Concept, Design & Direction –

Bhushan Sanjayshri Patil

Cinematography and Editor-

Pankaj Bharat Lata

Movement Direction-

Nikita Thube

Art-

Sharad Jadhav

 Production Design-

Tejas Mahajan

Sound Design-

Bhushan & Pankaj patil

Performed by-

 Pratiksha Kote| Nikita Thube| Karishma Desale| Snehal Deshmukh| Tejas Mahajan| Sharad Jadhav

The pandemic has completely shaken the human values to its core and has forced the unstoppable development to take a pause and think. We are in a time where we cannot meet people from our own community; We are scared of the very air around us; We have to refrain ourselves from any external touch. All of this is contradictory to the art of living life. A German philosopher Fredrik Nietzsche uses the metaphor ‘Bad Air ’ to describe the 19th century Europe ' s stagnant and regressive state. He refers to this ‘Bad air ’ as the stench of the rotting corpses infecting the society with sickness and emptiness. This implies that the inner soul reflects the outer air. I find this surprisingly relatable to the current times which is why I felt a need to create something that is meant for a time where we are drifting away from nature. We find ease in an objective and constructed life and keep surrounding ourselves with objects, possessions and things till we are consumed by it. The concept of minimalism intrigued me and i was introduced to the poetry by Mawlana Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi where he has explored love through various mediums connecting human sentiments to nature. Amidst all the chaos these poems sounded spiritual and I knew that I had to share what I felt with the world. For a world which keeps preparing for war; which gives more importance to concepts like country, government, GDP, economy than Life itself, Rumi makes us revisit a part of life we might have lost out on.

H2O is therapy based performance where we will attempt to give a meditative experience to the audience by exploring forms such as physical theater, sculpture, graffiti, audio poetry and traditional forms such as Tai-Chi and Kudiyattam. A therapeutic experience is to be created using these disciplines. The space chosen for the performance is not conventionally theatrical. It will be the ocean and the beach. The space has been chosen as it has a therapeutic quality in itself. A time where the entire world was confined within 4 walls, just a thought of creating a performance in a landscape as enormous as the ocean seemed to instill peace from within. I am positive that when created this performance along with the space will bring about harmony in the viewers life.

One of the major drives in making this performance is the current situation around us. Shakespeare's ‘To be or not to be’ seems to be more than relevant for the crisis the youth is facing today. With the economy being affected, careers jeopardized, depression kicking in, the society is experiencing a major existential crisis. It is believed that art reflects society. However, the current crisis suggests that we need to go beyond just mere reflection. Hence I wish to propose art as therapy