Ready for takeoff?

What would run through your mind when you realise that your plane is being shot at, mid-air? Panic, horror, regret? It’s a common space, but an unusual situation to be in. But Mumbai-based actor-director Trishla Patel sees it as the perfect setting for her play, Mayday that will be staged in the city on Sunday.
Having premiered in 2016, the play is inspired from the true event of flight MH 17 that was shot down over Ukraine in 2014, albeit it takes on a farcical approach, replete with song and dance.The play setting is, however, a Delhi-Amritsar flight.
Trishla, who wrote the play with her husband Vishal Capoor (a pilot) and directed it, says, “There’s so much violence thrown at us every day. When you become immune to it, comedy and farce is an interesting way to show tragedy in a manner that people can easily digest, which explains the choice of treatment.” Insisting this isn’t a docu-drama, Trishla says it’s a humorous look at how people behave when caught in such circumstances.
Mayday has been written with the idea of exploring smaller, more common spaces. “The whole story is set within the airplane. So there’s singing, dance and movement in the space available around the seats. The smaller the space, the better,” says Trishla, who does not dismiss the fact that it also ends up in the audience and actors becoming one.

The music is composed by actors and singer-songwriters Rohit Das and Santanu Ghatak. “Writing the music was an organic process, something we worked on as we rehearsed. But the three originals are largely rooted in the pop-rock, ballad styles,” says Santanu.
And it was these varying styles, tempos and moods that gave scope for experimentation to the choreographer Mohit Agarwal. “There’s freestyle, slo-mo and even Bollywood. Besides effective use of the space and sets, the dances bring out the characters, while retaining their charm,” says Mohit.
With music, song and dance at 30,000 feet, here’s to a great ride, and safe landings!
'Mayday' is presented by Tpot Productions and is being brought to the city by Purple Theatricals. The play will be staged on April 23, at Classic Rock Coffee Co, Kalyani Nagar, at 6.30 pm.