TimeOut Magazine
September 2005
The Masrayana
A review by Christopher Piatt
The Masrayana is written with the simplicity of a children’s book. And indeed, even its production has a few of the trimmings of library-hour storytelling. In Kovacsik’s tale of an Indian man (Zaman) cast out of society when his identity is stolen by his younger brother, the many scenes are connected by a grandfatherly narrator (Rita) reading long passages to us in calm, beddy-bye tones. It’s a highly economical way to tell a story; it allots for long stretches of time to pass in a reasonable way, and it allows for the entry of other nontraditional elements�including sudden, vibrant dances�to integrate themselves seamlessly. In this promising debut from Rasaka (coproduced by Prop Thtr), it also stakes a stylistic claim.
What this minimal narrative doesn’t allow for is suspense, which is unfortunate in this case. The Masrayana by no means needs to be a balls-out thriller; that would compromise its message of the importance of individuality. But when we see how easy it is to have someone declared dead in India, the possibilities are more hair-raising than they are inspiring. Yet inspiration is something for which Jethmalani’s clean, forthright production strives.
With the same fine cast, 15 fewer minutes and a larger space to accommodate those spectacular dances, the event would be considerably more taut. As is, it’s difficult to raise the stakes when all the characters speak in the same voice: the author’s.