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The dark side of India’s past
A FINE BALANCE
Hampstead Theatre
INDIRA Gandhi oversaw a tumultuous era of censorship, repression and human rights abuses as Indian Prime Minister.
Perhaps her most controversial moment was declaring a state of emergency in 1974 – suspending elections and ruling by decree. She enforced the sterilisation of over eight million Indians – mostly poor, illiterate, lower caste or Muslim people. The Asian theatre troupe Tamasha perform in an excellent adaptation of Rohinton Mistry’s novel A Fine Balance.
An excellent stage recreates the dusty and deteriorating social landscape in what has been described as the darkest period of democracy in Indian history.
A huge mural of Gandhi, with a twisted smile and a dark glint in her eye, looks out across the stage as her “beautification” programme attempts to literally eliminate the underclass.
The rage against the machine comes from Om (Amit Sharma) whose father was killed for trying to vote in the local elections.
A limbless beggar, Nusswan (Divian Ladwa), pushes himself about on a self-styled go-kart and pleads for spare change.
But rather than inviting pity, the leper is one of the happier characters. All seeing and free, he plays the wise fool.
The Beggarmaster, a kind of pimp for beggars, makes sure Nussman doesn’t come to any harm, but knows the value of his deformity.
I saw this play in January last year at the Hampstead Theatre and remember being completely rapt by actor Shiv Grewal as the Beggarmaster. Unfortunately he has left the troupe and Taylan Halichi does not manage to recreate that mysterious mix of dread and compassion.
A Fine Balance is effectively about the balance of power, class and the structure of commerce.
It is told with great skill using puppeteers and all the sounds and colours of the sub continent.
Until April 21
020 7722 9301
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