A still from the play
Busker and Chorus inform us that Ham’s condition worsened after the death of his wife Desdemona, who, it is revealed later, had cheated on him with Busker. Amid the dim lighting, actor Mantra Mugdh, playing Busker, enters the stage wearing a mask of Shakespeare. He sits down on a wooden box and begins to play an instrument shaped like a regular household utensil. The image is colourful yet ominous, like witnessing the start of something dangerous but human. A tragicomedy, if you will. This is where director and lead actor Akash Khurana sparkles. His confident demeanour of a man who knows his play inside-out transforms in mere seconds into a confused performer who cannot comprehend why his loving audience is suddenly booing at him and his crew. There are several things that the production does right besides the acting, where actor Garima Yajnik dazzles as she sings and dances her way into the audience’s heart. The music, sometimes performed onstage by Mantra Mugdh as he drummed a vessel or used a singing bowl instrument, worked well with the play’s mood.
