Written by Sisir Kumar Das

Parental affection, cultural changes, unresolved insecurities : the play 'The Game' balances these aspects of familial existence. The play represents families from a certain cross-section of Indian society, the ones whith their children living outside India. The impact of children going away to foreign lands in search of careers and opportunities, has left behind parents searching for emotional support in their old age. 'The Game' follows one such old couple, fervently desirous of but the faintest hint of affection and love. The playwright explores the extent this couple will go to in order to maintain the perception that there is unexpressed love across the borders imposed by distance. He proposes a solution that is both ingenious and insulting to the very premise of the nuclear family -- unequivocal love devoid of material desires.

Notes to help surmount the cultural barrier:
It is a well accepted norm for children to live with their parents as they grow up and even into their twenties or later in India. Often, this continues with only the roles of provider and dependent being switched. From the parents being the providers to the parents becoming the dependents in their old age. There is no feeling of apprehension or reservation about these roles in Indian society. This is very much a part of the family value system in India.

Performed June 2005 for the Community Theatre Association of Idaho's Festival 2005 at Boise Little Theater

Photo Gallery

Director	Praveen Vaidyanathan
Lights	Vyjayanthi Prasad
Stage Manager	Ashutosh Dighe
Props & Costumes	Pallavi Garg
Make-up	Cecil Kester
Publicity	Geetanjali Tandon
Acknowledgements	CTAI, BLT Crew, Pat Ryan

CAST
Shashadhar Chattopadhyay		Mouli Subramanian
Kaushalya Chattopadhyay		Prithvi Shetty
Kamal		Pradeep Ramani
Dipanka		Deepak Bharadwar
Ashok		Sachin Datar
Shyamoli		Shree Yardi
Subodh		Praveen Vaidyanathan