Some sets define the tone of a play all by themselves, 38 Krishna Villa starts off with one that tells a story before the first dialogue is performed.
The two person drama offers the viewer a fly on the wall experience of a tense conversation between an author and an ardent fan of his novels questioning the authenticity of his collected works. What ensues is revelation after revelation, which brings these virtual strangers closer as they realize how their lives have overlapped.
Both actors are veterans of the craft and their experience shines through especially in depicting internal conflicts of their characters. Dr. Oak gives a strong yet subtle performance as Devdutta Kamat, the cerebral writer. Dr. Pendse embodies the firebrand fan – Nandini with gusto. Her performance is over the top in certain places, but sits well overall. The lighting and visual storytelling of the play is top class. Director Vijay Kenkre gets the best out of his actors and should be lauded for his choice of set design, which adds a lot of color to the story.
The one negative to 38 Krishna Villa is its slow burning story. The script fails to justify its 150 min runtime. With multiple repeated patterns in the first half, the writer stretches out the story for a cliffhanger at the interval. The second half is fast-paced and full of exposition, but the damage that the first half does is difficult to cover up.
38 Krishna Villa is a great play for the study of classic Marathi theatre and is worth a watch as an example of the median of the artform.
--Anub GeorgePlay: 38 Krishna Villa
Cast: Dr. Girish Oak, Dr. Shweta Pendse
Director: Vijay Kenkre
Rating: 3 stars
Duration: 2 hrs 30 mins
Format: Two act play
Genre: Drama/ thriller
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