It was an intimately set living room, in the attic kind of a place of Ranga Shankara. The act meant to have no start and no end; but to leave an everlasting impression for the "suppose to be small 25 people strong" audience. Not a word to be spoken, the only option was to watch in utter silence. The presenter had no experience of what she was doing and "it was flawless" would be an under-statement. It was called "Other Voices".
The invented concept of "Other Voices" kicked off at Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival '07, which concluded last week. It was part of the ancillary performances. Getting tickets was a struggle, as it was only to a limited audience and could only manage to get the tickets for the last-but-one performance on Friday. The audience were ushered to the top floor, a small space outside the RS office. The space was well decorated to give a sense of the living room in "No. 1 Madhav Baug" of Mumbai.
Arundati Nag presents the idea to the audience and welcomes Revathi Menon onto the spotlight. Being her first theatrical performance; but backed up by an amazing experience of films, she delivers it flawlessly. Her performance, being real close-up to the audience, creates an intimate environment. It's well equiped with lovely script, direction, lights and sound. The intensions of "Other Voices" were easily achieved as the performance was intense and strong, and left an everlasting impression. Hats off to the "Other Voices" concept; sure a winner; and to be performed anywhere, anytime soon!
