A Fine Balance

[kelda holmes]

“A Fine Balance” ( a Tamasha production, back at the Hampstead Theatre for a limited run) is a tapestry of interwoven stories, set against the backdrop of 1975 India. The play follows the trials and tribulations of a handful of colourful characters, who are struggling with the hardships that the state of emergency is imposing upon them.

The play flits between different classes and castes, and between interior and exterior locations. On the streets we are introduced to a monkey man with a vengeful nature, a brutal and sentimental beggar (both superbly played by Taylan Halici) and two lower caste tailors. In the home we find a financially compromised widow and her student lodger, whose lives are altered by the arrival of these two village tailors.

But to what extent are their lives really altered and, as a member of the audience, has the performance succeeded in making me care? Sadly, the answer is not really, and that’s what makes it an unsatisfying two and a half hours (including the interval)

Perhaps there were too many people to care about, and perhaps insufficient caring on stage. Whilst these characters readily share their resentments, sadness and aspirations with whoever’s willing to listen, most of them don’t seem to be interested in listening to, or learning from each other. The one exception to this is the open minded student lodger. He, however, disappears for eight years and becomes completely tunnel visioned in the process. The audience are not enlightened as to how this change of attitude has come about.

And perhaps herein lies the real problem for me - that the choices made by the characters seem more informed by the writer’s agenda than the characters’ psyches. What a shame.