‘I want to produce relevant plays’: Kalki Koechlin’s latest production 'One Flea Spare' delves into gender and class pol

Stripped bare in death, everyone looks the same in the plague pit. It is the bodies beneath the clothes and the lives beneath bodies themselves that are explored by Wallace in a play where issues of class and politics are probed with a fierce, searing tenderness.
— The Guardian

With its title derived from John Donne’s poem The Flea, American playwright Naomi Wallace’s award-winning play, One Flea Spare is set in London, 1665, at a time when the city is ravaged by plague. While the play, which revolves around four characters — an elderly couple, a virile sailor and a mysterious girl who are quarantined together in a house for 28 days — has been performed on many international platforms, Kalki Koechlin’s Little Productions is now staging it for the Mumbai audience.

Directed by Rehaan Engineer, the cast includes Kalki, Jim Sarbh, Rajat Kapoor, Dipika Roy and Hitesh Malukani. Kalki, who first heard of the text from Rehaan, says that she was intrigued by the themes of the play, which include class and gender politics. “That’s what makes the play so relevant even in today’s times. We still live in a world where we judge a person by the job that they do or by how much money they earn. When it comes to gender, women are still fighting for equal pay and equality of rights. It’s a really powerful story,” she says.

Working with Rehaan, with whom she has done another play, Far Away, was another draw. “He’s a sensitive director and I enjoy working with him,” she says, adding that while he’s a recluse, it means he has a lot more time to read about various subjects, including music, history and literature. “Anyone who has that kind of vast knowledge is always going to have a much more sensitive approach to a text. So, he knew a lot about the plague, how people behaved with each other, what were their daily habits and rituals — things which are useful for us as actors to know.” His intense process is the reason the cast has been continuously rehearsing for three weeks. “We eat, drink and sleep this play! It’s an intense process but the positive outcome is that the actors really get to know each other. It almost feels like we have been actually locked in together for these past few days!” she laughs.

As for the kind of plays she wants to produce, she says the process is quite organic. “I don’t plan what I want to produce. It’s when I find someone who I really want to work with or some text that I really want to do, that I do a production of my own. I have to find it moving and challenging and it has to be relevant,” she says. While Kalki made her directorial debut on stage with The Living Room in 2015, she hasn’t directed another play. “Oh God! It’s so much work,” she laughs, adding that while she does want to eventually direct another play, there is nothing on her mind as of now. “I have so much respect for directors. It’s a tough job,” the actress signs off.