A Review of the Dramatic Performance of Triyatra:

The enactment of the play Triyatra by Curio: A Group of Performing Art Society, Jaipur, on October 6, 2024, in the Darpan auditorium of Shilpgram, marked the conclusion of the three-day theatre festival organized by West Zone Cultural Centre, Udaipur.

Triyatra is, in fact, a delicious dramatic dish made of three different stories by three different authors from three different countries. Directed by Gagan Mishra and Priyadarshini Mishra, the play is an unconventional dramatic creation in the form of a montage of stories--“Barbershop Adventure” by O’ Henry (USA), “Ant Ki Shuruaat” by Gagan Mishra (India), and “Her Lover” by Maxim Gorky (Russia). Though the stories are different from each other, their dramatic adaptations are brought together in such a way as to form three acts or parts of a single play united by a common thematic thread. The stories primarily deal with deception—deception at the interpersonal, personal, and social levels. “Barbershop Adventure” shows how two individuals-- Mr. Barber and Mr. Plunket--try to dupe each other for money by telling lies about a hair tonic. In “Ant Ki Shuruaat,” we see how an established writer tries to deceive society by unethically selling plagiarized writings to the publisher to earn money and fame. “Her Lover” depicts how a love-starved woman deceives herself by living in a make-believe world in which she enjoys reading commissioned love letters as if sent by someone who loves her. These stories employ irony as their chief narrative strategy and offer insights into human nature and emotions.

The first part of Triyatra, adapted from “Barbershop Adventure,” was full of humour, created through well-timed dialogues and actions in tune with the ironic turns of the story. The artist, Dr. Kapil Sharma, playing Mr. Barber, exhibited his dramatic skills through his effortless transitions of mood, voice, and expressions, revealing anxiety, excitement, disappointment, frustration, and optimism. His adaptation to various twists of the situation was commendably smooth. Gagan Mishra, in Mr. Plunket’s role, faithfully represented the character’s cleverness and opportunism. His performance was marked by perfect timing in delivery and movement. Abhishek Jhankal, as Customer, well played his role.

The second part of the play, “Ant Ki Shuruaat” (the beginning of the end), projected powerfully the greed of a writer for money and fame. While Mehmood Ali, as Writer, well-expressed the character’s exasperation and chagrin on being exposed as a deceitful person through his elevated tonal intensity and twisted facial expressions, Abhishek Jhankal, as Kirdar, performed superbly by accurately portraying the character’s ingenuity in trying to uncover the writer’s deception and unethical conduct. Prerna Sharma did well in her brief role as Manjula.

The final part of Triyatra, “Her Lover,” presented poignantly the psychological tale of a lovesick woman. Priyadarshini Mishra, playing Teresa, seemed to have a precise understanding of the character’s pangs and longings. Through her charged delivery, frequent variations in the voice pitch, and facial contortions, Priyadarshini remarkably portrayed Teresa’s conflict and pain. Her dramatic brilliance appeared to be at its peak as she confessed that Mr. Boles was merely an imaginary person whom she fancied to be her lover. Dr. Kapil Sharma’s performance as Mr. Student was equally remarkable. He succeeded in expressing with full fidelity the paradoxical blend of irritation and compassion in Mr. Student.

Light design and effects by Shahzor Ali and make up by Aslam Pathan were excellent. The dramatic adaptations of the stories were accomplished by Vikas Pareek, Gagan Mishra, and Priyadarshini Mishra.

Undoubtedly, the performance of Triyatra was a captivating dramatic production for the theatre lovers of Udaipur.