To do or not to do

Marriage — it’s a topic on which everybody has an opinion. Now,a new stage production,called Wed-Lock,invites the audience to voice these opinions. “The floor will be thrown open to the audience,who can come onstage as a ‘spect-actor’ and comment or change the sequence of events in the storyline,” says Sanjay Kumar,director,Pandies’ Theatre which has created the play.

The play was born out of workshops and the dialogues have been scripted by the 14 cast members. “The members derived the storyline during workshops,drawing from real life cases shared by the Delhi Commission for Women. The group researched on marriage,how it has changed over the years and how it has been re- conceptualised by youngsters,” says writer Anuradha Marwah,who helped with the script. The play is being staged in association with DCW.

The 50-minute play explores marriage from two angles — beginning with the issues of tradition among the lower middle class where unrealistic expectations are juxtaposed with realities of violence and dowry. The second half focuses on marriage in the upper middle class,which often becomes a pragmatic,capitalistic enterprise. The play also features two poems. “Usually young people are big critics of the institution and have a fear of marriage,” says Kumar. He adds that the play will also be staged in the outskirts of Delhi such as Nithari,Badarpur Khader and trans-Yamuna. There would also be productions in colleges and co-education institutions.

Wed-Lock will be staged today at Shri Ram Centre at 7 pm. Entry: free. Contact: 23714307