‘The Mascots’ comes to Dubai
“Don’t you think the poet is the ghost of his own past or maybe it’s his own past that’s haunting him and he’s talking in metaphors and he is trapped in a perpetual loop just like all of us, where there’s no end and when there seems to be an end, it’s a new beginning of the same loop?”
Is society trying to bake a mould for artists? Somewhere where there is creativity but it’s under control? It’s the job of an artist to make one uncomfortable, to force us to hone in on home truths and to face them, is it not?
And yet, people try to dampen the whiplash that comes with honesty and a fresh perspective. Or at least that’s what happened when playwright Amaan Ahmad first had a story to share; he was told to make it more palatable, ‘lighter’. And so the idea of The Mascots, his upcoming production, was born.
The many layered play shall hit the Warehouse Four stage in Al Quoz on December 16.
“This dark comedy revolves around the absurdities of existence and society’s role in bending an artist (here, the Poet) to follow certain norms to be accepted in the world of art and society,” says the press release.
In it, adds the statement, “a Person wakes up in the world of “nowhere” with no prior memory. Two “things” barge in and decide to call themselves The Mascots. Intense confusion brews until the Poet breaks into the scene with his lyrical poems. The invisible Arbitrator attempts to take matters into their own hands, causing the dramatic crescendo to peak even further. Absurdity brews existential mischief that leaves us in stitches.”
Ahmad wants people to think, to consider, to change their ideas about art and art-creators. He says ahead of the show, “What I want people to think about is the situation of the current artist and originality, because originality is missing in the theatre industry. I want to bring that true essence of art.”
People tend to get swept away by life’s tides and everyone has moments of crisis, but art should be cathartic and help people get over things, to let go of things.
And to let the artist breathe.
“I've been working for the past more than 10 years to actually voice this thing, ‘What are you gonna do once the artist [passes] away? You're just going to sell their work? [If you are going to do that when] they're not there, [instead] focus on the current artists, and then the quality of art, should emerge,” he says.
This isn’t the first time the play is being performed – it was in the spotlight on December 8. “We received a good response, pretty good response. People liked the script and the direction and also the light setup and acting and everything. They said that it hit them philosophically. They said that they left with a lot of existential questions,” he adds.
If the point of an artist’s work is to make another think, to shift a sense of narrative, The Mascots begins by showing you a mirror. And asking you to think.
The details
Tickets to see The Mascots at Warehouse Four in Al Quoz are Dh120. They are available at Platinumlist.net