Does New Hyderabad have a way of making you feel like you need to prove yourself? All the people living in the concrete jungle that is Hi-tech City — is it our world? If not, is that the reason why we like it? Sifar’s play Zoo Ki Story will study what it means to be in the IT sector and the growing real estate market. To feel accepted in the most populated part of the city, one must be wealthy, fun and interesting. But Zoo Ki Story is to be read between the lines — does being enough in someone else’s eyes truly matter?
Inspired by and loosely based on American playwright and writer Edward Albee’s work, Sifar’s play shifts from naturalistic to absurdist styles. Albee wrote psychological and satirical dramas in which the characters are realistic but also act strangely.
Director and actor Feroze MNA adds that Albee is a renegade — he has always explored the politics around class and sexual orientation. “He was also adopted by the rich but since he was different from them, he moved out. He thoroughly questioned why rules, belief systems and notions related to identity exist in the first place,” he tells us.
Likewise, Zoo Ki Story resoundingly probes into loneliness, miscommunication, social disparity and dehumanisation in a materialistic world. Prakash Phadnis and Feroze, who play the two characters in the play, decided not to name them anything except person X and Y.
Feroze shares why, “We question caste and identity. There’s a scene in the play where the two of them begin to introduce themselves. However, they decide not to exchange names for a lot of details about them will be out — caste and place of birth will be divulged because of which the conversations between them will be anything but free-flowing.”
The play was one of the first theatrical acts in 2010 at Lamakaan comprising a different cast. It takes place in the setting of a park where the two people talk to each other while they’re swinging. Sharing how the play is relevant today, Feroze further says, “It’s interesting to see how the city is behaving now. Hyderabad has its rhythms and behaviours that can change over time. Is it something related to the atmosphere, people’s activities, or any particular events happening in the city? Our show shall interpret it.”
`200. January 21. 8 pm. At Lamakaan, Banjara Hills.