Listening to the war-reports of the US spiraling in Iraq through the radio, Iman Singh (played by Ankit Khadka), a retired army captain, complains to his wife (enacted by Supriya Rana), “Suddam Hussain is making such big bombs to threaten Amrika, what has your prodigal son achieved?” Iman Singh is frustrated by his aloof teenage son, Rajkumar (played by Rohit Paudyal), who has picked up the habit of stealing money from his family to gamble with other village boys.

Iman Singh exudes love for Rajkumar only when he has fulfilled his expectations. Otherwise, Iman’s unnamed wife has to suffer her husband’s wrath for “spoiling ‘her’ son.” Such is the premise of Metacid (which is currently ongoing at Mandala), written and directed by debutant Prem Barsa Khadka. 

Metacid continues the tradition of other original Nepali productions such as Ghodchadi (staged in September at Shilpee), and Masantaar (staged in December at Mandala) in drawing out stories from a rural landscape. But Metacid rises over the debris of other productions, because it steers clear from stereotyping its characters, while also avoids unnecessary histrionics.

The play, in other words, is a proper reflection of village life; that makes the audience aware of the patriarchy prevalent in rural Nepal. 

The conflict in the play arises because Iman Singh, like a typical  father figure in this country, rushes into an ill-thought out decision, which leads to violent outbursts.

The tragic climax of the play is a culmination of all the granular conflicts that are comical at first. The simple yet captivating story of the play is well driven by its actors, who are engaging throughout, and is also backed by the seamless transitions between the scenes, and the stellar set. 

When light falls on stage for the play to begin, one is immediately mesmerised by the set which has a rustic village house where much of the play takes place.

The leftover corn from the previous harvest with its husk intact on the ceiling, a radio mounted on the column, a photo of the murdered monarchs on the back wall, along with other small fixtures in the set help contextualise the time period of the play.

Nothing is overtly announced or explicitly drawn attention to, and as a consequence, the audience has to actively participate in piecing the narrative together. The play is a lively example that theatre at its best is a dialogue between the actors, the story, and the audience. At the end of the play, the performance still reverberates in us. We realise that it’s a crisis that needs to be addressed as a society. 

But then the play, though a hill higher compared to the quality of other original productions of late, is still not able to achieve the gravitas it is capable of. The story, and the performance of the play lingers with us for a short while, but the sharp pain that such a story should have conveyed is not quite felt.

This happens because the play is elongated beyond the story’s capacity. The play, taking its time to draw out the rustic setting, runs for almost an hour and a half, and though the play is worthwhile, it can also bring out easy yawns at times when the story seems to be losing steam. 

The stagnation happens, as we have seen in previous plays as well, when there are elongated scenes that could have been shortened. While depicting village life, remaining accurate to the subject has its merits, but lingering too much on such descriptive aspects of the setting may also threaten to dilute the other qualitative aspects of the play. But to the actors’ credit, they manage to hold attention at times when the play veered into mediocrity. 

The play could have been better if it had also focused on the aftermath of the crisis wrought by a culture driven by masculinity. But let us not get bogged down by wishful thinking because a review is not about what could have been, but what is: The actors on stage, the set, the story, the idyllic village life, and what is shown on stage is still worth your time.

Metacid is currently ongoing at Mandala Theatre, Anamnagar, at 5:15 pm until April 1.