It’s all about family

BENGALURU : Many strong relationships have been the casualty of family feuds. Even the strongest bonds can be broken by those weakest moments. But how do you repair the ties? The play Hold the Mushrooms, scheduled on August 27 at Jagriti Theatre, is a dramedy that explores this theme.  

The play stars theatre artistes Jimmy Xavier, Paramita Gupta, Yamuna Kali and Vishnu Surendran. According to Xavier, who plays the character of the father, the play looks at family dynamics. “The father has a very interesting relationship with the daughter. It’s a friendly banter between the two of them. Very often, the mother is at the receiving end since they gang up against her. But when a fight blows up, the family dynamics change,” says the radio jockey.

What makes the play special is its familiarity, says Arundhati Raja, director of the play, adding, “We have not had a new play like this which is contemporary and is about family situations. Anybody who comes to watch it can see themselves in it. Theatre is a mirror, we say. In this play, there are parents, a daughter and
the boy she wants to bring home. These are all situations that people would have gone through.”

A veteran theatre artiste herself, Raja also mentions that the USP of the play are the dialogues that have been written keeping modern sensibilities in mind. “The writer has taken a a lot of care. Its modern nature carries the story through. It should not be through declarations and monologues. It is funny in places and there are instances where it’s quite sad but it is something you can come enjoy and go home,” says Raja, who hopes to see a packed house for the play.

Like many other artforms, theatre has been at the receiving end of the pandemic effects. Auditoria may be open but there are hardly any new productions coming up. “We are finding that people are coming back for dance, music and comedy shows which are full but it has been tough for the theatre fraternity. People think theatre is something intellectual and they cannot understand but what they don’t get is you can have plays which are very, very enjoyable,” points out Raja. (Hold the Mushrooms is being staged on Aug. 27 at Jagriti Theatre, Whitefield)