La Compagnie Dramatique brings cult satire The Open Couple to Bengaluru stage on Valentine’s Day

’Tis the season again when romantic relationships tend to be especially characterised with an archetypal emotionalism and sentimentality. However, in the satirical tract of Dario Fo and Franca Rame’s The Open Couple, the reality of relationships gets picked apart with razor-sharp wit. Back for a show in Bengaluru, La Compagnie Dramatique brings their META Award-nominated satirical take on marriage, jealousy and sexual politics through the unique form of commedia dell’ arte. Director Faraz Khan and producer Ragini Roychowdhury talk to us about the decade-long journey of the production and why they felt it was the perfect show for, what is widely considered, the most romantic evening of the year.

What made you choose Valentine’s Day for a play that avoids traditional romantic sentimentality?

Ragini: I actually like the irony of it. Valentine’s Day celebrates a very specific idea of love, and while the play questions those traditional norms, it’s still very much a play about love. Just not the glossy, gift-wrapped version but the more complicated, honest kind that people actually live with.

How has your understanding of the dynamic between Antonia and The Man evolved since the 2013 premiere of your production?

Faraz: At the level of what the play is really about, not much has changed for me since 2013. When you look at it as a satire on marriage and monogamy, the politics underneath are still the same. We might dress it up now with references to dating apps, Gen Z, polyamory or the internet, but that’s all surface. Underneath, it still feels very primal to me — like something that goes way back. So in a strange way, everything keeps changing, and yet nothing really does.

The revival draws deeply from commedia dell’arte, using masks and stylised clowning. How does this heightened physicality help translate Dario Fo’s satire to a contemporary Indian audience?

Faraz: The heightened physicality helps us because we’re not trying to be subtle or realistic in a conventional sense. We’re showing emotional states through the body — very clearly, very openly. When you exaggerate emotions like that, people just get it instinctively. It’s a bit like Navarasa — once you commit to it, the language becomes universal. We’ve never had audiences feel confused about what’s happening, and that’s really the point: to make the satire accessible, not intellectualised.

Can you tell us about the sound design or music used to bridge the gap between the play’s humour and its more poignant moments?

Faraz: For me, theatre should feel like a ride — emotionally, rhythmically. When I work on sound and music, I’m always thinking about how the audience is being carried from one emotional space to another. In The Open Couple, we build a world that feels complete and coherent, almost like a specific Italian landscape, and then we occasionally step out of it. If the audience has bought into the world, they enjoy seeing the rules bend or break — sometimes for laughter, sometimes for something more tender.

Given that the play deals with domestic intimacy and emotional minefields, what is your visual approach to the set design and lighting at the upcoming production?

Faraz: This isn’t really a play where the set or lighting needs to keep changing. The choices we made early on still serve the piece well. Lighting adapts slightly depending on the venue and equipment, but the design stays consistent. The intimacy and emotional volatility come from the actors and the text, not from visual shifts. The world stays stable so that the performances can keep evolving.

Faraz, as a director who has returned to this text repeatedly, what is the most significant thing this specific play has taught you?

The biggest thing this play has taught me is not to take relationships — or myself — too seriously. There’s so much expectation wrapped up in love, marriage and partnership, and this play keeps reminding me to find the humour in all of that. One of my teachers used to say, “Find the funnies,” even in the middle of conflict. Dario Fo and Franca Rame do that beautifully — they hold strong beliefs, but lightly. That idea has stayed with me far beyond the rehearsal room.

What is it about Bengaluru’s theatre audience that makes it the ideal stop on your journey toward your 50th show?

Ragini: Bengaluru audiences are very open, they’re curious and willing to engage with complex material. They listen closely and respond honestly, which makes every performance feel alive. That’s why it felt right to bring the play back here as we head toward our 50th show.

INR 499. February 14, 7.30 pm. Prabhath Kaladwaraka Auditorium, 6th Block, Koramangala.

X: @MallikPrattusa

Email: prattusa@newindianxpress.com