Play Time - Skylight

Skylight

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During wedding season in Delhi, one would be considered a little mad to undertake the expedition to drive all the way from Noida to Chhattarpur to watch a play in an obscure little theatre during rush hour. The traffic snarls, horrendous as they are, get compounded in the glorious winter months by the additional cars out and about buying outfits, gifts, getting venues ready, exchanging formalities between both marriage parties and whatnot, thereby creating what I would describe as a mind-blowing clusterf**k you don’t want to be stuck in voluntarily. 

But we did, and into all this chaos on a Friday evening we dived. With some clever manipulation of Google maps, we made it in an amazing two hours (would have taken way longer otherwise) to just about catch the start of Skylight, a play showcasing the relationship between a man and a woman at the Oddbird Theatre, hoping that the bloody long and excruciating drive - as long as it takes to fly from New Delhi to Kolkata - was justified by the performance so I didn’t have to kill anybody after. 

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The play, set in London, deals with the complexities of relationships, the flaws of human character and a love tested by strong personal convictions, clash of wills and circumstances beyond the control of the protagonists. Written by Sir David Hare and directed by Deepa Dharmadhikari, the storyline was realistic, convincingly executed and totally worth our time. 

The character of Kyra Hollis was brilliantly played by Vidushi Mehra as an idealistic, suffering, righteous teacher at a school located in a dodgy neighbourhood. Samar Sarila, who played the role of Tom Sergeant, an arrogant restauranteur trying to win back his lost love, pretty much nailed his part and was thoroughly entertaining in his sarcasm and comic timing. Danish Sood playing the role of Sarila’s son was endearing in his portrayal as a confused and angry young man struggling with loss and yearning for his father’s attention and affection.  

The Oddbird theatre, nestled in a small niche in the middle of nowhere - as is a common occurrence with most of these hidden gems in Delhi - was a pleasant surprise. The small, cozy little place, which seemed more like an art gallery than a theatre, made for a very informal and relaxed atmosphere. The setting had no separation between the stage and the audience and it was almost like a private performance in your living room. I was sitting on one of the cushions right in front as the chairs ran out so of course had stretch out privileges too. 

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The intimacy of the space seemed to blur the lines between the cast and the audience and at one point after yet another sarcastic response made by Tom to Kyra the audience burst into laughter and Sarila got caught up in the moment himself for a tiny second. That little slip I thought, lent the performance a personal touch, as if the audience too had a role in the happenings on stage. Some also got caught up in a bit of the angst and a few quiet tears were shed too. 

In many plays I’ve ended up zoning out for long periods - very short attention span. However, this one didn’t allow me to. Kept pulling my attention back, probably because of the close setting and the fact I was sitting right under the performers noses, but more so because of the compelling acting and storyline.   

I really enjoyed the play - if that was not apparent till now - and not because I’ve known one of the performers for a long time but because it was truly well done. For those interested in watching it, Skylight will be returning to the Oddbird Theatre from Feb. 24 - 26. It would be an entertaining two hours.