Can you give a flat, blank piece of paper memories? Can you give it an experience so deep and meaningful that once you are done, the paper is no longer the same…and even if it is blank and flat as before, it feels in some way…scarred? Jugaad Co.’s Animal out of Paper tells you all this and more, as it packs in quite a few laughs, troubles you with its profoundness, and leaves you with a burning heartache.
The play begins in the depressing, messy apartment of Illana, the brilliant orgamist who is unable to get over her divorce and more weirdly the loss of her three-legged dog, the pains of which have snatched away her precious ability to fold. In comes the dorky Andy, the treasurer of the origami association who can barely fold a decent heart, nursing a sweet crush on Illana for god knows how long. Additionally he has an odd habit of listing down his blessings in his teensy notebook. He gawks openly at her scattered foldings, fawns at her unwashed self, and fumbles out of the apartment leaving his intriguing blessing book behind.
Next comes Suresh, the seventeen year old who is too cool to fold, and won’t do as he’s told, unless he’s rapping as he’s rolls. Ok, the guy’s a rapper, and he’s here for his origami tuition class. Although why he needs it is anybody’s guess, because the chap folds like a genius without touching a textbook on origami while his teacher can’t fold a tissue paper without breaking into tears or swearing wildly. His unwelcome curiosity towards everything in Illana’s apartment and tactless comments thrown around about her personal life draws easy laughter, as does his blasé attitude towards origami and everything that is important to Illana.
Naveen Richard as Suresh has you splitting with laughter every time he steps on stage: his hip-hop swagger, outrageous black talk, the smooth dance moves, the oversimplified life philosophies and solutions…this guy will keep you laughing even during the scene change!
Rebecca as Illana is a precise actor, and the confusion and pain in her life is reflected in her every move and person, whether its her own loss, the unsullied love and joy of another, the vexing interest of a third, the world unsettles her with its umpteen emotions.
But it is Anshul as Andy that robs you of your senses….for his hopefulness makes you want to count your own million blessings, his pain brings back your every torturous memory, his sorrow grips your heart and tears it from within, and his shame leaves you humiliated and destroyed. For all his dorkiness and infectious charm, his pain is what teaches you how easy it is to slink away from life’s depressive trials, and how much one must work to stay as happy as Andy.
So will Rebecca finally fold? Will Andy win Illana’s attention? Will Illana and Suresh end up killing each other, geniuses that they both are, while the audience laughs away? Written by Rajiv Joseph and directed by Jimmy Xavier, this play is a definite winner, so dash off to Jagriti and find out!
Event: Jugaad Co. presents Animals out of Paper (Comedy Drama)
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