A Fine Balance goes from page to stage this October

A Fine Balance goes from page to stage this October

Prayas Theatre presents
A FINE BALANCE
Based on the novel by Rohinton Mistry, Directed by Ahi Karunaharan

Beloved Prayas Theatre Company offer up an enduring tale of the human spirit in an inhuman state for their 10th year anniversary extravaganza when Rohinton Mistry’s A Fine Balance goes from page to stage at TAPAC from the 8th – 18th October.

“What begins as a result of economic necessity eventually becomes an
arrangement between friends, each of whom has a demon with which to wrestle.

Dina must conquer her fear of losing her rent-controlled flat to help Ishvar and Om who in their turn must cope with the destruction wrought on their family as a result of stepping outside the caste system. When Ishvar and Om are caught up, not once but twice, in the government’s cruelly administered policies their unlikely family is first threatened, then torn apart.”

In their annual spectacular, Prayas bring over 20 cast members to stage in an explosive take on this highly acclaimed best seller. A Fine Balance transports the audience back in time to 1970s India to explore the effects of the state of emergency rule on the lives of ordinary people. Four strangers—a young student uprooted from his idyllic hill station, two tailors who have fled the caste violence in their native village and a spirited widow, are thrusted together, forced to share one cramped apartment as they move from distrust to friendship and from friendship to love.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of emergency rule in India. The superb novel-turned-production captures the cruelty and corruption, dignity and heroism of India in 1975 with a compassionate realism and Dickens-inspired narrative. A Fine Balance brings the depth and fascination of Mistry’s work to New Zealand audiences through a cast of vividly drawn characters with humanity and a great wit.

Director Ahi Karunaharan is inspired by the light of the kindness, compassion and benevolence that shines through this beloved novel. A Fine Balance is an exploration of polar-opposite people in various socioeconomic levels forced to fight against the rapidly changing world they have become trapped in.

The music is authentically percussion driven, presented with objects found in the slums to replace instruments. Tins, bottles, water and paper are creatively used alongside the body movements of the cast to bring an atmospheric experience resembling Strike, Percussion or Stomp.

A FINE BALANCE plays
8th – 18th October
TAPAC, 100, Motions Road, Western Springs
Tickets: General $25.00*; Concession /Group of 6+ $20.00* (*booking fees apply)
Bookings through TAPAC – www.tapac.org.nz or 09 845 0295 ext 2
Tickets go on sale 1st week of September
R16 - Adult Theme, Coarse Language

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