Marriage-ology: Portraying different facets of matrimony

“What is it that the milkman did to convince you to marry me that I couldn’t do?” A burst of laughter and a loud applause was followed by this line as nobody anticipated that the verbal banter between two loved ones could ever end well.

It drives you crazy, makes you laugh, cry but brings out the best and the worst in you. It’s marriage. And there is no better play than Marriage-ology that shows all these different emotions and experiences in a relatable manner. The play took place at the Nehru Memorial Hall on July 10.  

The 90-minute play is directed by Sunil Shanbag and Sapan Saran and is divided into eight different segments. Each scene tells a different story about the experience of two people bonded into the institution of marriage. The segments comprise characters that are either young and in love, trying to rediscover love in their middle-age or accepting love in form of care in an older age.

From etching out the problems between married individuals who are working, using sweet words to make moments special, highlighting the struggle couples go through while trying to maintain a long-distance relationship, bringing out the beauty of companionship in old age, to debating about the politics of having an open marriage, this play will make couples, both young and old, laugh and cry as they can all relate to the verbal duels.

Some of the works are inspired by Khaled Hosseini, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Shafiq-ur-Rahman while the other scenes are written by the directors themselves. This play does not just highlight married couples as happy and satisfied but it digs deeper into the troubles and sadness they have gone through to stay together.

Vijayta Lalwani