In today’s dating culture of situationships, ghosting, lovebombing and breadcrumbing, everything feels one swipe away and one unread text from being over. For once, we all wish we could turn back to simpler times. The musical by Poochu’s Productions, Anonymity in Love, written and directed by Denver Anthony Nicholas, does exactly just that.
“It’s based on a short play I wrote eight years ago,” says Denver. “This story had the potential to be rewritten in different forms, from the perspective of the other characters as well.” What makes it even more intriguing is that the lovers in question never reveal their names. “I just want to take the audience back to a place of familiarity, as well as introduce the younger generation to a time of beauty and love.”
For Denver, the story stems from nostalgia. “Honestly, it’s because I’m from the era of letter writing, expressing love with greeting cards. I miss receiving and giving letters or cards addressed ‘From your secret admirer.’”
The play traces nearly two decades in the lives of two people who meet only once a year but never exchange their real names. To capture this passage of time, Denver cast six actors, three different couples in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. “Each couple depicts a different age group,” he explains. “It’s a simple layout of chairs and arches because that’s all this story needs. What I want the audience to feel when the lights go down is romance, love, warmth.”
For the actors, that restraint and mystery became part of the challenge.
For actor Damien Cafaaso, who plays the youngest version of the man, the role felt like holding up a mirror. “This story doesn’t sugarcoat love. It’s messy, impulsive, vulnerable, and still, somehow, pure,” he says. “Since I play him at the start, I just had to tap into that 21-year-old mix of curiosity, excitement, and fear.”
Janavi Balaji, who portrays the younger woman, adds that the premise instantly caught her attention. “Being a part of Gen Z, terms like situationship, ghosting, breadcrumbing, lovebombing, soft launching, they’re more common than actual long-term relationships,” she says. “When I first read the script, I thought, there’s no way this could work in today’s time. But the idea that two people could stay in love for over a decade while staying anonymous was magical.”
“This character has so much emotional baggage, he needs three actors,” says Kumaran Sethuramalingam, who plays the man in his 30s. “I get the messy middle. I’m the guy who gets married to the wrong person, gets divorced, gets a little ugly beer belly, and proposes at the absolute worst time. I’m basically the human equivalent of a mid-life crisis.”
What drew him in, he says, was the idea of “love without an undo button.” “My guy can’t just check her ‘last seen’ status or text her. The idea of that kind of analogue, high-stakes love was hilarious and terrifying,” he says.
Bhavya Balantrapu, who plays the woman in her 30s, says she found herself connecting deeply to her character. “It’s not a straightforward love story, yet the characters go through all the beats or feelings you feel in a typical romantic relationship,” she says. “Since this character is around the same age as me, it was easy to map her emotional graph with my own. It shows us not to attach our self-worth to how someone else feels for or about us. Love is an emotion, not a transaction.”
Despite the anonymity, Anonymity in Love is anything but distant. Through songs, letters, and yearly encounters, the play becomes an ode to slow-burn affection, the kind that survives without selfies or status updates. As Denver puts it, “It’s a fictional story, but I’ve dipped into personal experiences for certain dialogues, emotions, and moments of clarity. What I hope is that it rekindles romance in everyone who comes to watch.”
Rs 350. On November 16 at 4 pm. At Alliance Francaise of Madras, Nungambakam.
Email: shivani@newindianexpress.com
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