Marking the second day of the four-day theatre fest two plays ‘Apology’ and ‘Coffee House Me Intezar’ were staged here on Thursday at Shaheed Bhavan Auditorium. ‘Apology’ directed by Rahul Sharma was a solo play commenting over the education system of India. Here a college student attempts suicide and writes a suicide note for the Government asking who is responsible for his death.
Emphasizing on the ‘unchanged scenario’ of the country since independence ‘Coffee House Me Intezar’ was written by laxmi Narayan lal and Directed by Skand Mishra was staged. The play that revolved around a conversation took the shape of a discussion ending up as an argument. Moreover, this was the first play of Skand Mishra as a director.
The play opens up with introducing two characters in a coffee shop; Nirmal, a 47-year-old man who had been a part of the freedom struggle and Vishal a youngster college going student. Both the strangers are waiting for their respective friends at the coffee shop. Nirmal, who was a part of freedom struggle, is a person with a long list of ethics, values and also many stories of freedom struggle. Basically, Nirmal always live in the past. On the other hand Vishal is a young boy who believes in present and lives it enthusiastically and with fun. Another character is the waiter of the coffee shop who represents a common man and its struggle with life.
As the three strangers began talking with a small conversation, Nirmal narrates his experiences as a fighter in the freedom struggle and Vishal tells him about what he does all day and how much he enjoys his life. As the strangers began talking about things as well, Nirmal begins to tell Vishal that how the country was freed and now all the Indians live as free human beings. But here Vishal had some contradictory views as according to Vishal all the social evils and other problems like unemployment, corruption, illiteracy, poverty and many more are still the same. At the end Nirmal agrees with Vishal ending the argument.
According to the director, “This play showcases the unchanged scenario of the country with simplicity.” The actors performed very well although the play adding the charm in the play. Both the plays managed to capture the attention of the audience leaving them pondering the questions raised.