A thief, a judge and a murder mystery! Shankar Shesh’s play ‘Aadhi Raat Ke Baad’ is a collage of reality and choices to make between to be or not-to-be.

The play marked the conclusion of a two-day theatre festival here on Thursday. The play was staged at Shaheed Bhavan to mark the closure of Theatre Festival organised by Rang Darshan Theatre Troupe, Bhopal.

Shankar Shesh is considered as another classic playwright of the country. His play Aadhi Raat Ke Baad is a captivating play where a professional thief attempts a theft at the house of a judge and solves a murder mystery of a journalist as he is the eye witness to it.

The play was directed by Aruna Suman and was performed by the artists of Rang Darshan Theatre Troupe. 

The play begins with a thief entering into a house which turned out to be a judge’s house. The thief is on the run, as a rich builder whom he wants to expose is after his life. Fearing for his life, the thief takes shelter in the house of a judge and wants the judge to hand him over to the police, as he would feel safer in a prison than he does when he is free.

What a consequence that a law breaker and law maker remain engaged in marathon dialogue about every issue on the earth, including the efforts to corrupt judiciary. During their discussion, the thief narrates the murder of a journalist and discloses that it was not a road accident, but the murder.

The play was well presented and the audience also loved the play. Shankar Shesh’s wonderful writing style made the dialogues stronger and beautiful. Besides, the clarity in artists’ performances made the play watching worthwhile.