Stage Review - Guards at the Taj (Pratidhwani / ArtsWest)

Stage Review - Guards at the Taj
Presented By: Pratidhwani / ArtsWest - Seattle, WA
Show Run: September 12 - October 06, 2024
Date Reviewed: Friday, September 13, 2024 (Opening Weekend)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman

I believe the first show I ever saw from Pratidhwani, the organization focused on lifting up South Asian art and artists, was Refugees in the Garden City. I took that in a few years back, Jim Moran’s story of a couple’s attempt to distance themselves from the racism they’ve been dealing with by starting anew in Canada. Directed by David Hsieh, I don’t even recall how I came to know about the play, whether David reached out to me, or whether Pratidhwani’s Artistic Director of their Drama Wing, Agastya Kohli did (I sort of think it was the latter), but I’m glad whoever it was did. In that play, I was introduced not only to this troupe, but also to an actor new to the Seattle stage, and new to the United States, Varun Kainth. I’ve since seen Varun in every show he’s done in the states, but thinking back, I also recall asking Agastya upon seeing him at Seattle Rep one evening when we could expect another show from his group, and he responded (his memory is probably much better than mine, so you’ll have to pardon the paraphrasing), telling me that he wasn’t sure, that coming out of Covid, they were trying to find their feet again. Well, find their feet they did, and I’m so glad. Last season, they put up three one-person plays, including Priyanka Shetty’s masterpiece The Elephant in the Room, as well as two plays from writer Rajiv Joseph, co-produced with David Hsieh’s ReAct Theatre, Animals Out of Paper and Letters of Suresh, “Letters” having just won our award for best play this past weekend at our annual Sound on Stage Theatre Awards celebration. Building on the success of “Letters”, and feeling extremely comfortable with the writer’s work, Pratidhwani’s latest production, again a co-production, this time with ArtsWest, Guards at the Taj represents the third consecutive Rajiv Joseph play that they are putting up, a show that runs on stage at ArtsWest through October 6 and is directed by Samip Raval.

Guards at the Taj tells the story of two palace guards charged with protecting the just completed Taj Mahal at dawn on the day of its unveiling. As the play starts, the first, Humayun takes his place, steadfast and steady. A few moments later, the second, clearly late for his shift, Babur, runs into his place adjacent to his partner. As it turns out, the two are childhood friends, but they bring completely different attitudes to their charge. Humayun, loyal to his emperor, aims to follow the rules, which means no moving, no talking, and certainly no turning to look at the Taj. Babur on the other hand, is a little more lax on his adherence to the rules, he’s like that one kid in the cabin at camp that just won’t stop talking while the others are trying to sleep. He’s got an active imagination, and isn’t afraid to speak what is on his mind, at any time, much to Humayun’s chagrin. In fact, when the Taj is unveiled, and the light hits it a certain way, he throws caution to the wind, his eyes turning to meet the temple, causing him to drop to his knees in absolute wonder, something surely a punishable offense. At first, the relationship between the two is tense, but Babur has a way, through his enthusiasm, to soften Humayun until it appears they are both more at ease with their situation. But it is what happens after the unveiling of the Taj Mahal that causes both of them to question their allegiance to their emperor as well as their friendship. Pulling both from historical fact, as well as a little mythology, Rajiv Joseph puts forth a challenge to these characters, to see how far each will go in the name of loyalty to country and in friendship, and how a trauma shared between two life long friends impacts them both in different, but no less serious, ways.

This is a beautiful story, and for my money the most emotional and heart wrenching of the trilogy of works from this playwright that Pratidhwani has put up. It’s also a breakout role for Varun Kainth. Watching Varun grow as an actor over the past few years has really been a joy, but in Guards at the Taj, he digs deeper emotionally than he’s done previously and turns in a performance that is nothing like I’ve seen from him, it’s that good. As Babur, Varun begins the play as that jovial, full of imagination dreamer, the one that speaks of travel to the stars and other visions of the future. But when he’s called upon to do something so repulsive and so reprehensible by order of his emperor, he descends into an emotional abyss, distraught and hopeless, and the manner in which Varun makes this transition is so real, so believable, and so human, one can’t help but cry out for him in this role. His partner in this, Sumant Gupta, is no slouch either. Both of these characters experience this shared trauma, this act that psychologically it is hard to come back from. And Sumant’s Humayun is called upon in the ultimate test of loyalty vs. friendship, and his internal conflict is palpable. This pair experience so much in the play’s 90-ish minutes, and their work here is just stellar in bringing these characters through their respective and emotional journeys.

It’s not just the acting that makes this such an emotionally charged piece, though. Director Samip Raval’s vision is one that is supported by his entire team, themes and color palettes threaded through each creative aspect of the play to produce a homogeneous work of performance art. The Taj Mahal is not explicitly depicted here, but there’s no doubt in Lex Marcos’ scenic design that it’s there, just beyond where the guards are posted. Jae Hee Kim’s costuming ties in so nicely with Lex’s design, the colors from the guard uniforms seem to extend into the set pieces that flank the actors. Meanwhile, Chih-Hung Shao’s lighting is spectacular. If the only example of Chih-Hung’s work was the scene in which the sun comes up over the brand new Taj Mahal, that work would earn high marks, but it’s as these characters ebb and flow in their emotions that the lighting, as well as Andi Villegas’ sound work, really exceed any expectations. And while each creative aspect of the piece works individually, it’s together as a package that makes Guards at the Taj a winner. I’ll add that the way in which this horrendous act that Humayun and Babur perpetrate is staged is so creative, and so unique, it’s sure to be one of the most memorable takeaways from the play, it surely was for me. Another creative aspect to this is the musical accompaniment, artists Samapada Bhalero and Jayant Bhopatkar playing Sitar and Tabla along with the drama, the pair adding another layer to the mosaic that is this production.

Guards at the Taj is, at its heart, a story of friendship and its perseverance through difficult choices and shared trauma. When two friends are called upon to commit an act so intensely cruel and inhuman, they must come to terms with what they have done, together and on their own. The co-production from Pratidhwani and ArtsWest presents this emotionally charged piece anchored by extremely strong performances from its two actors and a with a design that is sewn together by threads of both hope and despair, coming together to make a work of art that is easily the high water mark to date for a local production of a Rajiv Joseph play.

Guards at the Taj, a co-production from Pratidhwani and ArtsWest runs on the ArtsWest stage through October 6. For more information, including tickets, visit either organizations websites at https://www.pratidhwani.org/ or https://www.artswest.org/.

Photo credit: John McLellan