“Words are not as satisfactory as we should like them to be, but, like our neighbours, we have got to live with them and must make the best and not the worst of them," said Samuel Butler. Among the many interactions that are part of human society, our relationships with our neighbours is perhaps amongst the most layered. The world's a smaller place now too and more of us are accustomed to living in clusters in large apartment blocks teeming with people.
And as anyone in Bengaluru can testify, there's a lot more room for histrionics!
Perhaps that's what compelled Sriram Iyer to write Societal woes, a take on apartment life in the city, written with his characteristic wit. A meeting with veteran theatre personality Jagadish Raja at Jagriti resulted in a reading of his play back in January. "That went very well, so we decided to stage the play this month," said Raja, who is directing it.
"It's set in a block of flats in Bengaluru and anyone who lives or has lived in a flat will identify with it at once," said Raja. "They're all forced to live together because they own apartments in the same block - What transpires from there is funny and dramatic." And they're problems we all know, whether it's about children making a noise in the afternoons or dogs barking all the time, Raja explains. "It's all there, really. Even the costumes pre-dictate themselves because the story is set in Bengaluru."
Jagadish Raja
To Raja, this little tale told with wit and humour is another examination of the human condition, something that has preoccupied him all his life, manifesting in his art. "What really strikes me is the insistence on the human being to get others to conform," he said. "I'm interested in the individual battles of the many who don't wish to do this. I'm not going to do the 'good' thing because that's what is done. I don't want to do the 'bad' thing because that's being done either. I want to do what I want."
That's what makes theatre such an effective mode of expression. "Because it has been dramatised, an everyday situation is underscored. When you're on stage and under lights, the whole issue is transformed into something bigger and more meaningful."
Directed by Jagadish Raja, the cast includes Arundhati Raja, David Selvaraj, Hemanth Narayan, Anirudh Acharya, Karan Malhotra and Urvashi Goverdhan.
What: Societal Woes
When: September 15, 16 at 8 pm and September 17 at 3 pm and 6.30 pm
Where: Jagriti, Varthur Main Road, Ramagondanahalli, Whitefield
Ticket price: Rs 400
