Stills from the play
| Photograph Credit score: Particular Association
Psychological well being and suicide – phrases that may set off concern within the coronary heart. But, there could also be only a handful who could not have skilled the devastation of those phrases. Regardless of there being an increase in melancholy and self hurt, not everyone seems to be forthcoming in speaking about it or looking for assist. The concern of rejection and social stigma retains them from talking up. Actor, director, producer, Maneesh Verma, desires to propagate psychological well-being, make folks chortle about their fears and encourage them to hunt assist. This, he does with what he is aware of finest — theatre.
The NSD graduate has written and directed a darkish comedy, Soar, which he says seems to be at loss of life from the views of the 2 main characters on stage.
Maneesh Verma
| Photograph Credit score:
Particular Association
“Soar is a black comedy that talks about life, loss of life and the whole lot in between. It tackles suicide, melancholy, and psychological well being, and navigates via these points with a fragile stability between humour and sensitivity, sparking important conversations and selling consciousness,” explains Maneesh over a name from Mumbai.
The story, Maneesh says, revolves round a profitable lady government, who needs to finish her life by leaping off a roof. She is saved within the nick of time by a cab driver. This units the stage for a collision between two fully reverse worlds, characters, circumstances, beliefs, and views. The actors on stage can be Sandeep Shikhar from Bengaluru and Vidushi Chadha from Mumbai.
The play, Maneesh says, comes from a private area. “I’m a mountaineer and was in UttarKashi in October 2022 as a part of a complicated mountaineering course. We have been a batch of 53 folks and we misplaced 29 to an avalanche. I one way or the other survived and that modified my life. I used to be left with quite a lot of questions and people feelings led me to discover the idea of loss of life.”
Maneesh says his life experiences have gone into the play. “After the incident, I might break down and was depressed. It was one of many lowest phases of my life. That was additionally the time, after I misplaced a pricey buddy to suicide. I sought remedy and determined to discover how the thoughts works.”
Energetic in theatre for over 25 years, Maneesh has directed, produced musicals, social dramas, comedy and kids’s performs. He has additionally acted in movies resembling Yodha, Gunajn Saxena, Dhadak and internet sequence like Ajeeb Daastan and Typewriter.
The play makes use of humour to make folks privy to their psychological well-being and encourage them to hunt assist, Maneesh says. “The intention is to unfold consciousness of how the thoughts works. Generally even folks closest to the sufferer has no concept what’s going on of their minds. We predict actors are nice at performing, however I’ve come to imagine that persons are the best actors in life. They masks their feelings and emotions expertly from their closest family and friends.”
The chief within the play opens as much as a stranger, Maneesh says as she feels he could also be much less judgemental. Loss of life is explored via the 2 characters — a well-to-do lady who feels she has nothing to dwell for and a less-privileged man, who misplaced his father to suicide is left with the burden of clearing household money owed. “Soar is about nihilism versus existentialism. When one is present, they can not even consider ending their life.”
Maneesh admits affected by survivor’s guilt. “I don’t imagine in god or luck. It was onerous for me to grasp why I had survived. My core beliefs have been shaken and I felt there was no management over loss of life. Immediately, I checked out life and nature as being random. Nature doesn’t suppose who is nice or dangerous, previous or younger.”
The characters in Soar talk about about looking for assist from therapists or quacks, primarily based on their financial, social backgrounds and beliefs, says Maneesh. “That’s the place the darkish humour comes from.” Maneesh based his manufacturing firm, Collective Insanity Studios in 2004. “It’s a platform for anybody who believes that theatre is a practising artwork kind.”
Soar was commissioned and premiered on the Serendipity Arts Competition in December 2023. It was additionally staged at Rangayana Theatre Competition, Mysuru.
Soar in English and Hindi, can be staged at Rangashankara on April 5 (7.30pm) and 6 (3.30pm and seven.30 pm) and at Bangalore Worldwide Centre on April 8. It’s open to folks aged 15 years and above. Tickets on BookMyShow and on the venue.
