Butter and Mashed Banana

Think dark chocolate. Now pair it with a glass of Shiraz. Add some crackers with pate to it. Finish all of that with candied fruit. I present 'Butter and Mashed Banana' to you.

Sweet, aromatic and full bodied, subtle yet not oh-so-sophisticated, not to forget the cheeky fun. There was all of this, and yet, more too. Ajay Krishnan's debut was raved and ranted about and you will have to watch it to understand why.

This is one play where I will have to say there was nothing but perfection on stage. The script was enjoyable, identifiable with, beautifully directed and even more beautifully performed. It was a a bit like a comic musical and a bit like a gentle mock. The lead is a child conceived out of mixed ideologies and carries that with him throughout. He is a writer, a wannabe politician and later a nobody, all in the quest of the so called "Free Speech". "Don't you dare say that!" is the recurring theme.

He writes a book, which is instantly censored, he decides to become a politician, he is instantly censored, he then makes movies, and is censored again. A more than subtle dig at the 'freedom' that we all claim to enjoy, the play is a bouquet of many things.

I do not know who those actors were, nor do I want to Google about them. They had immense talent, and when provided with an outlet as refreshing as Ajay Krishnan's 'Butter and Mashed Banana', the result was astonishing. There was so much energy on that stage that I never even knew when the performance came to an end.

I must say I was grateful for watching this after 'Hair'. This spectacle would have created so many expectations that it would have been impossible to give 'Hair' its due which has the capability of gathering its own followers for Ajay Krishnan, though not in the same league as his debut.

A delectable fare, to be enjoyed by all.

PS: Just as I was hoping, today was very boring, and I had almost forgotten this post, which I did not hope for. So if this review seems like it was written when the super-fast was approaching with my foot jammed in the line, you know that is how it was indeed. My office was being shut down.