the spaces between words - bangalore mirror
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12/12/13 The spaces between words - Bangalore Mirror
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By:Nirmala Ravindran
The common theme of a long marriage
suffering from a communication
breakdown is treated with deft humour in
Shivani Tibrewala's worthy effort
Whatever you say , written and directed by
Shivani Tibrewala is an existential play, but
thankfully, without the accompanying angst.
Pegged as a "funny, honest play about a couple
who one day discover that they have run out of
conversation," Whatever you Say deals in wit and
wisdom, both with words and without.
X and Y have been a couple for far too long, and
have reached a point in their lives where they
realise they have absolutely nothing to say to each
other. Sounds familiar? Whatever you Say might
well be an echo of what goes on in millions of lives
(and homes) around us.
Thus rendered meaningless as a couple, the duo tries to rediscover and find some semblance of
meaning in their existence — mainly by bickering, laughing and fighting. There is great symbolism in
the writing, even if unintentional, and the script harks back to other famous duos that have dealt with
similar timeless issues in the past and been thus immortalised on stage — Samuel Beckett's tramps Didi
and Gogo in Waiting for Godot and the Old Man and Woman in Eugene Ionesco's Chairs making
perfect predecessors.
There is a third element in Whatever you Say, a 'thought collector', the character Z, whose job it is to
collect thoughts that nobody wants anymore. Z enters the domestic scene and the problem arises when
Z develops burnout and starts setting the thoughts free.
That's when we lose clarity about what is said and what remains unsaid. It is through these innocuous
circumstances that the couple finally discovers that even as their lives together are rendered
meaningless, their lives without each other would be even more so. And as they bicker, laugh and fight
while feeding pigeons, they find that they have turned into pigeons themselves.
Whatever you say deals with questions of identity and existence peppered with a generous dose of
humour. It promises to be a class act thanks to its lead actors. When it opened in Mumbai it was
performed by Mona Ambegaonkar and Tom Alter who sparkled as the couple looking for meaning in
their spent lives. The current production stars Tom Alter, Dipika Roy and Shivani Tibrewala and
comes to Jagriti as the third play in this year's theatre season after Dead Man's Cellphone and Miss
Meena.
Tibrewala's company No Licences Yet has been producing theatre that is relevant to our times, where
the idea is not just to entertain but also to enrich and engage the audience through a theatre
experience.
As an added treat for theatre viewers, Jagriti has scheduled a Close Encounter with Tom Alter on
Sunday October 20, at 11 am. A veteran with over 175 films, 20 theatre productions and over 50
television series to his credit, Alter is a writer, journalist, poet and Urdu expert besides being a
novelist and a cricket scholar. Catch him and quiz him on the various hats he wears on his decorous
head. And don't forget to watch the play that tells you that "you can't win, no matter what you say....or
don't say. But you might as well enjoy the ride while it lasts."
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What's on
Play: Whatever you say Synopsis: What happens when a couple run out of conversation? When
they have nothing left to say to each other-except fight and bicker. And, what could emerge if a third
person — a thought collector — enters this space?
Written and directed by: Shivani Tibrewala Performed by: Tom Alter, Dipika Roy and Shivani
Tibrewala
Date: 18 to 27 October Time: 8 pm every day, 3 pm and 6.30 pm on Sundays (Monday holiday)
Tickets: Rs 300 (200 on weekdays) Booking: Bookmyshow.com
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