Accepting the ‘different’ other

KOCHI: Children finding a common ground to come together despite differences; this is the premise which is explored through ‘The Exchange Student’. The play was staged the other day by the Juhu-based Theatre group ‘Tpot Production’ as part of the Rangaprabhath National Children’s Theatre Festival being held at the capital. The plot unfolds with an Italian exchange student coming to India as part of an exchange programme. She faces an uncomfortable situation and a cultural shock,  being thrown amidst Indian students. While a few of the students are friendly with the new arrival,  others start looking for opportunities to intimidate her, spotting how she is ‘different’ from them. It is from here that the plot of the play progresses. Tastefully done with animated projections on the background, the play has a nine-member strong caste with Trishla Patel, founder of the Tpot Production playing the role of the exchange student Cris.

Speaking more about the play Trishla says, “It loosely touches upon the topic of racism and also the issue of bullying. However, instead of depicting it in a loud manner, the tone is just subtle. There is no preaching or lecture session.”However when the one and a half hour-long play ends, all is well,” she said. According to Trishla, a professional theatre artiste who has created a niche for herself, the way the skit communicates the message and the impact it has on kids is what makes ‘The Exchange Student’ special. What anyone seeks to get from society is acceptance, and this is what the skit conveys.

Recalling an incident, Trishla adds, “It is touching how children come backstage after a performance and tell us that ‘we won’t be mean again’.” This is the first time that ‘The Exchange Student’ is being staged outside Mumbai. “First performed in May at NCPA and later at Prithvi theatre, both in Mumbai, this is the first time we are performing it outside the city,” adds Trishla.

For the Mumbai-based theatre artiste, love for theatre was something which lay deep within her even before coming up with Tpot Production. “In fact, I feel I was made for theatre. My very first encounter with a stage was at age three in playschool, when I played one of the three wise monkeys. Later, I joined theatre classes at Law College,” he said. It was the passion for the same that led her to discontinue her Law studies, after which she acted in her first professional play, Feroz Abbas Khan’s ‘Mahatma Vs Gandhi’ where she got the chance to work with Naseeruddin Shah and Kay Kay Menon. There has been no looking back ever since.

Being a part of theatre for around twenty years, Trishla Patel has been part of other plays apart from her activities related to the Mumbai-based theatre group. Trishla, who has been part of plays by Nazeeruddin Shah’s  Motley productions, states, “I have been to Kochi and Calicut as part of theatre with plays like ‘Aaj Rang’. I have been to the capital before, I love the food here and the beach.”