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A laudable directorial debut
 The
play, ‘A Temporary Matter’ was staged at the Alliance
Francaise of Madras on the 15th and the 16th of September.
Jointly presented by Alliance Francaise and The Madras Players,
a theatre group, the play is an adaptation of the short story by
Jhumpa Lahiri from her Pulitzer Prize winning book, ‘Interpreter
of Maladies’. The play has been adapted, designed and directed
by Nikhila Kesavan, an actress belonging to The Madras Players.
The cast of the play were Tejas Sreedhar, a theatre actor based
in the UK and Nikhila Kesavan.
The play
revolves around ‘a temporary matter’- a passing phase when
there is a disturbance in the calm and still waters of marriage,
when intimacy and understanding give way to inexplicable
alienation between a couple, when painful boredom creeps into
the relationship between the two characters. However this rough
patch weathers off, letting their deep-seated love for each
other surface at the right time.
Setting and
props: There is a sitting room with a shelf at one end, next
to which is a sofa set and a table. At the other end is a dining
table, at the back of which is a raised platform with a
computer, depicting the study. On the left side of the hall, at
the back is a raised structure portraying the portico. A few
magazines lie on the table near the sofa. The setting of the
house looks natural with just enough contemporary furniture.
 Lighting
and music: One of the highlights of the play was the
lighting. The excellent lighting directed and executed by R.V.
Ramani helped in setting the ambience and aptly highlighting the
mood of the characters. Music was used minimally in keeping with
the tone and ambience of the play. The background score was by
S. Harikrishnan.
Characters:
Siddharth is a 35-year-old man pursuing his doctorate, working
on his dissertation from home. His 33 year-old wife, Shoba, is a
technical proof- reader. Too busy and immersed in her work, she
arrives home late and has little time to spend with her husband.
It is Siddharth who cooks and maintains their home.
Plot:
The play begins at night, when Siddharth is preparing food.
Shoba arrives home late and reads out a notice lying on the
table informing them that due to a repair in the line, there
would be a power-cut at night for an hour for the next five
days. She casually remarks, “ Anyway it is just a temporary
matter”. As they have their candle light dinner, Shoba
suggests that for the next five days they play an interesting
game in the dark – each would take turns and reveal things
that were unknown to each other.
 The
game serves to throw light on untold little secrets that help
the couple gain a new perspective about the events of their
past. The dialogues between the couple are interspersed with
monologues delivered by both the characters, a technique that
helps the audience understand their inner feelings. The
monologues, which seem like a direct address to the audience
served to get them also involved in the play. Nikhila Kesavan
has aptly chosen this technique to replace the narrative
employed in the short story where the omniscient author speaks
to the readers about the characters and the thoughts running in
their minds. In the monologues Shoba and Siddharth look back at
their past when they were happy and intimate with a sense of
loss, and list out the moments they enjoyed the most in each
other’s company.
Adding a ‘filmy’
touch here is a short film in the course of the play depicting
the couple’s past- little moments of fun, intimacy, love and
laughter. This new flash back technique through a video film
(filmed by R.V. Ramani and edited by Ramani and Vijai Sankar)
was greatly appreciated by the audience, although it did seem a
little weird and uncalled for in the middle of the play. The
dance sequence choreographed by Preetha R. and Maria Anitha, was
rendered with finesse and perfection by Nikhila Kesavan and
Tejas.
Right in the
beginning of the play we come to know that Shoba had delivered a
stillborn baby. She intimates the audience that even the sex of
the baby was still a mystery to Siddharth and her. The
excitement with which she speaks about the baby, actually throws
light on her pain that she tries to hide.
 The
game ends: The innocuous secrets at the game slowly set the
stage ready for bigger and more bitter truths. The end of the
fifth day- the last day of the power cut, is also the end of
their little ‘game’. Shoba intimates Siddharth that she has
found a new apartment for herself near her office. As Siddharth
exclaims, she has been slowly but painfully preparing for the
last five days to live without him. Now it is Siddharth’s turn
to shock his wife. He tells her that she had given birth to a
baby boy and that he had even touched the baby before it was
buried. Shoba is plunged into tears, even as she tells Siddharth
that he had hidden this from her because ‘he loved her’. The
last scene in which they hug and cry on each other’s shoulders
leave us with the assurance that their love for each other would
not disappear, that it is still deep-seated and would go on for
long.
The
Adaptation of the short story: The play deviates a little
from the original story in its general tone and more importantly
at the ending. The play has a strain of positivism and hope,
unlike the short story. It ends with a hope that the couples
would find their lost love for each other and get back to a
normal life, while the original story does not leave the readers
with such positive thoughts.
 Direction:
Nikhila as Shoba and Tejas as Siddharth were convincing in their
respective roles, adding a touch of realism to the characters,
although at times it did seem that the chemistry between the two
was contrived and not natural. At one point the interest of the
audience had begun to flag, although it was restored quickly
with the dance sequence, once again gripping their attention.
In spite of a
few minor drawbacks it has to be acknowledged that Nikhila
Kesavan has succeeded in making a mark on the theatre scene with
her commendable directorial debut.
Published on 19th
Sep. 2003
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