A slice-of-life story on stage

David Mamet's 1977 play 'A Life in the Theatre' finds place on a Mumbai stage with some Indian flourishes

- Prachi Sibal

Afsana Theatre's rehearsal room ahead of the premiere of David Mamet's A Life in the Theatre in August feels confusing. Everything that should be off-stage has suspiciously found its way onto the stage. The wings are inside out, the actor is facing away from the audience, and the backstage crew is going about their chaotic work like no one's watching.

It's what happens when theatre makers decide to turn the spotlight onto their own lives. Written by legendary American playwright David Mamet in 1977, the play tells the story of two actors—the senior Robert, and junior John. Robert is like the theatre stalwart we are all too familiar with, and John is the talented young kid on the block. Through a series of on-stage and off-stage scenes, Mamet traces the relationship between the actors and betrays, in some detail, their predicament on stage and beyond.

For co-directors Gagan Dev Riar and Jitender Singh, reading A Life in the Theatre was a bit like looking into the mirror. "Many of the conversations sounded like they had been mined from personal spaces as theatre makers," says Singh. Riar could relate to both Robert and John, and was also reminded of stalwarts in the theatre fraternity he'd crossed paths with. "We have a lot of senior actors in our midst who are well read, articulate and intelligent. But, it doesn't always translate to the stage. I found that very relatable," says Riar.