Delhi's National School of Drama present Gappu Gope Gapanggamdas

A scene from the play. PHOTO: STAR

This theatrical work raises the eternal question: Who am I? In the play, acclaimed Indian director Bansi Kaul--much like a master painter's huge canvas--features diverse images and a powerful social message. His directorial compositions visualise different scenes in a particular sequence, to narrate the story of the central character, the bohemian Gappu.

Like the original text, the presentation of the adapted play is also full of images and not at all realistic; a large part of the action is the dramatisation of the imaginings of the main character Gappu.

Gappu's story narrates the colourful journey in search of the ulterior meaning of life and existence in the Indian and universal context. Gappu's urge to leave the mountains in search of adventure and wealth, has a contemporary ring. He is devoid of morals or convention--going so far as to seduce the bride at a wedding, set up a new cult in the desert and attempt to become king of the trolls. And at a different stage of the voyage he comes face to face with crime, treachery, love and emotion. Finally he realises that happiness lies not in materialism, bur rather in love and compassion.

Using different colourful indigenous performing art forms, rituals, customs, games and sports of different parts of India, Bansi Kaul has effectively portrayed Gappu's travels. His masterful directorial composition is exemplified by a successful handling of several actions performed by many actors all together in a single scene. His balanced and polished presentation of the play is supported by wonderful music composed by Anjan Puri, particularly the echo effect. Among the effective musical sequences are that of when Gappu meets imaginary trolls in the desert, complete with the traditional music of Gujarat and elsewhere.

A huge horizontal platform with a depressed area at the middle is used backstage to create the ambience of a rustic house in the hill tracts. Apart from the mountain scenes, the set is covered. Parag Sarmah's light design is simple but effective.

The NSD Repertory artistes displayed excellent team work. They were well suited to their roles and gave credible performances. Their body language and voice modulation were praiseworthy. The versatile Sameep Singh portrayed the varied stages of Gappu's life--from a spontaneous youth to a decrepit old age. Nasreen Ishaque as Amma, performed well in the role of a caring rural mother. And Dakshina Sharma as the pure and innocent Shanni gave a wonderful performance, particularly in the final scene when Gappu rests his head in her lap to take shelter from the cruel world.

On the same day, at the Experimental Stage Kanthashilan staged Karigor, an adaptation of Ibsen's Brand. Khaled Khan is the director of Karigor.