Threatre Review: August Osage County

Play: August Osage County
Directed by: Lillete Dubey
Duration: 135 minutes
Cast: Lillete Dubey, Sandhya Mridul, Meeta Vasisht, Kitu Gidwani, Ira Dubey, Amar Talwar, Denzil Smith & others
Rating: 3
It’s not easy to twist a Pulitzer Prize winning American drama, to suit typical Indian sensibilities. So some of you may not take to August Osage County, a dark, humorous play, originally written by playwright Tracy Letts, as you might find its context slightly alien.
But whether it’s the script, a formidable cast or simply the murky mood it breeds on stage for 135 minutes (slightly long; a shorter length would be great!), this drama definitely has loads to offer for those who enjoy melancholy.
The play revolves around the foul-mouthed, addicted-to-drugs, melodramatic Violet, her alcoholic poet-husband Leon, with whom she can’t see eye-to eye and their large family. When Leon goes missing one day, the entire family is reunited and slowly, unresolved emotions, hidden secrets and long forgotten skeletons come tumbling out of the closet! While in its Indian version the play has been set in Goa, the rest of the script is untouched and sticks to the original story.
If you’re going to watch August Osage County with the expectation of laughing out loud at some rib-tickling, slapstick comedy, you’re going to be disappointed. The play’s subtle humour is what will occasionally provide you laughs. It’s the kind of comedy that stems from themes like dysfunctional families, secret love affairs, etc — some of your might not find that funny.
The biggest crowd-puller for this production is that it’s a casting coup. As the sharp-mouthed matriarch, Lillete Dubey’s Violet steals the show with her brutal honesty and sarcastic wittiness. She’s got the best one-liners and you can’t imagine anyone else playing her role. Kitu Gidwani and Amar Talwar essay their part rather well, of two diametrically opposite individuals, married to each other. But the surprise package is Mita Vasisht. Usually stereotyped in films as a serious, feminist character, it’s enjoyable to watch her play the silly, airheaded daughter Karen, who is ready to compromise, just so that she gets to live the ‘perfect’ life that she’s always envisioned.
If you speak about production values, the set erected on the stage of the interiors of the mansion is commendable, when it comes to detailing. But there are times when it overpowers the actors on stage (too many props on stage can be highly distracting) and you begin to wonder if minimalistic is better.
In a nut shell, August Osage County is not everyone’s cup of tea. But if you’ve acquired a taste for gloom, sardonic humour and general morbidness, you’re going to like it.