Director Raveesh Jaiswal with Avantika Akerkar at the rehearsal

There is an infectious energy as the actors finish their warm-up and ready themselves to play the roles. Jaiswal began the rehearsal days by spending a good amount of time with each actor individually. One of the most interesting elements that came out of this process was his work with U-Jay and Zervaan Bunshah, who will be playing 10 characters within the play as part of the male ensemble. “The use of the male ensemble is for world-building. They are the supporting characters who give legitimacy to the visual aspect of the play by taking the audience back to the stories of the exonerated characters,” shares Bunshah. To this, U-Jay adds, “Raveesh had given us strict direction to not change accents. We worked on variations in voice and body, but the words themselves are so powerful that they are enough.” Jaiswal then brought all the actors together, to finally orchestrate their energies.

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Asif Ali Beg plays Kerry Cook who was bullied all his life and called names even by his inmates in the prison; Nizwar Karanj plays Gary Gauger, an organic farmer arrested for murdering his own parents; Suresh Venkat plays Robert Hayes, accused of raping and murdering a female groom on the racetrack; Sandeep Jayaram embodies the voice of David Keaton arrested at the age of 18, and released after 22 long years; Akerkar plays the role of the wives of three characters, giving us a glimpse of the impact of wrongful accusation on the lives of their loved ones. In this darkness are two lights: Sunny Jacobs played by Meher Acharia Dar and Delbert Tibbs played by Joy Fernandes, who carry hope in their hearts. “Tibbs is a poet who adds a lightness of spirit throughout the play. He believes that if he internalises it all, he’d be dead already,” says Fernandes. These stories are built on what it took to survive injustice. Akerkar concludes, “All we can do is allow them to be told with dignity.”

On: March 11, 5.30 pm, 8.30 pm
At: G5A Warehouse, Mahalaxmi
Log on to: in.bookmyshow.com
Cost: Rs 500