Comic Capers

When Kulbhushan Met Stöckli is a collection of comics created by 19 graphic novelists from India and Switzerland. Fittingly,Strange Lines — directed by Delhi-based theatre director and multimedia artist Amitesh Grover,29,who has cemented his reputation in the theatre world with his interposing visuals on the screen — is in English,Hindi,French and Swiss-German.

Grover’s pre-recorded videos blend with live action and sound to create a different experience for theatergoers. So be prepared to be overrun by live images,and lovely illustrations even in his current production Strange Lines,presented by Swiss Arts Council.

“The production is a reinterpretation of The Black Hole and Other News. We chose the story that we as a team connected with. The dialogues and the settings are improvised by the actors,who flesh it out with their own experiences. The play fills the gap that the reader might have missed,” says Grover.

So while Amit Saxena,30,(picture,inset) from National School of Drama,plays the role of Samrat,a sub-editor with a newspaper,the role of Swiss journalist Esther is played by Swiss actor Julia Perazzini,27,(picture,above) from Lausanne. Their relationship develops over letters that they exchange — from ruminating over the day’s event in each other lives,the chaotic state of politics and the domestic unrest in the country to intimate,funny moments. And this where,Saxena and Perazzini step in,fleshing the narrative with their personal experiences. For instance,while Perazzini talks about Switzerland where people clean up after their dogs during their morning walks,Saxena narrates how he had to relieve himself on the Capital’s road.

Though in the original story,Esther and Samrat never lay eyes on each other,in Strange Lines,they might just meet. Meanwhile,don’t expect the narrative to move at a linear pace in this hour-long play. “There are a million things happening while Esther and Samrat exchange letters,” says Grover. So besides the cathartic letters,look out for an illustrator Dheerendra Dwivedi,who would be drawing his interpretations of Orijit Sen’s Yellow House,another story in When Kulbhushan Met Stöckli. In the story,artist Orijit Sen interviews people in Zurich who,in our mind,don’t belong there,such as an African woman and a pot-bellied Sardar. The images would be reflected on the screen.

The play will be held on January 10 at 2.30 pm and 6 pm at Bahumukh,NSD campus. Contact: 23073647