Play review/ Lungs

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR

Lungs/ English play

Director: Q

Theatre company: QTP

Written by: Duncan Macmillan

Cast: Abhishek Saha, Dilnaz Irani

Rating: *** 1/2

She's into a research course, and he's a musician struggling for gigs, ending up with a regular job. They get into arguments. Sorry, they have conversations. At times, they make sense. Sometimes, they know they're talking rubbish.

Calling themselves W and M, they plan a baby. It's an idea that comes up suddenly on an IKEA visit. And that's where the dilemma begins. Should one welcome a child in a world that's slowly going to the dogs?

Duncan Macmillan's Lungs, directed by Q, is a 95-minute two-character play that deals with issues a couple goes through, using the backdrop of a global scenario affected by overpopulation, climate change, bombs and global unrest.

The couple is played brilliantly by Dilnaz Irani and Abhishek Saha. She's the over-analysing, garrulous type, often contradicting herself, and he's more of the listener, and their interaction takes you through issues many couples go through.

Throughout the play, there are no changes in set, minimal fluctuations in lighting and after the introductory composition by Kaizad Gherda, some very light music in the background, played live on keyboards only when necessary. As such, the narrative is entirely dependent on dialogues. And that's where the writing becomes so relevant. If the plot seems to get repetitive after a point, there are a couple of twists to maintain interest levels.

Some may find the pace too fast. There is a lot of subtle humour during the first 70 minutes or so, but sometimes the gags are so sudden that while appreciating one, you might miss the next one or two. In the recent evening show at a half-occupied Prithvi Theatre, the laughter could be heard from select groups of people, and sometimes only by some who seem to have got the joke. And there were others who just didn't seem to get the wit.

Yet, it's a play that needs to be watched. Though the original was premiered in Washington in 2011, and later enjoyed a very successful run by another team in London eight years later, every bit stands relevant today. And both Dilnaz and Abhishek add to the charm with their Impeccable timing and natural mannerisms, giving Lungs a breath of fresh air.