Play Review: The Shape of Things

Writer :Neil LaBute, Director : Sid Kumar, Cast : Vivek Gomber (Adam) , Diksha Basu (Evelyn) , Nayantara Roy (Jenny) and Digvijay Savant (Phil)

I saw it in Prithvi - amongst the sprinkling of short skirts kurtas and strong perfumes. There is no Indian adaption (that would be interesting na, it somehow seems more personal with identifiable names), the play continues to be set in a small town university town somewhere in the US of A.

Plot (Spoiler Alert!!!): Evelyn has a chance meeting with Adam when she sets out to vandalize a nude male sculpture in museum Adam is supposed to be guarding. Adam is your typical nice guy or loser as he would put it. The interaction with Evelyn brings about a change in him and he begins to change under her guidance, first his external appearance and slowly begins to change internally. Adam s friend Phil (extremely full of himself) warns Adam about this, but Adam boy has moved on to make out with Phil s fiancee. He becomes a much more desirable person in his obsession with Evelyn. Evelyn is an artist on a project, we learn very little about her except her arguments on the act of vandalism with Phil. She eventually forces Adam to drop his friends too.

In the final act, Evelyn is making a presentation to the audience on her project and reveals that the material used for it is none other than Adam. She has achieved what her professor told her, if not the world she has made someone better. Not only did she change Adam s outward appearance but his inner perception of himself and his conscience itself. She had chosen him and delivered. No more no less. In their final confrontation she reveals to Adam that there was only one true moment and Adam is left reflecting on that.

Very very good. The execution is near flawless. Basu has so much energy, as the audience you will fall in love with her let alone poor Adam. A lot of scenes, including the love-making is captured on a screen and the effects are telling. More of the screen could have been used perhaps and in some places Vivek is not audible at all. The music and the lighting make the flow of the story very smooth.

Nice. Should do more of these.

Rating: 8/10