Actor-Director Sumeet Vyas | Photo Courtesy: Sumeet FB Page
old riceAn idiom for people full of experience is also the title of a two-act play directed by Sumeet Vyas. Adapted from a play by master playwright Neil Simon The Sunshine Boys (1972), old rice It is a tragic comedy drama about two old friends and comedians, Khushal Mehndi and Vijay Das, played by veterans Kumud Mishra and Shubhrajyoti Barat. Though the two acted together for 42 years, they are now separated. Nephew-turned-manager Ghanshyam Lalsa tries to mend their strained relationship. But it is again a drama that brings them together in life and on stage.
Sumeet Vyas, Permanent Roommates (2014) and Three times (noted in 2016), Sumeet directs the story adapted by Farooq Seyer and Avinash Gautam. His familiarity with the two veteran actors reflects in the design and performance of the play. “They have known me since I was 17. I have grown up watching them perform and rehearse. Directing them was no less than a theatre workshop for me,” says Sumeet.
Adaptation is difficult but old rice While retaining the flavour of the original Neil Simon play, a new and Indian life has been breathed into it – as New York becomes Bombay, New Jersey becomes Alibaug and Weekly Variety became a popular Indian magazine mayapuriFor this play, written over five decades ago and adapted several times since then, Sumit believes that “it was important to make the script accessible to today’s audience…For me, the story of this play is friendship. I presented these two characters as a couple who have been with each other for 42 years. From that perspective, it will always be relevant.”
Sumeet Vyas in web series Triple.
, Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Sumeet believes that the play should be allowed to evolve on stage – this is an approach he himself follows, whether as an actor, writer or director. Ultimately, the goal is to create something that answers a simple question he asks himself: “Will I buy a ticket and watch this?”
Sumeet has been as much behind the scenes as in front of it. In theatre or cinema, “everything starts with a script” but ultimately there is something special about theatre – “it happens where it happens and then it’s never going to happen again. It’s always a different experience because it’s live,” he says. About his return to “experimental theatre” after a long stint with films and web-series, Sumeet exudes great pride and a pleasant optimism: “It pushes you to get out of your comfort zone and find stories that are more stimulating for the audience. I have really enjoyed directing plays all my life, but I have never done it again. old rice For me, this has been the most enjoyable experience.”
From old rice to celebrate friendship | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The play, a D for Drama production, premiered in November last year at Mumbai’s famous Prithvi Theatre, where it has been staged nearly a dozen times since then. It is now in its second phase as the crew takes it to other cities in the country. Slated to be performed in Bengaluru, Pune, Bhubaneshwar and Allahabad, the play has already been staged in cities like Bareilly, Lucknow, Rewa, Indore and Delhi.
As for the future, Sumeet hopes to see (and perhaps even create) more contemporary writing on the platform.
