Crofting a new norm

CHENNAI: Just like home is the only safe space right now, digital is the only safe stage right now for theatre and theatre artists. In the wake of the coronavirus crisis, like many other performing arts, theatre is now migrating to the web — because the show must go on. Come Friday, The Original Theatre Company and Blank Slate Entertainment will screen The Croft, a thriller written by Ali Milles, directed by Philip Franks and starring BAFTA-nominated actor Gwen Taylor.

An amalgamation of three interlinked horror stories set across different time periods, the play promises to woo its online audience. Spearheaded by Avinash Shankar, Blank Slate is known to bring international plays like The Mousetrap, by Agatha Christie, to India. “India has a thriving audience for theatre. We have always seen a positive response towards the theatre troupes that perform here. During this time of quarantine, we couldn’t let the art form suffer. The troupe had been on tour, which was cut short because of the pandemic. Although they hadn’t planned to come to India, they wanted to reach out to Indian audiences by having their play screened online,” he says.

Although nothing compares to experiencing a play live, Avinash says they have adopted other methods to give the audience a similar experience. Featured in the remote highlands of Scotland, two women arrive at an old family holiday home called Crofters hut. Set in the village of Collie Ghillie, they encounter an unexpected twist that makes them forget all about their much-awaited holiday. Entwined in the tales of the past, the duo becomes obsessed with learning about the history of the hut, its occupants between 1750 and 1860 and their tales of thrill and mystery.

In a press release shared with CE by the Blank Slate team, director Philip Frank says, “It’s a thriller, it’s a love story and it’s a ghost story in about equal measure.” Taylor, who stars as a spectre from the 19th century, states in the press release, “I just think of this as real trailblazing — my character blazes a trail for the two ladies who appear later in the play. Her courage is amazing. She is resilient and a survivor; a strong female character. That really appealed to me when I first read the play.” While theatre is all about the live audience, Avinash and his team have made this possible in the new format by organising screenings on the BookMyShow platform.

“We didn’t want the experience of watching a play online to be similar to that of watching a show on OTT. We have tried to stick to the experience of theatre. The play will begin at 7 pm sharp. The cameras have been set up at angles that give the feeling of actually watching the play in a theatre and the troupe will be performing on a stage,” he says. Unlike an OTT platform, one cannot just go on the platform and stream the video. Blank Slate will broadcast the recording of the play live on BookMyShow, and the audience will have to log-in at the designated time, so as not to miss.

“This isn’t the first play we have broadcast online. We had received an encouraging response for our previous broadcast and banking on that, we took up the second one. In May, we screened a theatre performance of the play The Habit of Art, written by Alan Benette. We had received an excellent response and accordingly designed many such projects to follow suit. Many more such screenings are in the pipeline,” shares Avinash. Tickets are available on BookMyShow.com and are priced at `499. The play will be streamed from July 3 to July 5. Timing: 7 pm

This weekend, switch off your lights and switch on your streaming devices to watch the popular thriller
The Croft, as Blank Slate Entertainment facilitates the play’s move from stage to screen for Indian viewers