Exit Wounds – A story about you and I
This story certainly needed to be brought to life through a theatrical performance, as theatre has the power to create a safe space to objectively seek resolutions. It can soothe, heal and nurture.
From the rehearsals
CHENNAI: V Balakrishnan, fondly called Bala sir in the theatre space, is an all-embracing person, or so swear his fellow artists. Also being immensely respected, he is said to hold space for everybody that he works with. And he is one of the funniest bones in the room.
Founder and artistic director of Theatre Nisha, Bala will be celebrating his 30 years of theatre life this October. But before the celebrations begin, he has yet another story to tell.
As the curtain rolls up, the space outside a hospital ICU becomes a silent spectator to the fate of the patients inside, but conflict exists both inside and outside the room and its occupants – Life is no puzzle, everyone dies. With this as the core essence, the play, Exit Wounds, tries to draw attention to the audience to what Bala has to convey about the concept of life.
V Balakrishnan
“The English play's action is set in the waiting space of the ICU of a government hospital and is the story of those who are there by choice, and those not by choice. The fragility of human life is the core factor of the play, and the way humans respond to the thought of love, pain and death,” explains Bala, who has written, designed and directed Exit Wounds.
This story certainly needed to be brought to life through a theatrical performance, as theatre has the power to create a safe space to objectively seek resolutions. It can soothe, heal and nurture. “Since the play is about something so ironic as life because we live as if we are immortal, theatre becomes a place to introspect and encounter our genuine priorities,” he adds.
Exit Wounds is also the winner of the Samhita Manch Award 2023 in the English category.
Having staged over 132 plays in the past 24 years under his banner, Bala says, “Every narrative, every story exists to be told. Each experience of ours serves as a conduit for the future to mold itself in a more formidable way. This story is about you and I. This is about the ability and disability of people to confront the truth. It required its vent.”
Exit Wounds will have Niveditha, Shivangi, Navaneeth, Ganapathy, Farha, Aparna, Karthik, Neeharika, Roshini and Meera portraying their parts, with conviction.
To witness Exit Wounds, mark your calendars for August 9, at 7 pm, and August 10, for two shows, one at 3 pm, and the other at 7 pm, at Alliance Francaise of Madras.