Some clowning & loving

CHANDIGARH: Clowns have always made you laugh but this play might bring tears to your eyes. Inspired by Shakespeare's, "Romeo and Juliet," Sukhmani Kohli, a young city-based theatre person, has come up with a play, "Romeo Juliet and Seven Clowns". The play has also attempted to introduce clowns in a new light to the audience. "To be a clown is to be in love," said Sukhmani, the director of the play.
They were not clowns at the beginning of the play but they turn into 'clowns,' when they fall in love. The play talks about how Romeo loses 'his clown' as he acts out of ego and murders Juliet's couisn but the other 'clowns' forgive him and help him find the lost 'clown' in him. A song of Bulle Shah that has been put in the middle of the play, gives it a Sufi touch.
The play was devised and evolved by the director and the cast through their own experiences of clowning and loving. The actors who rehearsed for the play for a month have worked hard to make the characters come alive. The actors include P.
Chandershekhar, Satnam Singh, Jaswinder Singh, Sanjay Sharma, Jasvir Kumar, Kabir, Rinku Jain, Chakresh Kumar and Abhimanyu .
Sukhmani, said that a lot of hard work went into the play and the script was changed four times to get it just right. The play will be staged at Tagore Theatre on Friday at 7pm.