Aaron Sorkin’s A Few Good Men is known for its ‘electric dialogues’ and those who have watched the 1992 Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise starrer would vouch for it. However, it’s not known widely in the popular domain that the film is based on the 1989 play written by Sorkin.
The courtroom drama kicks off the fifth edition of Aadyam Theatre on July 20 in Mumbai. Nadir Khan, who has directed the stage adaptation in India, says, “The play chose me. I didn’t really choose it. I was approached by the producers with the script and asked whether I’d like to do it for this season of Aadyam.”
He had watched the film years ago and knew that it was a gripping story. Khan, who has previously directed 12 Angry Jurors for Aadyam, adds, “Honestly, after spending pretty much all of last year completely immersed in #Sing India Sing, I thought of taking a break this time around. But from the moment I read the script, I was hooked. Sorkin’s writing would mean nothing less than a cracking script. I realised that this was an opportunity I couldn’t let go out of my hand! And, the chance of making it from scratch at Aadyam, was the added cherry on top!”
The director, who has never seen a stage version of the play, explains that the only association he has with the text is through the film. Says he, “Actually, A Few Good Men existed as a play script first, in 1989 which was later adapted by Sorkin for the screen in 1992. I discovered this after I started researching the play, on receiving a green light from Aadyam.”
The story and the script exist entirely from the world of the American military, the US Marine Corps and the US Navy JAG Corps. So when we ask if the audience would see any Indian references to the play, Khan answers in negative. “Any attempt of putting an Indian touch would be quite redundant since the text resides, very specifically in that world of American military. Speaking of the themes and context, questions and moral/ethical debates are pretty much universal to any government military institution. Especially in the world scenario today, any sort of adaptation of the dialogue, text or location would only serve to confuse and dilute the original constructs,” he points out.
It being a courtroom drama, the team (Rajit Kapur, Ira Dubey, Neil Bhoopalam and others) had to constantly go back and forth between numerous, specific oriented locations. “To do full justice to Sorkin’s electric, fast-paced writing, we needed to make sure those transitions were seamless. Juhie Gupta, our set designer, has come up with a great set design that allows us to go with that pace. So, now we are super excited that we can make it happen! Indian audiences are pretty much like any other audience. As long as you keep them engaged with a good storyline, they’ll be with you no matter how long a show goes on. However, if you drop the ball, they’re ruthless. Therefore, the onus is on us to work hard and keep them interested,” says Khan.
When you are dealing with a text that has been made into such an iconic film with such iconic performances, comparisons are inevitable. “Therefore, one needs to be very careful and specific while casting. Considering anything less than the A-team would be a disservice to the text. Luckily we have managed to pick out the best ones for our play! We had a very unequivocal idea of who we wanted for each role and somehow all the loose ends fell in place and it happened. I couldn’t be happier with the cast I have!,” he says, adding, “We have scheduled three shows in Delhi in September with Aadyam. Looking forward to it!”
ST READER SERVICE
A Few Good Men will be staged at St Andrews auditorium in Mumbai on July 20 at 7.30 pm
