The Clay Cart, a sixteen-hundred-year-old ancient Indian play, is brought to exhilarating contemporary life by the Prayas Theatre company.
The original title Mrcchakatika is generally translated as Little Clay Cart. The ancient playwright was named Sudraka.
There are theories as to who he was. A king or perhaps a mythical figure. Two other works are attributed to him. This Sanskrit play stands out from the many others as a work involving common people, and not from royalty or the ruling classes.
It is peopled with gamblers and thieves, virtuous men who suffer for their piety. Wealthy arrogant alpha males and obsequious lackeys. Sexual jealousy is an overriding and controlling emotion. Leading to violence and murder. The spiritual realm resolves the psychic crisis.
We are in the realm of Shakespeare but a millennium before he appeared.
This production also brings in a Dostoyevskeyan element with its interpretation as a play within a play. We experience how the players and crew struggle with the story whilst their real-life dramas intrude. It is also fiction, of course.
The modern interpretation of this play comes from Harvard University academic Arthur Ryder in 1905. Who translated it from the original Sanskrit. There have been many theatre interpretations since.
This version was adapted by Shekinah Jacob, a New Zealand-based Indian writer who trained at the Royal Court Theatre in London. The original is in ten acts, and she has managed to compress the story without losing any narrative, I assume.
The directors are Amit Ohdedar and Sananda Chatterjee, who have done a great job in wrestling this beast into shape.
Ohdehar tells me the dialogue remains true to the 1905, possibly gold-standard translation.
The play starts with the troupe in rehearsal and getting their final assignments. There is tensions and personality clashes. Dutta (Rishabh Kapoor) seems in charge, but his authority is tenuous.
There is disagreement about the credibility of the work in current times.
Sandeep (Jehangir Homavazir) is the most belligerent of the group. A real cock-strutting alpha male. He is scathing of the work. He puts on a Trump accent and jokes about grabbing pussy.
He also directly attacks Dutta, who is a university academic under a cloud after Woke Leftist female students have accused him of unspecified political incorrectness. Dutta is under pressure as he is waiting on the results of an inquiry.
The character of these two determines the character of their roles in the ancient play. We can directly transmigrate to Charudatta (Dutta), the virtuous man who has been brought to penury by his selfless actions in helping others. He seems to be a Jesus figure in refusing to see anyone in a bad light. Consequently, he shines with a certain radiance of virtue. For a reference, try Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot.
Sansthanaka (Sandeep) is a brother-in-law of the ruling Monarch, and he is full of himself. Arrogant and venal. Puffs himself up, throws his weight around and uses his position to feel incredibly entitled. He is also a scheming prick.
Homavazir portrays him with great relish. Villains are fun to play and do appeal to the base nature of people. Using Trump behaviour is a broad gesture.
Matt Taibi, an American journalist, describing him in the 2016 Presidential campaign as, a wild boar with his trademark red tie tongue hanging out, ready to dry hump a tree.
This is a love triangle, and the third character is Vasantasena (Ruchika Tandor), a wealthy courtesan. There is some discussion amongst the crew prior, if a courtesan is a prostitute. In modern times she is the equivalent of a high-class one.
Tandor is new to the Prayas Theatre, but she shines in this production. As interesting as Shakespeare’s Cleopatra, or Nastasya from The Idiot. A strong feminine presence who is virtuous as well as knowledgeable in the power of sexual attraction over men.
The narrative is tight and well-plotted. Slaves, gamblers, hairdressers, henchmen are in the mix.
Throughout the narrative, players break character into the other play and vehemently complain about the ending. It makes for intrigue.
The concluding act is set in a courtroom. Echoing the masterpiece, The Brothers Karamazov. We may not agree about what that sticking point was, and I won’t give any spoilers.
Choreography is on point. Cast break out in song several times. I assume that was not part of the original.
It is fast-paced, and you need to pay attention to keep up.
The Clay Cart is a clever and original reworking of a timeless classic. It can certainly stand repeat viewings, like Shakespeare.
The Clay Cart is playing at TAPAC through 8 December. Tickets can be purchased HERE.
Rev. Orange Peel