60 Seconds Deep play review

MTG editorial

Phew! Well that was my first reaction post the opening show of 60 SECONDS DEEP on 16th October 2008. I sincerely hoped that its producer-director Jaimini Pathak had made arrangements for a post show energizing drink like Glucon D for the four actors in the play. They were in evident need of it but in any case could not have complained. Barely 15 mins to go for the next show, with a performance close to two hours this was one of those times when an actor�s resilience is put to test.

Physical theatre is demanding and effortless performances are not easy to come by. And yet both individual performance and the concomitant team work in this latest production by Working Title deserve attention. For it is the actors� effort that largely determines the nature as well as the flow of this play, which is completely in spirit with what is understood as devised theatre.

Written by Nayantara Roy, who also acts in this play, 60 SECONDS DEEP is a collage of short scenes that appear to offer a direct as well as a more oblique commentary on life in the fast lane. In doing so the play departs from the conventions of a more traditional narrative in terms of both content and form while using various performative devices like movement, sound, gibberish, chanting and masks. The sound design is also in sync with the nature of the play and it significantly enhances the production as a whole.

The atmosphere is reminiscent of the theatre of the absurd but is stylized to a great extent. From its bare, minimal set design (its centrepiece is an imaginative timekeeper- a resonating visual) to its few, simple and handy props, the piece revolves around the four actors- four individuals whose search translates into a metaphorical parody- a parody of the routineness of relationships, conversations, first attractions, of sex itself, of reality television and gaming shows, of soothsayers and of saleable spirituality.

Playful interludes highlight the seven cardinal sins one after the other but �the search� is a recurring motif, an act that keeps getting desperate with the speeding passage of time. However there is one amongst the four people who is different and has perhaps understood the futility of it all. He is calm and composed where the others are on tenterhooks. Ironically enough the play does have a message after all.

And it is this message, call it the play�s great truth that begins to tire after a point in spite of its novelty and the subtle humour. What could have been a fitting 45 minute piece or at best an hour long is interminably stretched. In short it could do with some serious editing. However most scenes are effective and it is perhaps best to enjoy the play as it transpires instead of seeking a cohesive theme/s.

The role of a director in a play of this sort may not be immediately visible but it can not be underplayed. Jaimini, a competent actor himself lives up to his director�s role in being able to fine tune this exploratory form of theatre. All four actors- Sheila Govindaraj, Nayantara Roy, Mandar Gokhale & Atul Mongia do a very decent job and all that yoga in the play might ultimately prepare them for the long haul. But had 60 SECONDS DEEP been more faithful to its title, it would have been sweet.

*The writer is Editor of this site, a theatre critic and an academic keenly interested in Theatre & Performance studies.

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