Playwright David Mamet's most interesting four-act play — 'The Shawl', which delves into a world of deception and drama, is going to be staged in the city by SparkPlug Theatre Co. Director Nakul Bhalla delves into the details.
Take four acts, three characters and one amazing playwright; mix them together and you get one great drama thriller. That’s David Mamet’s The Shawl for you. The play, which has been staged at various theatre festivals across the globe, has won some serious brownie points for the way it has been scripted. And that is precisely why Nakul Bhalla chose to direct Mamet’s play. “He is brilliant with dialogue — it’s smart, edgy, fast-cued, like our everyday speech, and has a very logical progression that is exciting to follow. Mamet also takes his time to unveil the plot and his characters’ personalities, revealing just enough at a time. And with an interesting story weaved around, it makes for a very engaging read... and watch,” says Bhalla, adding, “I was looking to do an interesting play and it just happened to be The Shawl. I had the script for a while and wanted to direct it at some point.”
The play revolves around two men, John and Charles, who plan on defrauding Miss A out of her inheritance. The play scams and deceives to the very end, while emphasising the truth repeatedly.
And Bhalla says that he has retained this plot as is, without any changes. “Mamet, in some of his plays, uses references and language that are heavily American, in which case it makes some sense to change and adapt. In The Shawl, however, that is not the case. The professions of the people are those that we’re all familiar with, their relationships are universal, as are their dilemmas and resulting emotions. Even their names are very nondescript — John, Charles and Miss A — they could be anyone, anywhere. Therefore, there was no need to change anything as there’s nothing not to connect with,” he explains.
This play has been directed by some of the most talented directors across the world and has been staged at various prestigious festivals. Was there any kind of pressure while putting this one together? “The pressures were more of the logistical kind rather than creative. And the pressures were certainly not because of the kind of productions that have been done around the world. The script expresses a lot of ideas. My objective was to ensure that all these ideas come out without ambiguity. Once that’s done, there’s no pressure,” Bhalla shares.
Be at Jagriti Theatre, Whitefield, 8pm, on December 19, 20 and 21 and 3pm and 6.30pm onwards, on December 22. For tickets log on to www.bookmyshow.com
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