'After our own verse, after all our subtle colour and nervous rhythm, after the faint mixed tints of Conder, what more is possible? After us, the Savage God.' - Yeats
'America Hurrah (India Oye)' unites three sequences which embody Indian, American - and indeed, universal - society & culture bred alienation, disaffection and desperation. Written by Jean-Claude van Itallie & premiered in 1966, the production transcends time, circumstance and location. When it premiered, it was an early expression of the burgeoning 60s counterculture, expressing discontent with American consumerism and involvement in the Vietnam War. The play stands strong even today, reflecting how little and how much change in civilization.
The first sequence titled 'Interview' examines the mechanization of life in modern urban society through forms of verbal and physical choreography. A series of interviews disseminates to reveal a street, leading to various situations which further illustrate helplessness, desperation, anonymity and institutionalized dehumanization.
The second sequence 'TV' talks about how mass media defines and trivializes the same people who feed off of it. Situational comedies & dramatic Westerns on the television mirror the 'real life' scenario unfolding right in front of the box, revealing the frustrating difference between the two worlds - one where the answers are readily available, and problems can be solved by a song or a stylishly brandished cigarette, and one where emotions are not linear, and people are not cardboard cutouts.
The final sequence 'Motel' brings one word to the viewer's mind - annihilation. The story depicts the destructiveness that results from the anomie & eventual ennui of a materialistic, consumer society. It is based on juxtapositions - of civilization & savagery, harmony & disorder, and the nostalgic past & the terrifying present.
The Indian adaptation developed and devised by the director & the cast attempts to capture the essence of the original play, while still shaping it off the Indian psyche.
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