KATHMANDU: Khariko Ghero soars with humour, romance, and unexpected twists of plot. Translated from German playwright Bertolt Brecht’s masterpiece of hope, humanity and justice, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, the play has been produced in Nepali by Aarohan Gurukul.

Directed by Max Webster and Mia Theil Have, Khariko Ghero was staged for the first time on March 26 at Gurukul.

Enacted in five different scenes with two parts, the play portrays a country ravaged by war where poverty, deprivation and sufferings are common among people. In the first part traitors behead the king and start a revolution in the country, while the queen escapes leaving behind her new born son Manohar. Gita, the queen’s maid who is in love with a soldier named Sundar, escapes taking Manohar along with her to protect him from the traitors. She goes to a remote village and unwillingly gets married to another man.

The second part narrates the story of Akkal Bahadur, a drunk, cynical chauvinist, who after being appointed as judge keeps on making illogical judgements. His justice has more to do with common sense than legality. At this time the queen returns to her country and claims Manohar’s custody because all the property is in his name. But Gita also claims his custody. The case reaches Akkal Bahadur, who in order to solve the case keeps Manohar making a chalk-drawn circle. Then he announces that the one able to pull Manohar out of the circle will get the child. The story unravels with lots of twists and turns providing full entertainment to the audience.

The interesting aspect of the play is the way narration is carried out in songs. Playing the lead role of Gita, Pashupati Rai has presented her acting talent with dexterity throughout the play. Sunil Pokharel as Akkal Bahadur and the singing narrator has successfully conveyed the moral the play is trying to project very effectively. Sarita Giri as the queen has done full justice to the character as the audience instantly takes to disliking the queen. Bhola Raj Sapkota provides one of the funniest scenes as a cheap monk. Rajkumar Pudasaini showcases the evil side of the king’s brother with aplomb, while Pravin Khatiwada, as Sundar, stands out with his commendable performance.

The versatile and multifunctional set keeps changing as the scenes progress. The live music by Night band adds liveliness to the whole play.

Talking about the relevance of the play in Neplai context, director Webster said, “The play deals with Nepali politics indirectly by saying something universal and poetic about justice which can be applied to the Nepali situation, rather than directly commenting on particular events.”

The play will be restaged from April 6 to May 1 everyday except on Mondays.