‘Eppo Varuvaro’ reflects upon how we choose to lead our lives

Against the backdrop of a barren tree and a barren land, two persons are heard discussing about various issues they encounter in their daily lives, subjects as simple as thirst, hunger and employment, the difference being — one of them believes that everything will be done by someone sitting above — God, and the other person asking questions as to how it will happen.

Inspired by Waiting for Godot by Irish play wright Samuel Beckett, Tamil play Eppo Varuvaro is written by SMA Ram and directed by Vasanth B, with the situations and scenes adapted to Indian settings, and the barrenness symbolic of how we choose to lead our lives and let our beliefs overpower our senses.

Apart from the first two characters on stage — Visuvaiya and Ayyasamy — the play will see six more characters enter the scene every five minutes, each with a new problem. Vasanth explains, “As Visuvaiya and Ayyasamy engage in a conversation while waiting for God to come and meet their basic needs without themselves making any effort, Visuvaiya says she is thirsty; and Ayyasamy is quick to remind her that God will come and take care of it. This is when the third character enters stage with water. Similarly, the fourth person to enter is a young man who is looking for a job, and both Visuvaiya and Ayyasamy convince him to join them and wait for God to come.”

As the play progresses, some more characters, representing different faiths, enter and try to preach. Blinded by faith, none of the characters make any effort to make their lives worthwhile as they continue to complaint about the problems they face, and put everything on God to make amend.

“At the end comes a progressive-minded young man named Sarvagan. While the others try to persuade him to join them, he manages to put some sense into them, by telling them, ‘if you need shadow or shade, you have to create it’,” says Vasanth and that is the message the play wants to convey, he adds.

Tickets at Rs 200. May 24,7 pm.

At Medai – The Stage, Alwarpet.

Email: rupam@newindianexpress.com

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