When a theatre screening gets embedded in the fine print of a theatre performance from the West End it gets my goat. Imagine, therefore; how short changed I must have felt when the promised real thing turned out to be virtual at the Godrej Dance theatre, NCPA where the National Film theatre UK brought Mark Haddon's ' The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time', to M-town. They had this impressive video wall and all with a distinct corporate scrawl to it- in short order, it was making short work of a live fine art. Although 'the whole curious incident construct' in the medium that it was in, was intense, intelligent, quirky and well scripted (in that order) this isn't quite what I had in mind when I ordered my ticket online. Most books read way better than their theatre productions so it came rather as a pleasant surprise the play (or its theatre screening anyway) outpeformed the book hands down. Only I was hoping to see the actors perform in the flesh-in-real-time rather than from across the high seas over high speed fibre-optic cable. Way to go for theatre screenings as a medium for entertainment in such insular places as, Jidda, Riyadh or even a smug Kuwait where they have a pathologic dislike of Western artistes performing on home soil! Blow me down but this is Mumbai we are talking about here! I fail to understand what can get in the way of NCPA bringing West End and off Broadway shows live to Mumbai knowing, full well, these would on any given day be knockouts. As a member of the audience, I should like to think the theatrical effort rightfully, got its comeuppance with our refusal to give them a standing ovation in the end. However, I am prepared to let bygones be bygones for the play that has, in a moment of engaging candour, given me much joy over such observations as, ' you have only to think of all stars there are in our galaxy to make your problems seem small and go away. Or that in a city with its many bright star spangled attractions where the arc lights and neon crazed hoardings compete with natural light from the stars – distractions and diversions have the upper hand: just as you can see the stars in the metropolitan night sky; their lights muffled by this huge smorgasbord of visual pollution which is the downtown area, so it is that your personal problems stop to appear humongous in the face of all else that is going wrong with this world.'
On parenting; I thought they handled this slippery area pretty well although personally, I very much still enjoy being parented every chance I get unlike the protagonist in the play. Each of us,however, responds differently to this need. There is no magic age say, 22 when you turn emotionally independent or self-reliant and fully capable of satisfying your emotional need either through introspection or extrospection with a partner or a friend but not a parent.
On some level, the curious incident of the dog is our own story vividly told which is what does it for most for us. The curious incident of a theatre screening is at best, a metaphor for having gone to Mecca and forgetting to pray or offering your obeisances while there. Ever imagine being in Vegas and not having a go at 'em slot machines there?!
The Brits have, this time round, truly done an Uncle Sam with clever marketing savvy but at the end of the day, this still ain't the real McCoy.
