A digital play on lives during lockdown

By Siddhi Jain

New Delhi, Aug 7  A digital theatre play featuring ten diverse monologues written by nine established playwrights, ‘One on One – Unlocked’, is all set to premiere online next week. It features some of India’s finest actors including Rajit Kapur and Aahana Kumra.

The lockdown has affected us in different ways – introspective, illuminating, irritating, igniting, isolating. Nine gifted playwrights – Abhishek Majumdar, Adhir Bhat, Akarsh Khurana, Anu Menon, Ashok Mishra, Hussain Dalal, Purva Naresh, Raghav Dutt, Rahul da Cunha – write of their experiences, their perspectives of the 150 days of solitude, if not physically, certainly in the mind.

Through the monologues, the audience will meet a range of characters — an exasperated Hawaldar, an isolated hipster, a young actress trapped in her flat, an outspoken hospital intern, a philosophical alcoholic, a young working woman forging new friendships, an anxious mother, a wayward boy forced to stay back in a madarsa, a compounder in a quarantine centre, a spunky cable TV repairman. These stories vary from hilarious to heart-warming, from eureka moments to experiential thoughts.

The play is by Paytm Insider’s new theatre initiative, Front & Centre, which brings a taste of theatre through digital experiences. It is produced by Rage Productions.

The play has been directed by some of the best in the business – Akarsh Khurana, Anand Tiwari, Gurleen Judge, Nadir Khan, Rajit Kapur, Shikha Talsania, Sukant Goel and Q. The talented cast includes Aahana Kumra, Anu Menon, Gagan Dev Riar, Hussain Dalal, Joy Fernandes, Neil Bhoopalam, Raghav Dutt, Rajit Kapur, Seema Biswas, Veronica Gautam.

According to Rahul da Cunha, Rage Productions, the play combines theatre, technology, a theme like COVID, and twenty-two stalwart playwrights, actors and directors all creating stories in a lockdown – a period that has been both isolating and inspirational.

Tickets priced at Rs 499 are available on the platform.