Anne Bressanges moved to Delhi in 2006 with her husband. A new people, a new culture and a new language left her feeling like an outsider. She frequently felt like the only person in the room who couldn’t take part in the conversation. One way to deal with a new place, she realised, was to immerse herself in it, to take part in all that she could and to be open to new things. With Donc, written by Jean-Yves Picq, a French playwright, actor and director, Bressanges tries to address this need to open up to a new world.
Donc is set in a room where three friends are having a conversation, when they realise the presence of another person. But when they try to involve him, he remains silent, not saying a word no matter how much they pester him. They are frustrated by his silence and are annoyed by his indifference. The tension is cracked only when the mysterious man speaks.
Theatre-goers can expect healthy doses of comedy through the absurd situations the protagonists find themselves in. To add to the confusion, the play is in French with English supertitles, and Bressanges was at pains to explain that the translation isn’t word for word. The play has been performed a few times in France and this is the second time the play is being performed in India (it was performed once before at the French Embassy, by the same group). Seema Sarin, an Indian who was practising commercial theatre in France, Christine Celerier and Bressanges herself make up the friends who talk about the silent man. Sebastien Bisoeil is the man who refuses to speak, communicating mostly through facial expressions and body movements, “kind of like Charlie Chaplin”, according to the director.
“Even in your own language, you find it hard to explain yourself,” said Bressanges. “The message behind the play is the importance of discussion, of understanding each others’ views.” Central to that is speaking up and being open to new things. Bressanges is an engineer, a maths teacher, a student of bharatanatyam and a theatre director. If anyone knows about being open to new things, it’s her. Ashish Mathew Koshi
Source : Time Out Delhi ISSUE 11 Friday, August 20, 2010
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