Acclaimed Indian actor Vkinn Vats brings his highly anticipated monodrama The World of Madness to premiere at Prague Fringe, and it certainly lives up to its title. But don’t be put off—this is not the madness of stupidity or tomfoolery, but rather the madness that can overtake the mind and afflict the body.
A moving multi-sensory experience.
The fusion of words, often in poetic form, an evocative soundscape, startling lighting, and fiery physicality creates a moving, multi-sensory experience. The episodic storyline explores events and mood changes, beginning in relative stability and Bollywood dreams, progressing through a relationship, a breakup, a decline, a devastating drug-fueled breakdown, and culminating in a warzone denouement. The melting pot contains grief, love, expressions of masculinity, and a search for identity. The effect is cumulative, with each stage of the journey raising the emotional intensity, drawing us deeper into his turmoil and gripping tribulations. As Vats himself says, "Prepare to be transported into a kaleidoscopic fever dream of love, war, betrayal, and the fragile line between sanity and salvation."
I’ll let him explain further the complex cross-genre work he has created. For him, it "explores the fractured psyche of a 'mama’s boy' who lands in La-La Land—not the Hollywood of dreams, but the underbelly of human contradictions... (and) confronts the ultimate human dilemma: To forgive or to avenge? To surrender or survive? To stay silent, or become the scream the world can’t ignore?”
As both performer and creator, Vats wrote and directed this drama in a very short time. While the work has strong emotional impact, it would benefit from further development, revision, and editing to make it tighter. It could use another pair of eyes—perhaps those of Neha Jethva, who, with Vats, co-founded Shooting Star Studios, a company dedicated to creating "theatrical experiences that transcend borders and cultures."
Whatever form its next iteration takes, this moving production is one to watch.
