Love in the age of information

It is in the middle of a soundcheck that we catch theatremaker Mohit Takalkar for a conversation The founder of Aasakta Kalamanch Takalkar is busy preparing for his next production that goes up on the NCPA stage tomorrow ldquoIt is one of the most exhilarating journeys I have been onrdquo he reveals The journey he refers to is the adaptation of Love and Information a play by one of the United Kingdomrsquos greatest playwrights Caryl ChurchillThe mystery of Churchill lies in the fact that the writer has remained a recluse leaving barely any information for fans of her writing to add context to her work The director says ldquoShe has not given any stage directions presets or scenarios about these conversations and where they are happening So it is entirely left to the actor and directorrsquos imagination as to how they build itrdquoKashish Saluja and Mahesh SainiThe conversations are key to the work the Punebased Takalkar remarks adding that while they can seem random they are open and layered with multiple possibilities The team including 11 actors will perform vignettes of over 50 scenarios and conversations some of them as short as five seconds but none longer than five minutes Hidden between this flurry of information overload are moments that are key to understanding Churchillrsquos work ldquoLove is not what we know it to be It can dazzle you and surprise you only if you spend time with itrdquo Takalkar points out He compares it with finding dohas and abhangas by the Indian saints Kabir and Tukaram or the wisdom in passing conversations at coffee tables or over dinner ldquoOr the Japanese haikus The play sets apart the difference between knowledge wisdom and informationrdquoCaryl Churchill Pics CourtesyBritishCouncilorgWritten in 2012 this growing resonance of the work is what drew the directorrsquos attention ldquoI had read it way back then but never felt like picking it up I was always unsure of whether it was a play for actors to showcase their skillsrdquo he shares The past few years seem to have shifted this perspective ldquoWe are transformed into consumers of not just information everything There I think the truth of this play emerges stronger It is much more profound But because it is profound it need not be heavy philosophical or inaccessiblerdquoTakalkar left discusses a scene with Hanspal and MisraTo be presented in English Haryanvi Hindi Marathi and Gujarati Churchillrsquos conversations will find a more resonant Indian context Takalkar insists that the production is not a complete adaptation in that they have retained the pure translation of the dialogues and context of the original work ldquoThe axioms of love that she Churchill speaks of are universal In a country like India that is fragmented by sex class and caste among other things we hardly need to create context for these conversations The work is about humanity in the larger senserdquo Moreover since they are conversations the languages will flow naturallyAshish Mehta and Prajesh KashyapTaking up such a large context for the first time can be a challenge Yet this is a conscious move by the playwright His last work Ghanta Ghanta Ghanta Ghanta Ghanta finished in the top 10 best plays in the country at the recently held META awards ldquoI need to make sure that what I say is meaningful I have been very careful in choosing my projects in that senserdquo Takalkar explainsHaving shaped reshaped and worked with the actors over the last three months the director admits that it is at an exciting apex ldquoFor every scenario we have had five different alternatives read them learned them threw them out and brought them back again in the last 10 days Thatrsquos why we call it exhilarating After this maybe I just need to let the information sit with me and rest Perhaps that is bestrdquo he laughsOn Tomorrow and 26 730 pm April 28 4 pm and 730 pm April 29 730 pmAt Experimental Theatre NCPA Nariman Point Log on to inbookmyshowcom ncpamumbaicomEntry Rs 500 onwards nonmembers Rs 450 onwards members