A still from the play | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
We may have healed physically from the devastations of the pandemic, but the emotional scars may run deep for many. While some have learned to move on, for others, it may have rocked the boat of their relationships and their souls. That is what the English play, Locked Down, directed by Susanto Banerjee delves into.
“The script was developed during the first phase of the lockdown,” says Susanto. “We were not able to be physically present at a rehearsal space, so we gathered on a call and started inviting stories from the members of our theatre group.”
There was no agenda, Susanto says when they started sharing stories. “It was more like a platform to share experiences. While doing so, seven profound stories came forth and we felt they could be stitched together to make a play.”
The poster of the play | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The characters were created first, says Susanto. “They were then divided into stories and scenes and built into sequences. This was later shared with Ruby Lala and Antara Mukherjee, who wrote the play for us”.
Locked Down was first staged in 2022. “We revisited the play and made some edits. We added a few more insights and recreated it. We are staging the updated version now. Locked Down is a devised play as it is devised from scratch.”
The play, with 13 actors on stage in a realistic format, is a collage of stories and emotions. “The way I look at play is the way you would perceive a tree from top down. First you see the leaves and the branches. As you descend further you see the trunk, but cannot see the roots. Yet, the size of the tree and its trunk gives you an idea of how strong and deep the roots are. That’s how the play looks at people and relationships — first at a macro level and narrowing down to the deeper issues about relationships”.
Ventures Theatre was started by Susanto and his wife Mahua Sengupta. Susanto started his journey in theatre in 1999 and moved to Bengaluru in 2005, took a break for a few years and then founded Ventures Theatre.
The tagline of Ventures Theatre is a platform for theatre and theatre-based learning. “We started Theatre Based Behavioural Learning in the areas of conflict management, emotional intelligence, unconscious bias, team building, verbal and non-verbal communication and more.”
Director Susanto Banerjee | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The pandemic, Susanto says, made the world look at online options. “We forayed into using the virtual platform for theatre too, making it a viable option to experience this unique offering.”
Both Susanto and Mahua come from the corporate world, but Susanto quit his job to give more time to theatre. “I use theatre for behavioural learning, which I take to the corporates and am also on the advisory board of some startups.”
Ventures Theatre’s very first play was in Bengali. “Khub Kacher was staged only once. The following four productions were in English to reach a larger audience. Most of our plays are set in such a way that it can happen in any city or place. Locked Down specifically reminds us of the lockdown due to certain unique features of that time which find a way into this play.”
Speaking about subtitling plays, Susanto says, “My personal experience with subtitles has not been good. When they come up on a screen through a projector on to a screen on the stage, it distracts the audience from the main action and story happening on stage. The best thing, I believe in, is to give a synopsis of the play in advance and then stage the play without any subtitles.”
Locked Down will be staged on July 12, at Bangalore International Centre at 7.30pm. Tickets are available on BookMyShow.
