MEZOK by Jyoti Dogra Show #06 – In Residence Chapter #02
MEZOK is a collection of stories woven into a physical narrative examining the nature of desire, a snow-covered mountain, and the system we find ourselves in.
A table with an under shelf and a person called Pavitra Kumar is at the center of the piece. The table becomes a vehicle for exploring spaces held together by the pieces of wood, while Pavitra Kumar explores spaces held together between dreams and reality, language and lullabies,
desire and distances.
A bank employee yearning to see the mountain,
A watchman at a mall dreaming of his home on the mountain
A young woman in a small flat in Mumbai thinking of her home in the hills
A young driver dreaming of a life in Canada
A young girl running a shop on the mountain who prays to it every day, wishing to move to a big city
A mountain that makes wishes come true
Wishes that move mountains
And the bureaucratic red tape that ties all this together through an endless maze of application forms, identity cards, permits, licenses, permanent addresses, passport numbers, account numbers, block numbers, room numbers, window numbers, and token numbers.
MEZOK moves through multiple narratives that are corporal in nature using the table as a set, a co-actor, as abstract space along with physical and aural imagery using gestures, sounds [mumblings/chants/ songs], and spoken text. The piece does not look to convey the specific details of these stories so much as to use them as provocations evoking a sense of the world that we find ourselves in – a maze of systems, processes, and numbers as we maneuver our way through it carrying our dreams and desires with us.
SCHEDULE
November 30
19:30 – In Conversation with Jyoti Dogra
December 01
15:00 – Open Rehearsal
December 04
17:00 – Workshop by Jyoti Dogra
December 05
19:00 – MEZOK Premiere
December 06
19:00 – MEZOK #Show 02
December 07
17:00 – MEZOK #Show 03
20:30 – MEZOK #Show 04
December 08
17:00 – MEZOK #Show 05
20:30 – MEZOK #Show 06
Cast and Credits
Devised and performed by – Ambika Kamal, Jai Prakash Kumar, Naveen Kumar J, Pranshu Shrimali, Pranjal Vaid, Tsering Lhamo.
Costume Design – Pallavi Patel
Light Design – Jose Koshy
Sound Design – Kaizad Gherda
Table Design – Siddharth Sirohi, Baro Design
Production Head – Sachin Kamani
Writing and Direction – Jyoti Dogra
Rehearsal Residency Courtesy – Nirdigandha
Produced by G5A Forum and Jyoti Dogra
MEZOK is supported by BNP Paribas
Additional support by Meena Gonsalves
Many thanks to Prakash Raj, Akhil Wable, Shed 9, Anoop Gupta, Marie-Hélène Zérah, Anuj Chopra, Dhruv Malick, Puneet Nanda, Anya Ghai, Seema Bhatia and Rehaan Engineer.
G5A forum
produces and co-creates interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary work that is bold, experimental, and just.
In Residence, a production series, creates space for practitioners to explore their craft, form, and expression to consistently and rigorously refine their practice. Each production is hosted over an extended duration at the warehouse, enabling work that is multidisciplinary and grounded in traditional and contemporary performance methods.
