Vidushi Mehra and Samar Sarila, the creative duo of Skylight, present lives of Others, an innovative take on gender expectations. By Angela Paljor
The play, lives of Others, is drawing eyeballs because of its unique visual representation. Two parallel stories run on a divided stage. “It has been divided symbolically to represent two flats, with two separate stories being performed simultaneously. One is a story of a mother and her son while the other is of a just-become mother who has to deal with her alcoholic husband. The dramatic effect and contrasts are created through the use of lights; while one part of the stage will be lit, the other will lie in complete darkness. The lights will interchange according to the action in the respective flats,” shares producer Samar Sarila.
The whole idea behind the play is to highlight the perplexity of modern relationships where the two genders are yet to be weighed as equal and where society dictates our actions in the name of preserving tradition. “The play revolves around the responsibilities of people, specifically towards children, and addiction, be it alcohol or prescription drugs,” adds Sarila. He is also playing the character of Joseph, the addict husband and he explains the reason behind it. “I thought I could do justice to the role as I have experienced similar situations in life as Joseph. Also, as a writer, I wanted to see the weaknesses in the play and if you’re a part of it, then those frailties and weaknesses become more apparent.”
Joseph’s wife Era is a sophisticated woman who deals with her husband’s addiction elegantly. Talking about her character, Vidushi Mehra, the actor cum co-producer, says, “Era is a dejected woman because she had expectations in her marriage that haven’t been fulfilled. Her husband suffers from alcohol addiction and now they have a child. Era does not want to continue the uncertain marriage as she feels responsible for her child. Once a woman’s fundamental thinking is destroyed, she refuses to take in any more. She finds the strength to pick up her life and move on.”
The second story delves into the familial discord between a mother and son and their fractured emotions. Sohaila Kapur plays Sherry, a blind woman past her prime and in the throes of a crippling drug dependency, who is grappling over the past and the present with her son Francis, played by Adhiraij Katoch. “I just want the audience to have an enjoyable evening and come back when we do another show. I want them to go home thinking about what they saw and analyse it, maybe even relate to it. This would be my success,” says Sarila.
The play will be performed at Oddbird Theatre & Foundation from May 18 to 20.