Dead On Arrival explores the conversations couples often leave unsaid

In The Auto Productions is an emerging production house that aims to build a repertoire of honest, meaningful and reflective stories such as Flat No 21035 — a dark comedy thriller; Behind Closed Doors — a social issues drama; and Dead On Arrival — a contemporary drama on the dynamics of marital relationships. While Dead On Arrival is written by Akaash Jayaram — the founder of In The Auto Productions — who also directed and acted in the production house’s first show at Atta Galatta; its second show of the same play this weekend will see Akash Subramanian taking over as writer, director and actor.

Exploring love and marriage

The play is about Minu and Sumith — a couple who have been married for eight years. Their relationship externally appears to be filled with mutual love, but internally faces a dearth of it, with nothing substantial left to feel for each other. It moves between one unbearable night and the eight years that built it. The title literally and metaphorically encapsulates the functional state the marriage reaches — something that spills off even before it arrives. They live under the same roof, lost in a world of their own. Unexpressed thoughts and feelings are suppressed to the point of alienation, only to feel surprised at their intensity when they are finally brought to light.

“The idea is how something can appear alive on the outside, but internally, there is another story altogether. It’s also the realisation that the relationship would have ended long before anyone would have actually realised it. The realisation doesn’t happen quickly; they happen to recognise it at a moment when things seem to become vivid with time,” begins Akash. The theme centres around the difference between loving somebody and actually understanding them. This manifests through elements of interpersonal communication, emotional distancing, individuality and expectations in a relationship. The emotions begin with love — delving further into frustration, guilt, confusion and eventually, a sense of acceptance.

“The play is not trying to tell that one person is terrible and the other is perfect. It chooses to showcase them as two imperfect people in wedlock whose actions have collectively led them to their current situation,” Akash avers. Music elevates the emotional tone of the scenes, along with costumes and a set design that seamlessly integrate into the storytelling. “It’s a familiar domestic space, but as the story proceeds further, the same space might feel different when integrating these elements,” Akash adds.

Although the dilemma of love in marriages has been explored across different creative mediums as a concept in the past, Dead On Arrival begs to differ by creating a space that challenges love as an excuse to stop understanding each other with time, while accounting for parameters beyond love for a successful relationship. “It doesn’t question if love can survive or whether relationships can succeed or fail. We are looking at what could happen when two people genuinely fall in love with each other and still gradually stop knowing each other,” explains Akash.

On inquiring further about his approach to direction, along with dabbling in acting, Akash shares, “I will be following the same path as Akaash had followed, but we’ll enhance the scene transitions, emotional rhythms and portrayal of characters. This is also my debut directorial. As an actor, my goal would be to deliver my best performance, being mindful about positions and my voice — my pitch and pauses. But direction is a different ballgame altogether, so it has been a challenging, yet satisfying experience.”

With great ideas in the pipeline that are yet to be revealed, the production house looks forward to engaging the audience and leaving an impression behind with this show. “I hope it stirs a thought about the people they once loved, but could not really understand well. It’s easy to postpone important conversations because we assume that there’s always a tomorrow, when today could be the last conversation. If somebody walks out with a regret of not having that one conversation with the person they’d been avoiding for a long time, or evokes any other emotion in them that further sparks conversations, then our objective is met,” Akash concludes.

INR 220. October 4, 4 pm & 6.30 pm. At Vyoma Artspace and Studio Theatre, JP Nagar.

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