Krishnan's Dairy
Uploaded by gohxuexun on Jun 25, 2006
This drama is made perfectly by Jacob Rajan, the actor and the writer and the person who made the masks, and Justin Lewis, the director, Murray Edmond, the dramaturgy, Helen Todd, Original Lighting Design, Lighting Design developed by Antony Hodgson, Cathy Knowsley, the stage manager and the lightning and sound operator and Conrad Wedde the musician. However, it was Jacob and Justin who formed the Ink Theatre Company in 1996.
Jacob Rajan plays Gobi and Zina – long hours of immigrant shopkeepers in this love story, slipping in one character to another with the use of masks. His voice and body language change with such great speed that a conversation between Gobi and Zina seems so natural and understandable.
For the first time, I realized that the way I see Indian people are different, in at least one or more aspects. Jacob Rajan tries to humanize Gobi and Zina through minutiae of the days. For example, Gobi’s daily effort of asking the customers: “Cold, isn’t it?” when providing services for them, the baby crying at the back room, people asking for direction, someone runs off without paying, the exchange of newspaper at the side of the door to represent a change in the time, the doorbell tinkling and etc. Their daily grind is contrasted with the romance of tales from home, the daily horoscope and the story of the Taj Mahal.
At the beginning of the story, it gives an introduction about Gobi - enthusiastic and ambitious about his plans in running successful business and Zina - longs for her home and family in India. Gobi’s flamboyant personality stands in strong contrast to Zina’s quietness, which gradually reveals a strong will within.
Moreover, in this drama, nothing is superfluous; all is neat and tight. Gobi opens an invisible cash register, together with all the music effects and humorous movements, and shakes out an invisible carrier bag sounding so perfectly that leaves the audience shocked and amazed. Interwoven with a love story, Rajan’s dairy tale is told with humour and tenderness in the characters. The simplicity of the relationship between Zina and Gobi has deeply moved me, and I think it has also brought tears to the other audience too. The real beauty of Krishnan’s Dairy, though, comes in its telling. Using little more that a series of masks and some deft physical caricature, Rajan and director Justin Lewis have created...