“Guards at the Taj is a fairly bold play,”: Director Jyotsna Sharma

By Nidhi Kumari

Indus Age caught up with Jyotsna Sharma, the director of the successfully performed play ‘Guards at the Taj’ which is written by Pulitzer finalist Rajiv Joseph. The director gets candid about the relevance of theatre, her play being applauded; upcoming shows and more. Read on:

As a  director how do you ensure you put your vision into a reality. How do you make sure you bring out what you visualize?

Rehearsal, rehearsal and more rehearsal is the answer! Ensuring you have a hardworking, dependable team is also crucial. However, there are no guarantees in a live performance ever. You may have a vision and you may even execute it to perfection but that the audience will understand and appreciate it is something you only come to know during the actual performance and after.

Many of the veteran and versatile actors have come from theatre. However, in today’s fast paced age of technology, theatre is losing its relevance. What do you think?

According to American author John Steinbeck, “Theatre is the only institution which has been dying for four thousand years and has never succumbed. It requires tough and devoted people to keep it alive”. I couldn’t agree more. People keep saying theatre is losing its relevance yet it carries on regardless because there’s no substitute for a live performance be it music or theatre. It will always have an audience.

How do you think theatre can stay contemporary and abreast with time?

By using contemporary scripts relevant to today’s changing times.

How do you see your journey as a theatre personality what have been the major ups and downs your way?

I see my journey as a fulfilling one so far with hopefully a long innings ahead. I think the highlights were when I got to perform in diverse international destinations like Lahore, Muscat, Toronto, London, Vancouver, Dubai to name a few and then when I started to get drama teaching gigs and voice work. I felt blessed for being able to make decent money doing something I truly loved.  Before I relocated permanently to Sydney I was teaching drama at The British School, New Delhi, at Musicology affiliated to Trinity London (Drama) and film acting at T-Series Stageworks. I have been a Voice artiste for channels such as National Geographic, Fox Prime, HBO etc. The lows were the predictable ones, it took a while to achieve complete financial independence in my field and I like everyone else had to deal with pressures to do a 9-5 job etc. But I gritted my teeth and carried on eventually reaping rich benefits.

Talking about your play ‘Guards at the Taj’ based on Rajiv Joseph’s work. What encouraged you to take up this one for direction?

A very dear friend and theatre colleague Danish Hussain has directed the same play in India. I googled it and quickly understood that it was pretty much the script of the year with shows being performed all over the world in multiple languages. I asked Danish to send me the script and that was it for me. I was completely bowled over by Rajiv Joseph’s genius and knew I had to do this. With the help of Heart & Soul productions we quickly bought the rights and set the wheels in motion.

Your play is appreciated and is also called ‘bold’. How do you react to that?

I honestly have no reaction. It’s a fact that it’s a fairly bold play. I knew that when I read the script for the first time, so no surprises there. We rated it MA15+ for the same reason. But more than bold it is contemporary and relevant.

You made use of background projection that added on to the creative outlook. In a way: a collaboration of the past (theme of the play) and present (use of technology, etc). Tell us about that?

You will realise very soon into the play that it isn’t really about the past. The script is written in the style of anachronistic theatre which basically means that despite being set in the Mughal era it could just as easily be about the present. The language used is very modern and exactly how we’d talk today plus nothing much has changed – the powerful still oppress the weak. The use of projection has been appreciated by everyone and I am truly grateful for the same. It was an experiment that thankfully worked. I wanted to do away with heavy sets that sometimes really end up limiting your vision. With projection I feel you can go all the way- the skies the limit.

Your next play to be live, ‘Ouch’, comes in May. Tell us more about it?

Ouch is a comedic take on reality television. It is mostly light and great fun. Originally in German by playwright Lutz Hubner it has been adapted in English by Indian theatre personality Sohaila Kapur and I am currently adapting it further to make it as relevant as is possible.

Anything else you that want to add:

I have the deepest gratitude for all the appreciation ‘Guards at The Taj’ has garnered and still continues to. A lot of curiosity has been generated and plenty of people are feeling like they missed out. For that reason we will soon be making an announcement for another show. Just as soon as we’ve finalized all details.

‘Guards at the Taj’ in Brief:

‘Guards at the Taj’ is a play, full of some very dark humour,dry wit and deep insight. It is written in an anachronistic style,which means that despite being set in 1648 the year theTaj was built, it could just as easily be about the present situation in many parts of the world today. The story hasn’t changed much in 2018 – people in power oppress the powerless.

It is written by the supremely talented Pulitzer finalist Rajiv Joseph who’s clever turn at phrase made the audience laugh and also cry and hopefully also gave everyone pause for thought. Even though it’s set in the medieval era, the language is contemporary and relatable. It is the type of theatre that will stay with you for a long time after the performance is over.

• Directed by Jyotsna Sharma.
• Performed by Rushi Dave , Akshat Gupta.
• Assisted by Taufeeq Ahmed.
• Live music by Shaun Premnath.
• Lights by Tushar Bose
• Sound by Kamal Krishna
• Projection equipment Abdul Sajwani
• Projection images, operation- Jyotsna Sharma
• Production by Avantika Tomar and Hemal Joshi
• Produced by heart and soul productions