Woody Allen’s God: A play within a play

For those who’ve loved reading Woody Allen’s philosophical comedy God, here’s a chance to watch an adaptation that has a distinct Indian flavor. The one-act play that begins with a dialogue between a neurotic playwright Hepatitis and leading man Diabetes, pondering the implications of God’s existence as they try to find a way to conclude their play, has always been a crowd-puller in the city.

Director Avinash Daniel, who is bringing the play to Bangalore once more, is a huge fan of Woody Allen. “This play is especially intriguing because it is a play within a play,” he says. “It has no middle or end to speak of. Also, each person who watches the play derives a different interpretation of the play and that’s what makes it so exciting for us to do.”

Daniel and other like-minded engineering students who share his passion for theatre work long and hard on their productions. “The USP of our group, Cult Entertainment, lies in the fact that we perform plays that are unique,” he says. “I conduct auditions and make appeals for actors (if the play is a large production) through theatre groups and social networking sites.” God begins with a conversation between two of the protagonists, but soon, things get complicated when the speakers discover that they’re merely characters in a play-within-a-play scenario and begin to doubt their own free will.

“I have Indianised  the play completely,” adds Daniel. “The first time we did the play in Bangalore, we used the original American references, which the audience could not understand or identify with. So I decided to make a number of small changes. For instance, if the play says ‘New York’, I’ve changed it to ‘Bangalore’ and if it mentions a restaurant like ‘Sardi’s’ in New York, I’ve made it ‘McDonalds’. There is also a reference to ‘free passes to Broadway’, which I have changed to ‘free passes to the IPL’.”

The half-absurd, half-metaphysical play sometimes meets with mixed reactions. According to Daniel, the audience is used to plays that have a perfect structure, with a middle and a proper ending, but God is totally unconventional.

When Daniel decided to form a group to do offbeat plays, he found that he did not have to look far. He found theatre lovers among his own peer group of engineering students. But why did he take up a subject like engineering, when theatre is clearly his passion? Daniel, who is often both director and actor in his productions, replies ruefully, “There is no money in theatre in India. Most of us theatre lovers need a regular job during the day and do theatre by night. Abroad, people pay a lot of money to watch live performances. But here, many people do not respect and accept theatre artistes.”

Omkar Triyank, another engineering student, also manages to balance his studies with his love for theatre. “I am playing the role of Lorenzo Miller in this play and I find it hugely challenging,” he says. “I enjoy doing theatre as it gives me the opportunity to be another character in front of a live audience. Theatre will always be a cherished hobby and I don’t ever intend to give it up.”
The play will be shown at Ranga Shankara on April 21.