We are all similar in our primal instincts, irrespective of race and class. And despite the boundaries we set for ourselves, these instincts that make us human will always connect us. Theater Nisha’s Ring-a Ring-a Roses , inspired by Arthur Schnitzler’s German play Reigen , portrays a cycle of sexual encounters that reveals precisely this.
Though the original play was published in 1900, the one staged at Alliance Francaise over the weekend, directed by V. Balakrishnan, was adapted for Chennai’s audience and came interspersed with local lingos and references.
The play is a series of encounters between pairs of people. First, is a sex worker and a small time actor who the sex worker invites to spend time with. He eventually takes what she has to offer and leaves, unapologetically, without giving anything in return. The next is the encounter between the same actor and a woman he meets at a party — he woos her patiently and once she gives in, hurriedly leaves her. In the following encounter, the same woman from the party goes on to meet an established theatre actor looking for a role, and another encounter unfolds. It goes on and on, revealing more encounters — the theatre actor’s affair with a married woman, the married woman’s relationship with her husband, her husband’s transgressions with a blind woman and so on and so forth — till it all comes a full cycle.
Each actor is shown having two sexual encounters, with each revealing different shades of their character. Different people, from diverse backgrounds, with myriad motives and aspirations are connected by the most basic desires. The situations are relatable and the dialogues, even more so. The unapologetic use of Tamil made many moments raw and hard-hitting, and some others cheeky and funny.
The nuances of the characters make them powerful and believable, and the actors do a remarkable job in bringing them to life. Meera Sitaraman gives a powerful performance as the poor blind woman who comes home with a man whose scent she liked, whose words she enjoyed and whom she decided to trust. She overpowers her co-actor, even though Ganapathy Murugesan gives a commendable performance. Sainath Saikrishna beautifully portrays the different shades of his character — first when he artistically seduces a woman who comes to him for help and then, when he helplessly struggles with a married woman he’s desperate to please. Kasturi Goswami is delightful to watch as the whimsical actress who is insistent on role-playing with a rather confused Prateeksha Chandrasekharan, who also delivers a solid performance.
The scenes are connected by the narrator Sandeep Ashok, who, in his beautifully booming voice, recites nursery rhymes between encounters with a slight smirk; drawing attention to the satire in each situation. Shakti Ramani wraps up the play with a punch as the sex worker who giggles easily at the men she meets and rather helplessly at her own situation. Even as the final nursery rhyme is sung, she arranges to meet with another man, because the cycle of sexual encounters keeps going on and on
