Humorous & heartbreaking, ‘Betrayal’ talks about wounded hearts & fragile memories

Team L&M

Aadyam Theatre, an Aditya Birla Group initiative, is presenting its latest play of the season, Betrayal this weekend. Directed by Rachel D’Souza and produced by 3 Parts Company, it is a humorous yet heartbreaking story, presenting a searingly tender picture of fragile memories, wounded hearts and how easily our grasps over reality can unravel.

Betrayal revolves around two love stories, with forbidden sparks, infidelity, deception and the barrage of complex human emotions. It intricately explores these stories – that unfold between three characters through a series of meetings and conversations. Starting in 1977, the play unfolds in reverse chronology with lovers Jerry and Emma meeting after a gap of two years. From here, it spirals backwards to 1968 to the first transgression when Jerry, Robert’s closest friend, declares his undying love for Emma, Robert’s wife. Along the way, the audience is drawn into various events in time, when things both said and unsaid create a compelling theatrical experience.

“I developed an interest in intimate stories of relationships, familial bonds, friendships and the mechanisms of attachment and loyalty in them after the pandemic,” says D’Souza, adding that the play speaks to all these elements in a haunting and riveting theatrical structure. “It has a murder mystery quality blended into a very deeply domestic, humorous, and feelings-based narrative. They fixate on when and how something happened, but hardly ever why something happened,” she adds.

Vivek Gomber and Sukant Goel who play Robert (husband) and Jerry (friends/lover) respectively, play with fraught emotions, men who don’t speak their minds but take funny jabs at each other in any situation. Abir Abrar plays Emma (Robert’s wife and Jerry’s lover), completing a friendly but unsettling triangle. There is live music from Nush Lewis, whose mastery of the Harp allows her to evoke a wide range of emotions, from subtle and delicate melodies to powerful and intense compositions.

“Betrayal is a piercing examination of the dynamics of betrayal within relationships – platonic and romantic,” points out Aadyam’s Artistic Director Nadir Khan.

At Experimental Theatre, Mumbai
On July 14 & 15, & 7:30 PM, and
July 16 at 4:00pm & 7:30pm.
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