Pardoned is a story of three men waiting in jail hours before their execution. They had been convicted and sentenced to death; one must watch the play to determine its reasons. To get the most out of their last hours, they start to reminisce about their past and reveal their secrets; as we dive deep into their backstory, a mystery is exposed, forming the story’s crux.

It will be a severe, melancholic drama with a hefty dose of plot twists. Characters Anwar, Siddharth, and John are not Amar, Akbar and Anthony. The trialogue is ingeniously so much more: a consciousness-raising play about the last few hours of life and the overall execution system. 

The execution may not feel fully explored enough in the play’s short duration, but neither are they fused on or shouted out - at least until the very final moment; it’s a play of existential suspense. The play was written by Suryasnata Tripathy, directed by Thakur Honey Singh and presented by Natyaved, a new theatre group started by Bob Christo and Thakur Honey Singh. It will be staged at Lamakaan on 5 and 6 November.

“After receiving a positive response and a lot of love from Hyderabad, Natyaved brings you two more shows of our second show of the first production, Pardoned,” says Bob Christo, the actor. He is to play the character Siddharth.  “It is an entirely new attempt at creating a unique perspective in the drama genre. With a dash of neo-noir theme,” said the director, Thakur Honey Singh.