A play is a piece of writing which is intended to be performed in a theatre, on the radio, or on the television, and which consists of the words that a set of characters say.
I didn’t know what to expect when I signed up for Call Cutta. What was a mobile theatre? Was it a treasure hunt? Follow the leader? Some sort of a game? I had no idea. Just a lot of enthusiasm that refused to melt despite the summer sun.
The ‘play’ began with me taking a seat (on a stool that was placed on a table) and receiving a call on a mobile phone from Sammy, my guide. His instructions were simple – remember our password ‘download’, don’t confuse your left from your right, if lost then describe your whereabouts clearly, be careful while crossing the road.
A stage is a raised platform in a theatre where actors or other entertainers perform.
The traffic, which Sammy referred to as the curtains, parted, allowing an occasional glimpse of what lay across the road and I, following directions, stepped out. Sammy’s voice pointed out shops with coloured shutters, tea stalls, buildings, and brought them alive by attaching anecdotes to them. There was a shop where he hid, a ground where he played, a theatre that he saw burn down, a park where he sat with a loved one, a phone booth from where he called home when he was late.
The huge expanse of Haatibagan - old buildings, narrow lanes, congested roads, a cyber café, a courtyard, a playground, and a park – formed the stage showing me a world that alternated between past and present, realistic and make belief.
An act in a play, opera, or ballet is one of the main parts in which the play, opera or ballet is divided.
Call Cutta was divided into four acts – Initiation, Consolidation, Infinity and Reconstruction.
During the first three acts, Sammy played multiple roles – that of guide, storyteller, advisor and director. He won my trust by being friendly and reassuring me that he would lead me to my destination safely. His anecdotes were interesting and informative. A closer bond was established when I saw Sammy’s face on a computer screen. There was a sense of relief at putting a face to a voice that had been guiding me through construction areas, past old buildings, in narrow lanes, across ruined sites and through playground and park.
However, during the fourth act there was a change. Sammy was replaced by another person. And the new caller tried to convince me that whatever Sammy had said was a lie, that he had been brain washed by a Call Centre giant and was targeting random people to lure them into its clutches. This information was discomforting and surprising. It pushed me out of my comfort zone. Suddenly the matter of whom and what to trust became vital. Towards the end of the fourth act, the new caller guided me to a “safe” zone where, among her friends, I was offered a cup of tea.
A script is the written version of something that is spoken or performed, such as a play, film, or television programme.
Many things intrigued me – the wrecked chariot, the ruins of Bishwarupa Theatre, an empty, rusted phone booth locked safely, the courtyard with a mesh roof, and a hole in a wall that enclosed a dilapidated room. There was mystery attached to it all. What would the chariot have looked like in its days of glory, sailing across the lanes like Titanic on the Hoogly? I tried to visualise nine hundred people gathered together to watch a performance at Bishwaupa, and then running wildly chased by hungry flames. And why would anyone want to lock an empty phone booth in the first place? It offered nothing but memories of phone calls long made and forgotten. And the mesh roof that sieved the sunlight from the sky and allowed it to laze in the courtyard. But my favourite image was that of the room seen through the hole in the wall, standing still, stripped and victimised by time. It must’ve been a home not too long ago. Now it was a part of an unconventional play.
Interval is a short break during a play, concert, etc during which the performers leave the stage.
Half way through the performance I was directed to a small shop. There, an elderly gentleman waited for me, smiled and handed me a bottle of water and a packet of chips. So that I could sustain myself for the rest of the journey.
A dialogue is a conversation between two people which takes place in a book, film, or a play.
Like conventional plays, there were dialogues here too. Sammy spoke his part, and I made up my lines as we went along. He told me anecdotes, I commented. He sang a song, I complimented. I asked questions, he answered. I laughed, he said it sounded like a cascading waterfall. I laughed again, conscious and embarrassed.
An actor is someone whose occupation is acting in plays or films.
At times I found it hard to believe that I was alone. How could someone be on the phone and yet know precisely where I was, and see what I saw? Who was the real protagonist of this play? I thought it was Sammy, it seemed that way when we began as he urged me to see his world. Instead, I landed up performing, partly for others and partly for myself. I believed that I was going to watch a play where others would perform for me and I would be the audience. My greatest learning from this experience was realising the subjectivity of truth. Who was telling it, and whom should I believe? In the process I also discovered myself and my desire to be a part of many stories.
An audience is the group of people who are watching or listening to a play, concert, show, film, or public speaker.
Was I the actor or the audience? Did I perform for those around me? Or did they carry on with the performance of daily life just to entertain me? At many times I knew I was being watched, by amused young men, curious children and bored adults. At those times I watched them too, the boys nudging each other, the children waiting impatiently for me to get off their play area, ladies combing their hair as I walked past, machine like men sipping tea, the cup touching their lips and resting on their laps at fixed intervals. We watched each other with silent mutual consent.
Without technology this play wouldn’t have been possible. Yet it talked about the scary world of call centres swallowing our youth and locking them in the dungeon of their stomachs. If theatre is about live interaction between, at least, two people, then what was Call Cutta? In this case there was a mobile phone, voices, strangers and I. Did I act? Did Sammy perform? Was it planned or was it impromptu? I’m confused. Was it really theatre?
(Call Cutta – Mobile Phone Theatre Project produced by Rimini Protokoll and Goethe Institute, and supported by Kulturstiftung Des Bundes, was held in Calcutta from 26th-30th April, 2005).
Out of 5 “chilies”, our editorial team gave this article...
—About our writer:
Richa Wahi writes for Chillibreeze
>> Read more articles written by Chillibreeze writers:
