so vulnerable that everybody knows everyone’s life, secret stories. By personal space I mean to see self or let others see you as a part of whole. This leads to ‘anti-generalization’ and then there is this fear to be so too. Nobody is unapologetically anti general too. So why shouldn’t I place them in such a situation where they’ll have to be unapologetic, personal, arrogant, insane. Will this act of vomiting will make us think about the fluid border between fiction and real? Will this make us helpful to do better theatre in future. I certainly don’t know. All I know is. I have tried to be as true as I can be about myself.
The Rebel
Albert Camus
Is there any Rebel in ‘Natak Nako’ ? yes. There is. May be. A rebel which is unclear about the freedom it demands, it is impulsive yet demands right to destroy the existence (and/or the freedom others.) Humiliation, arrogance is for the sake of it. Or for the sake of humor. Characters play slaves against the director. But they don’t believe that there is a world of master and slave. There is only one world according to them-their own world. The practice hall of their X college and their dry, lonely haunting afternoons. They want absolute freedom they get it too. They can play as many characters they want to play. They suck their evenings just for this freedom. The freedom of playing characters, characters of characters. So who cares for what Camus wants to say? I did not want to write play. The only play I could write was a play of some actors playing Elkunchwar’s ‘Holi’ juxtaposed with the Seva Dal Vs. Sangha debate (so called left wing and right wing) during the emergency. But there was lethargy. Tremendous lethargy to write it down. Vaibhav Abnave over a beer, suggested me to write actors playing Seva Dal and Sangha activists at the same time and their dialogues get mixed up. Still there was tons of labour. There was something right there, which I was not able to
find.
With all its explicitness and lack of complexity, I love rap. I am die hard fan of the rap fights. The bare anger, violence, vulgarity, arrogance the rap generates, relates to me. That’s the only music makes me exhausted. There is metal, but the fighting part of rapping is just not there in any other form. That is theater for me. Theatre groups - to whom I do theatre with, do not take theatre as a medium of liberations from their personal issues. The rehearsals, in a way are so lame. We do nice theatre. That I believe too. But the problem is that’s just nice. People want to talk, fight, be rude, be so frank that somebody might get hurt. Everybody is so alone in a way, everybody is in pain. Nobody wants anybody to get into their personal space. On the other hand
the people are so vulnerable that everybody knows everyone’s life, secret stories. By personal space I mean to see self or let others see you as a part of whole. This leads to ‘anti-generalization’ and then there is this fear to be so too. Nobody is unapologetically anti general too. So why shouldn’t I place them in such a situation where they’ll have to be unapologetic, personal, arrogant, insane. Will this act of vomiting will make us think about the fluid border between fiction and real? Will this make us helpful to do better theatre in future. I certainly don’t know. All I know is. I have tried to be as true as I can be about myself.
Director's Note:
This play tried to explore the deep relationships between the members of a theatre group. The relations which go beyond what we see on the surface level. The identity of the group as a whole entity along with the individual entity of each person in the group; and the entire individual world in which every person exits along with the universal entity of the group; all this is reflected though the play. I've always been astonished by how a rehearsal space undergoes changes. The multiple spaces within the one space keep changing along with time. That is very interesting for me to watch a rehearsal hall undergo transitions... I have tried to understand and explore my subconscious through the lights, sets and music.This for me is the experience of designing and directing Natak Nako..
Cast List: |
Credit List: |
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Sets: Hrishikesh Nagaokar, Alok Rajwade.
Music Composer: Saket Kanetkar Light Design: Sarang Sathye, Vikrant Thakar Costumes: Sayalee Phatak |
