It’s wickedly funny, says Lillete Dubey about her latest play 'Love on the Brink'

It was going to be her 25th production, and theatre director and actor Lillete Dubey knew it had to be something special and out of the league. And thus, she shaped her latest play, Love on the Brink — a stark contrast to her usual kitty of stage productions that generally drive home a social message.

Lillete candidly points out, “We indeed have come a really, really long way, keeping in mind that we have not compromised on what we set out to achieve.” She also explains that the moment
Primetime Theatre Company (her venture) was born, the rules were set straight. “I wanted to get into direction. So, I started Primetime to explore Indian writing in English,” she says.

However, for her 25th production, Lillete takes a step aside to base her new play on the Tony award- winning smash Broadway hit of the 60’s called Luv by Murray Schisgal. She says, “I had decided to do a wonderful comedy as a treat for all my hard work. It may be a comedy, but is not frivolous. It is brainy and wickedly funny. It is like a spoof on the theatre of the absurd.”

Love on the Brink, according to Lillete, helps recognise our own lives in their incisively observed and wildly funny misadventures, as they struggle to understand life, love, success and the pursuit of happiness. “The ’60s dealt with questions like the real worth of living a life. My play deals with the meaning of existentialism in a tongue-and-cheek manner.” While Lillete loves to introduce new actors with every production on stage, a few actors have remained by her side over the years. Lillete recounts how fifteen years ago, actor Joy Sengupta walked in for an audition for her play Dance Like A Man. She says, “Joy had never done English  theatre. He is talented and a versatile actor. The most important thing is that he loves theatre and finds the time to pursue it. Having trained with Ebrahim Alkazisaab, he is theoretically sound and articulate. It is always good when you have actors who contribute to the process of shaping up your play.”