Mumbai to witness an online play with 10 monologues, nine playwrights, eight directors

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and phased unlock processes still going on, the

theatre scene

in Mumbai has undergone a big change. Rahul da Cunha’s ‘One on One - Unlocked’ is an online play that combines theatre, technology and has a COVID theme, and will premiere on the eve of Independence Day.

Talking about it, Rahul says, “The uniqueness of ‘One on One – Unlocked’ lies in that it combines theatre, technology, a theme like COVID, and 22 stalwart playwrights, actors and directors all creating stories in a lockdown – a period that has been both isolating and inspirational.”

Rajit Kapur

adds, “The show is a synergy of creative minds exploding together to give us their unique perceptions of the lockdown.”

This is touted to be a unique evening of 10 monologues in English and Hindi, written by nine accomplished playwrights, directed by eight well-known directors and performed by some of India’s finest actors. The play, through its diverse stories, captures our lives during the lockdown.

Nine playwrights - Abhishek Majumdar, Adhir Bhat, Akarsh Khurana, Anu Menon, Ashok Mishra, Hussain Dalal, Purva Naresh, Raghav Dutt, Rahul da Cunha - write their experiences and perspectives of 150 days of solitude, if not physically, then certainly in the mind.

‘One on One - Unlocked’ has been directed by some of the best in the business - Akarsh Khurana, Anand Tiwari, Gurleen Judge, Nadir Khan, Rajit Kapur, Shikha Talsania, Sukant Goel and Q. The talented cast includes Aahana Kumra, Anu Menon, Gagan Dev Riar, Hussain Dalal, Joy Fernandes, Neil Bhoopalam, Raghav Dutt, Rajit Kapur, Seema Biswas and Veronica Gautam.

Through the monologues, the audience will get to meet a range of characters… an exasperated hawaldar, an isolated hipster, a young actress trapped in her flat, an outspoken hospital intern, a philosophical alcoholic, a young working woman forging new friendships, an anxious mother, a wayward boy forced to stay back in a madrassa, a compounder in a quarantine centre and a spunky cable TV repairman. These stories vary from hilarious to heart-warming, from eureka moments to experiential thoughts.