Reviews

Miranda

| |

8 August 2010

A young actress from Mumbai on holiday in Goa is thrilled
to be invited to play the role of Miranda in a visiting British theatre
company’s production of The Tempest. The fact that the actor
playing her lover, Ferdinand, is a tousled hunk, only adds to her sense of
self-satisfaction, and Miranda – for that is the young actress’s name – cannot
imagine a better turn of events.

Her rejoicing, as she eventually learns, is premature. To
reveal any more would be to spoil the rather far-fetched, bizarre mystery plot,
so I’ll stop there.

Miranda’s story is told by Ankur Bahl in a monologue piece
that sees him play a dozen or so parts, perform some classical Indian dance (to great effect) and
leap around the stage in an often gratuitous display of melodramatic
choreography. Bahl is not entirely convincing in this strange piece – the writing is too confused for that – but he is a beguiling performer nonetheless.

Ultimately, Miranda is rescued from its own randomness by a revitalising score, beautifully performed live on Indian drums and violin by Swagata Biswas and Danyal Dhondy respectively.