Scaramouche comes to Mumbai
Scaramouche Jones is one of the most celebrated stories of noted playwright Justin Butcher and was recently staged in the city last week. Directed by Warren D’Sylva and enacted by Ali Fazal, this play explores the poignant and human side of a clown, as he embarks upon in a one man show.
The play is about Scaramouche, the son of a gypsy whore in Trinidad, as he travels to many places in search of an identity. All he knows is that his father was an English man because of his white pale skin. His quest in order to find his father takes him to places far and wide. A century gone, 100-year-old Scaramouche narrates his story and takes that audience around the world through his eyes.D’Sylva says, “I loved the story from the moment I read it, and it has had a great impact on me. It all started a year and half ago, when we were developing the script to present it at Thespo. Due to many reasons we could not perform then”. D’Sylva was originally supposed to play Scaramouche Jones. “I had already started learning my lines and got into the gear of acting till I realised that I was more inclined to direct the play than to act in it”, D’Sylva says. Meanwhile, Ali joined in later and started preparing for Scaramouche. Though a one man show sounds easy, it is a mammoth task. “This was the first time that I’ve ever directed a one man show and there were many aspects which had to be looked into”, D’Sylva says. The duo held a private screening of the play and got a constructive feedback, which helped them improve and look into many details of the play. “That really encouraged us on and now we are working on the craft and other technicalities,” D’Sylva explains.A lot of research and study went into the factual details since Scaramouche talks about his experiences around the world. The story takes you to many parts of the world and gives you a glimpse of world history. Scaramouche’s visit to England looking for his father, and his identity quest are some of the most striking moments in the play. Another poignant scene is when Scaramouche becomes a gravedigger at a concentration camp and realises what it means to be a clown. It is one of the most moving and tender moments in the play and brings out the emotional side of the clown.Meanwhile, for Ali, it was quite a challenge to portray Scaramouche. “I loved the script and read it a 100 times,” Ali says. There were a lot of aspects such as the voice modulation of enacting many other characters, their diverse accents and body language. I had to observe and study mannerisms of clowns, and try to be natural at the same time”, Ali says. The long hours of rehearsals helped him delve deeper into the character. On the whole, the duo says that the initial response for the play has been very good and now they are in the midst of further improvisation of the play, by focusing on the craft and other technical aspects in their forthcoming shows.
Ipsitaa Panigrahi
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