Silvatein: Shatarupa Bhattacharyya’s new play is an ‘autopsy’ of incompatible relationships
Premiering in Bengaluru on March 9, Silvatein: The Wrinkles in Time is written and directed Shatarupa Bhattacharyya
By Reema Gowalla
Wrinkles in the face are likely to pique your interest, but what happens when creases start to appear in the relationship between two people? Bengaluru-based playwright and director Shatarupa Bhattacharyya’s aptly titled new play Silvatein: The Wrinkles in Time ‘is an autopsy of incompatibility between a man and a woman’. Set to premiere at Medai — The Stage on March 9, the one-act Hindi play documents a momentous encounter of a seemingly estranged couple — Rupali (Ujani Ghosh) and Arijit (Sagnik Sinha).
The 75-minute piece is written in English by Shatarupa and translated to Hindi by Puneet Gupta, who has also done the set design along with Prachi Kalra. Speaking about Silvatein, which happens to be Shatarupa’s first play that she has both written and directed, she says, “It’s actually inspired by the late Bengali playwright and intellectual Nabaneeta Dev Sen’s one-act play Medea, which I had read some time ago. It’s a play about incompatibility. The central theme focuses on abhorrence and a shared autopsy between a man and a woman who have encountered one another somewhere, someday. We don’t exactly know what space it is. When I first started writing the play, I thought that it would be a definitive physical space, like a railway station or a bus stand. But in the following drafts, I realised that it could even be in the mind of either of the lead characters — a curious space which is not necessarily real.”
In the play, while Arijit is convinced that the failed relationship he’s reflecting on is theirs, Rupali seems to be resolute in her refusal to recognise any such relationship with him. However, she does retrospect about a fall out of her own. “Basically, Arijit keeps on referring to Rupali as his wife, but she refuses to acknowledge that. Through Silvatein, I have tried to explore incompatibility that manifests in everyday interactions between two people, which eventually poisons the relationship, causing irreparable damage to one or both individuals. A lot of the incidents that I have incorporated in the script are drawn from my own personal experiences — from my own failed and traumatic relationships. The narrative centres on the mental anxiety, the endless replaying of past incidents in your head and the incessant wondering about how one might behave if there’s a chance encounter,” Shatarupa explains the plot.
The cast also includes Parag Mani. Srinivas Beesetty is incharge of light design, while Archana Kariappa is the production manager and the play’s intriguing posters are created by Sweta Garg. Cello music is an integral part of the piece.
Keeping true to the theme of the play, Silvatein restricts the narrative to a confined space, featuring suitcases and luggage, which are also symbolic of the emotional baggage that people carry due to unresolved issues. “The set is designed in such a way that both the lead characters are restricted to a particular place, where they are unable to move around freely. Arijit especially feels tied down by memories, while it looks like Rupali is relatively more equipped in coping with her sorrows. In fact, the set is a principal character in the play. Without that, the story wouldn’t unfold. We have made the actors stand in the middle of a circle, which signifies something important. I am curious to know how the audience interprets the circle,” the director sums up.
Catch shows of Silvatein: The Wrinkles in Time at Medai — The Stage on March 9 (at 3.30pm and 7pm). You can book your tickets here.
