In the vast, echoing halls of experimental theatre, where the classical often collides violently with the contemporary, few artists have dared to commit to a single literary maestro as deeply as actress has committed to William Shakespeare. For over four years, the Pune-born, Mumbai-based theatre powerhouse has been engaged in a singular, herculean task: a 37-play deconstruction. We are now at Part 21 , and if you thought the trajectory was predictable, you have never seen Khandagale work.
series, Khandagale typically portrays characters that are central to the show's dramatic and often bold themes. Context of Part 21: Actress Ruks Khandagale and Shakespeare Part 21...
Her co-star, the gifted but volatile Devraj Sen, had vanished three days ago. No call. No message. Just a locked dressing room and a single prop dagger left on his chair. The play they were building—a radical, gender-flipped As You Like It set in a climate-ravaged refugee camp—had been declared cursed by the producers. The backers had pulled out. The theater was a hollow shell. In the vast, echoing halls of experimental theatre,
“Shakespeare is not a monument,” Khandagale told us during a rehearsal break at the Prithvi Theatre extension last week. “He is a wound that keeps reopening. Each part of this journey is a scalpel. By Part 21, we stop asking ‘What did Shakespeare mean?’ and start asking ‘What can we make him mean to survive tonight?’” No message