Red Alert!
Theaterfest '08 starts off with a bang.
It's possible that no street play performance has had energy levels running as high as in 'Red Alert'. It took a group of sixteen freshies and two thirdies to make sure that the much-awaited fest lived up to its hype in its opening chapter.
Motivated by Mood Indigo's drive, 'Khoon Chala', this performance aimed to generate awareness about the importance of blood donation, more so in light of the recent widespread calamities. The play begins with the heavens troubled over the scarcity of blood. Gods decide to turn to earth as a last resort. With frequent blasts and quakes, the situation on earth is no better. And so the question arises – where can we look to for blood? The play then moves on to a college campus. This scene portrays a blood donation camp aimed at students, in a lighter vein. On the whole, the performance hit the right note with catchy songs, amusing one-liners and near-perfect execution.
Ashish (Gabbar) and Vikranth, thirdies, are on top of the world with their directorial career off to the perfect start. The freshies themselves are thrilled with the success of the performance. After a week of conceptualizing and hours of practice, this team has really made an impact. This is the first time ever that students from the first year are a part of IITB's Theatre Fest. Their enthusiasm to take part was so high, that when only 12 people were shortlisted to perform in the street play initially, 20 people turned up on the first day of practice. It was a Herculean task for Gabbar and Vikranth to bring this number down to sixteen.
On a final note, serving to reiterate what the performance endeavored to do, a significant number of deaths could be avoided if people donate blood regularly. Misconceptions stemming mostly from ignorance make it difficult to convince even educated people about the virtues of blood donation. So shed your fears and do your bit!
PICTURES
