A little bit of comedy and a little bit of relationship drama. Through five characters, Playtonik presents "The Clean House", a play about a maid who doesn't like cleaning, a doctor who needs healing, a potential scholar, a cancer patient and a Mr. Perfect who is looking for his soul mate.
After the success of their previous plays "Rumors and California Suite", they're hoping this new one, directed by Tulika Majumdar, is well received by audiences. We catch up with Roli Arun, an actor and co-founder of Playtonik Productions.
“The play is something everyone can relate to. There are two sisters, one of them is career oriented and the other has gotten nowhere in her life. She is obsessed about cleanliness. So there is this hot and cold relationship between the two of them," says Roli.
“Another aspect is about how, even when a relationship is on the brink of breaking down, people want to hold on to it. That is shown through this man, who is in an unsuccessful marriage and has affairs with other women," adds Roli.
Written by playwright Sarah Ruhl, the crew picked up this play because it was most relatable to common man. “Our previous plays have been out and out comedy, where every single line was a funny one. This time we wanted to evolve as a group. So we brought in more deep, challenging characters," shares Roli.
The play also involves a bit of stand up comedy. “The maid doesn't like cleaning. She wants to be a stand-up comedian. So there are few times when the characters zone out into their fantasy worlds and have monologues. That's where we see a few lines of stand up comedy," she says.
The play, in fact, opens with three monologues. It is also a Pulitzer Prize finalist.
After beginning practice a month ago, they are showcasing it at Jagriti early in January and plan to take it to Rangashankara.
“Getting dates at venues is such a problem! There are just so many plays happening all over the place," exclaims the actor, who is also a Montessori teacher in the city.
She, along with Tulika Majumdar, who has directed "The Clean House" and Deedan Chakravarthy founded Playtonik and will be showcasing the play at Jagriti Theatre, Whitefield on January 10 and 11, 2014.
