Thoughts on the show

I have been rehearsing with my director, Russell Bender, over the past two weeks. It’s been hard work, and seriously exhilarating at the same time. It has made me realise just how much I missed the theatre. Everything must be practical, clear. A lot of work has been spent on exploring the body through movement techniques pioneered by Jacques Lecoq at his Ecole Internationale de Théâtre in Paris, where Russell trained. This has been juxtaposed with a detailed analysis of the playscript itself in order to establish a character arc for the central character of the show, Kalagora, who travels from Bombay to New York to London. Despite certain autobiographical similarities, the character is now very different from me, just as the script for the show diverges in style and presentation from the book of poems. If anything, it’s truly starting to become a one-man play.

During the past week, I was also lucky to work with other actors who were very kind with their time and energy. We tackled the script together, and slowly the shape and structure for the performance of the show started to form. Next week, we will continue our work with the body (as a way into the psychology of performance) and also start working with the audio-visual elements of the show.

Since May, we have worked on the script, and filmed in our three cities. We’ve also been fortunate to have Pankaj Awasthi’s remarkable music. Now, the challenging and difficult process of shaping the show in a practical/performative sense is underway…