We’ve all heard of marriage certificates and complicated prenups. But have you ever thought of a binding document that provides your significant other with a set of rules to follow during the alliance? This novel idea is brought to life via writer-director Meherzad Patel’s 90-minute play titled The Relationship Agreement. Showcased by Silly Point Productions—an outfit that has conceived critically-acclaimed (hysterical) dramas like The Buckingham Secret since 2008—this is a four-person play, where the characters are simply referred to as Boy, Girl, Man and Woman. 

    “As Indians, the moment you attach a name to a character, we are pre-programmed to immediately associate the person with a particular religion and culture. I didn’t want that,” explains Meherzad, adding that the play made its debut in 2016 at Mumbai’s premiere theatre festival, CentreStage.

For better or worse
This contemporary slice-of-life story revolves around an urban couple who want to avoid the usual trials and tribulations surrounding relationships, by laying out all their cards on the table from the get-go. Their contract includes a list of 25 conditions they approve or disapprove of—from prosaic stuff like ‘no PDA’ to preposterous things including ‘no snoring while sleeping’.

“Sumona Chakravarti (of The Kapil Sharma Show fame) and Danesh Irani/Sajeel Parakh portray the Boy-Girl ​roles. The twist is, unbeknownst to the bickering youngsters, their single parents (depicted by Pheroza Mody and Darius Shroff) connect via Facebook and start getting ‘real cosy’ with each other,” shares the 28-year-old, who will soon be taking the production to Singapore. 

On July 23 at JTPAC.
7 pm onwards.`354.
Details: bookmyshow.com

anoop.p@newindianexpress.com
@godsonlymistake