Artiste Sujoy Prosad Chatterjee stages a story of a house

Artiste Sujoy Prosad Chatterjee experiments with alternative theatre in 32 Ashwini Dutta Road 
Cast and crew of 32 Ashwini Dutta Road
Cast and crew of 32 Ashwini Dutta Road

Inter-disciplinary artiste Sujoy Prosad Chatterjee believes that a house is not merely made of bricks and mortar with an address written outside the gate. It has a life of its own with stories to tell – of people who’ve inhabited it, of the laughs they shared or tears they shed. The stories are built out of an intricate, constantly crisscrossing web of memories of many people that hold mirrors of differing shades to the same experience.

<em>The cast of 32 Ashwini Dutta Road during rehearsal</em>
The cast of 32 Ashwini Dutta Road during rehearsal

A lot of alternative physical spaces are being explored by theatrecians in Kolkata instead of proscenium theatre. Sujoy, too, has brought together two unique strands in his latest artistic venture, 32 Ashwini Dutta Road -- the strand of vivid realism through the exploration of art in an alternative space and the strand of surrealism in transforming a lifeless building into a house. 

“The platforms for expressing 'conventional art' in the city have become restrictive and this has increased the need for exploring alternative physical spaces to present art in its raw form. I saw similar plays abroad and when I visited my designer friend Simonti Mookherjee’s house, we decide to stage the play there,” says 41-year-old Sujoy, who has chosen not to act in this play, leaving it to his arts collective, SPC Kraft’s members to showcase the repertoire.

<em>Actors Suparna Datta and Subhosree Patel in the play 32 Ashwini Road</em>
Actors Suparna Datta and Subhosree Patel in the play 32 Ashwini Road

Conceived and directed by Sujoy and scripted by members of his arts collective, the play revolves around house number 32 on Ashwini Dutta Road, a quiet alley in South Kolkata, which has outlived decades, and is carrying untold stories of all those who have lived in it. Each room in that house has a balcony, denoting the need of an outlet for the stories cooped up there.

The story opens with actor Owshnik Ghose Shome, who plays a family member and the mouth piece of the house. He touches upon the emotional undercurrents with his innocent, humorous banter, making way for the audience to discover the rest.

<em>A scene from the play 32 Ashwini Dutta Road</em>
A scene from the play 32 Ashwini Dutta Road

Each room has a story to tell. As the audience move to a dressing room on the first floor, they encounter a young boy coming to terms with his sexuality. The kitchen becomes a place of respite for two women, who discuss their travails of domestic subjugation and abuse. There’s also a conversation between a mismatched couple in one of the bedrooms of the house. The 40-minute play ends on a happy note celebrating life in all its shades.

32 Ashwini Dutta Road, An Immersive Art's Experience, at the same address, on December 29, three shows between 3 pm and 5 pm of 40 minutes duration each. For details: 9331022772

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