While turning on the pages of newspapers or surfing channels we often come across certain important issues being fought in the courts, like sedition case against Kanhaiya Kumar or the Shah Bano case or Article 377 and so on. In a country where there is a great deal of corruption and government apathy, the courts are often seen as the last recourse. Of course as former chief justice of India YV Chandrachud recounted: “You can go to a court seeking the law, but you may not always get justice.” All these crucial concepts of law, justice, right action and good governance are intertwined in a spectacular format to present thought- provoking ideas through ORDER! ORDER! ORDER! Festival of Courtroom Drama by Akshara Theatre. “By its very nature, there is in-built drama in the format of Courtroom Drama, and such plays deals with serious issues of law and justice as well as pressing social matters. This Festival presents a selection of riveting and compelling Indian and international plays centred around the courtroom, the legal luminaries who practice law and the very concept of justice,” says Anasuya Vaidya, organiser of the festival.
According to Vaidya though they started working on the festival only some months back the idea was already conceptualised a few years ago. She adds, “Some years ago, we had presented a play called The Importance of 377: The Trials of Oscar Wilde. Oscar Wilde was a world-famous playwright living in the late 18the century, but he was also a homosexual. He was prosecuted and imprisoned for his homosexuality and died in exile as a result of the imprisonment. At that time the issue of revoking Article 377 was on centre-stage, so we combined two of his cases and made them into a play. It was an impactful presentation which very much appealed to the audience and made them think about this issue. We thought at that time that this was a good way to present such issues-so perhaps we conceptualised it at that time.”
So let the lights dim and let the curtain rise for the festival which will be presented on weekends starting from May 8 to May 22. The major attractions are five plays, book readings, discussions and talks. It will start with Manohar Kahaniya — The Suzette Jordan Story written and directed by Shomik Ray performed by Shapno Ekhon Theatre Company. Next in the series are An English Prison — The Trial Of Suresh Vaidya directed by Jalabala Vaidya, performed by Akshara Repertory, Hatya Ek Aakar Ki by Shuddho Banerjee will be enacted by Saanjh Baati Theatre Company and 12 Angry Men written by Reginald Rose directed by Rakesh Palisetty. The concluding play will be Karma, Dharma and Ram Rajya by Gopal Sharman.
What makes it must watch are the interesting and real life incidences transformed into stage act. For instance in Manohar Kahaniya by Shomik Ray, here the director takes inspiration from Nirbhaya case. “The thought started when we were faced with the Nirbhaya incident in December 2012. All members of our group were uneasy and were keen to respond. But we were not sure of joining in what was happening around us. On introspection we realised that we were looking for a creative outlet to our feelings and thoughts on the issue. We engaged in discussions, research, readings into the broader issue of gender space in Indian society and gender based violence as an organic social issue.This lead us to an understanding that the gender space needs to be reclaimed. Even though we do vouch for gender equity, but the rationale and definition of equity suffers inherent male biases. We raised questions. Who gave the role of protectors to menIJ Who decides how and to what extent does men participate in the gender space. Probably it is time to redefine equity and say that the gender space belongs to women and they should decide how, when and to what extent they want men to participate. Manohar Kahaniya is planned as a series of plays portraying the lives of women who have stood up against odds and have fought for justice. These stories not only inspire but also provide road maps for the future. Some of them have been instrumental in reshaping the socio — legal structure of the country. The first story in this series is of Suzette Jordan is designed as an interactive play and will engage the audience with an objective to trigger individual level thinking leading to action,” elucidates Ray.
On the other side 12 Angry Men written by Reginald Rose directed by Rakesh Palisetty is not a courtroom drama but a jury room drama which deals with the concept of justice and deliberates on the guilt of a man in a homicide trial. So even though it’s not set in a courtroom, it is a similar sort of drama that enfolds in the play with similar intensity of emotions running through it. And hence seems suitable for this particular festival. Shares Palisetty in brief, “It is a play about 12 jury members deliberating upon the guilt of a boy on trial for the murder of his father. It is a jury room drama written by Reginald Rose first as a teleplay, which was then made into a Hollywood movie starring Henry Fonda. The play deals with the concept of justice in a jury room where the jurors come in with their own prejudices and insecurities and how these affect their decisions and judgements. The play explores the difficulties encountered in the process of reaching an unanimous verdict, among a group of men with different personalities. It also explores the concept of reasonable doubt in a trial.”
Gopal Sharman has directed the last play of festival called Karma, Dharma and Rama Rajya. This play will include speeches from plays like Anasakti-Gandhi’s Gita (Mahatma Gandhi’s interpretation of the Bhagavad Gita) and Sharman’s The Ramayana. “Karma, Dharma and Rama Rajya is the classical Indian concept. It is expressed in Dasharatha’s debate with his favourite queen Kaikeyi in act one of my play, The Ramayana. He says, ‘Do you think good government happens simply by routine and rote, that some sure theory or apparatus of government takes care of itIJ’ Dasharatha’s explanation is what is enacted by Jalabala playing that role. These ideas have been highlighted by the contentious interplay between Dasharatha and Kaikeyi making for some lively and dramatic action. Kaikeyi is played by Yashna, Jalabala’s grand-daughter. So it dramatically and entertainingly underline the relevance of these concepts, which are, in fact, Sanatan, timeless, eternal and never irrelevant,” concludes Sharman.