Chennai | This play set in Nazi Germany will make you think about the times we live in

A still from Taking Sides by Atul Kumar
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Hitler’s favourite conductor. 

No one must have had a moniker so divisive like that of the conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, Wilhelm Furtwangler. It is this very divisiveness or dichotomy that forms the core of the play Taking Sides that comes to Chennai after an almost 50-show run around the country. The visual narrative follows the record of the post-War interrogation of Furtwangler by a US Army major, Steve Arnold, who in his past civilian life was an insurance investigator. Furtwangler’s loyalty remains to his music, as the conflict of what is right and wrong hangs heavy.

Director Atul Kumar thinks there is no better time to stage a play of this kind. Atul’s first interaction with the play happened a few years back, when he chanced upon a film by Hungarian filmmaker Istvan Szabo, based on the original play, Taking Sides. “I remember telling myself that I should someday pick up the script and take it to stage. It’s just that the times we live in now, sadly, makes the script extremely relevant,” says the director.

The play, which took shape during the pandemic, simply talks about freedom and zooms in on the arguments that form around arts and politics during times of oppression. “It questions how, at the time of fascism, how one maintains one’s morality. Where does one draw a line?” adds Atul. 

A still from Taking Sides by Atul Kumar
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

The questions that are dealt with the play are very personal for Atul. “I have always done theatre that is loud, robust and over-the-top. Whether it’s a comedy or a tragedy, it’s always been larger than life. That’s my expression, and physical culture has been my practise.”

This time, however, he wanted to explore the classical way of doing theatre, “where the concentration is on the word and the argument. So we have done a play that is realistic for the first time in my 25 years of career,” he says with a laugh. The play is normally performed in traverse (where the audience sits on either side of the performers at the centre) at alternative venues. “I really wanted my audiences to be divided. I wanted to create this dichotomy even on how they view it.” (In Chennai, however, this format will not be followed as the venue is not conducive to it.)

Though the script has been edited for time, it is not an adaptation. The historical references that may be lost on the audience have been researched thoroughly. 

“The cast argued, talked, and got in literature and journalistic references and discussed on which side we would stand. Nobody took a clean stand. We realised that we must keep the audience oscillating, and they must leave the auditorium arguing for ideas and concepts,” says Atul who plays Furtwangler. The external view of whether the character is loyal to Nazi Germany forms his conflict. 

A still from Taking Sides by Atul Kumar
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

The production first took form over Zoom calls during the period between the major lockdowns of the pandemic. And so, the play has travelled through strange times, says Atul. The audience’s reaction too has also evolved over the years. “People are now a lot more vocal about things and are accepting of this play. We feel less scared to say the things that we say,” he concludes. 

Taking Sides will be staged at Medai, Alwarpet on October 19, 7.30 pm. Tickets are on BookMyShow at₹499.