Theatre Review: Flock Flock Tick Tock tried hard, but didn’t click

Plot: Adapted from master playwright and Padma Bhushan awardee Vijay Tendulkar’s Panchi Aise Aate Hain, Flock Flock Tick Tock is a story of a middle class family that’s finding it difficult to get their daughter married. Despite best attempts by the parents – Anna and Maa — Saraswati (Saru), the daughter, is ‘rejected’ by every suitor. One day, a stranger named Arun, who claims to be an acquaintance of the family, comes to visit them and manages to charm the parents. Both Anna and Maa slowly open up about the problem to Arun and he assures them that he will talk to Saru. Arun then takes Saru into confidence, asks her to be oblivious of others’ opinion and talks her into believing that she is an attractive woman. When the next suitor comes to see Saru, he falls for her. But now, Saru reveals that she is in love with someone else.

Review: Director Varun Gyanchandani tweaked the narrative style of the original a little to present this adaptation. For instance, by making the characters do a backward circular run in the first scene, he apprised the audience that the narrative of the play will play out in flashback. and, it worked in the play’s favour.
The thoughtful execution of the two scenes when Arun converses with Saru in the garden added novelty to the narrative style. By using the backstage staff as shrubs and flowering plants, Varun employed the garden as a character in the scenes. The same goes with his decision to employ two backstage actors, dressed as a tree and bird, to symbolise the feelings of Arun and Saru.
Art direction-wise, the primary set of the living room, where most of the drama unfolded, was designed keeping in mind the ethos of a Maharashtrian household, and reflected the socio-political era in which the story is set. The portraits of Bal Gandadhar Tilak, Bhagat Singh and the quintessential photo frames of Hindu gods and goddesses not only established the household’s religious and political views, but also threw light on the characters’ backgrounds. The furniture however, was a tad too urban for the setting and didn’t gel well.
In the acting department, Jayanth Nandagiri as the protagonist Arun and the sutradhar, did an okay job. Much like in the original, he stuck to his business of guiding the flow of the narrative. at times though, he went a little overboard in trying to establish the sympathetic nature of the character and goofed up a bit in character blocking.
Jayanth was well aided by Rajiv Kumar, Upasana A and Sanjay Singh who played the frustrated Anna, a typical loving maa and the despicable brother, Banda, respectively. While Rajiv was in his character throughout, tickling the

funny bones

of the audience with his acute comic timing, Upasana seemed monotonous, unable to come out of the characters she has essayed in the past. Sanjay’s character had all the elements to garner laughter and he didn’t disappoint.
Surabhi Sharma was successful in maintaining the meek demeanour of her character Saru throughout. Her dialogue delivery however, lacked crucial emotions and she failed to bring out the agony of a dejected young girl in a patriarchal world. The weakest link in the cast was Nikhil Hireckr. Playing Vishwas, a suitor, Nikhil made a mess out of character with recurring fumbles in dialogue delivery and character blocking. He didn’t maintain the basic ‘45 degree angle rule’ on stage and lacked the charm which his character demanded.
Krishna Shukla behind the light console did a sloppy job. His timing was all over the place and he couldn’t provide the essential shades in crucial junctures despite having all the necessary equipment at this disposal. Nikhil, who also gave the background score, was far better at music.

Verdict: This Home Production’s adaption maintained a healthy mix of both slapstick and romantic comedy of the original, but failed in certain departments. It however, did have its moments and Varun’s novel narrative inputs complemented the farcical elements inherent in the plot. This adaptation would have been a
riveting watch had Varun and co fixed the holes in the acting and lighting departments.