In a cutthroat industry, where an actor’s worth is often measured in follower counts, not craft, Priyasha Bhardwaj, actor, playwright, and co-founder of Iktara Studios, is trying to change the script. Her one-woman show, Fool Time Actoré, directed by Piyush Kumar, isn’t just a play; it’s a riotous, messy, and deeply vulnerable confession about the exhausting absurdity of surviving as a full-time artiste in Mumbai.
This play is a dive into the whirlwind life of a working actor, as Bhardwaj blends physical comedy, multilingual madness, and a splash of emotional chaos, she flips the script on what it means to survive in the world of show business. Every compelling narrative needs a core conflict, and for Bhardwaj, it was a sudden, silent professional betrayal that became the emotional bedrock of Fool Time Actoré. The play promises to serve up a kaleidoscope of emotions, the classical Navrasas, to prove the actor’s pursuit is a “full-time circus,” but when asked which emotion dominates the actor, Bhardwaj says, “Without a doubt, Bhayanaka (fear) and secondly Raudra (anger).”
Bhardwaj describes the core of the play, “A ‘full-time actor’ is experiencing uncertainty after every audition. The anxious waiting, the fear of rejection, and when you finally see the project and think, ‘I would have portrayed the role so much better’.” Fool Time Actoré is the actor’s defiant response; a stage where they use this fear and fury to bring out their character’s truest potential.
She finds Karuna rasa (deep compassion and empathy) most challenging to incorporate. Perhaps, in this current state of what is going on in the world, it’s the hardest emotion for the professional to afford. Bhardwaj found healing in the craft itself, saying, “During rehearsals, every time I let my mind interfere, I find myself slipping into embarrassment, self-judgement, and vulnerability.” Yet, the stage offers a brutal form of therapy.
The key, she found, was surrender: “The moment I choose to surrender to the craft and shut my mind, something truly raw and beautiful begins to emerge.”
This high-wire act of blending intense physical comedy with profound emotional chaos is where the craft shines. How does she navigate the tightrope walk between eliciting genuine laughter and delivering a sharp, resonant truth? She does this by embracing the complete ethos of the clown. “As a solo actor in an interactive clowning piece, where my director is live-cuing every sound there’s no option but to stay completely present. One has to be ready for anything that could go wrong,” Bhardwaj explains. “In clowning, you are taught to embrace the wrong. The comedy and the truth flow only when she stops trying to control how the audience should feel.”
Moments from the play
The difference between acting, and being is resolved by giving the lead role to her body, not her mind. “In clowning and commedia dell’arte [early form of professional theatre], it’s the body that tells the story, and not the mind, not even the ego,” she states. Her constant effort is not to bring Priyasha on stage at all, not until the curtain call. “This necessitates physically-intense rehearsals, so that the body is trained to take over, and the easier it is to let go of ‘me’.” When asked about her preparation day, Bhardwaj says, “It feels exactly like our play, Fool Time Actoré, which is about a day in the life of an actor — very dramatic.”
On October 29, 8 pm onwards
At Rangshila Theatre, 1st floor, Aram Nagar Part 1, opposite Dhan Co-Operative Housing Building, Versova.
Entry Rs 450
