Bringing Chennai's everyday stories to the stage

CHENNAI: India's oldest English theatre group, The Madras Players, enters its 71st year as it continues to look forward. Its latest production, Minor Disturbances at Grand Life Apartments, adapts Hema Sukumar's acclaimed debut novel into a stage play that celebrates the quiet dramas unfolding behind apartment doors in Chennai.

Directed and adapted by Nikhila Kesavan, president of The Madras Players, the production marks her fifth full-length novel-to-stage adaptation. For Nikhila, the attraction was immediate. "I discovered the novel quite serendipitously through a podcast interview with Hema Sukumar.

What excited me first was that it was set in Chennai. It's rare to come across Indian-English fiction rooted so strongly in this city,” recalls Nikhila.

Set in present-day Chennai, the story follows the residents of Grand Life Apartments. Kamala, who is nearing retirement, counts down the days until her daughter returns from abroad. Revathi, a 32-year-old engineer, faces constant reminders about marriage from her family.

Jason arrives from Canada carrying emotional baggage, while landlord Mani struggles to save the apartment complex from redevelopment. Together, their stories create a portrait of love, loneliness, belonging, and hope.

What appealed to Nikhila was the novel's refusal to rely on dramatic twists. Instead, it focuses on people and conversations. "The plot is not the hero here; the characters are. There is no major reveal or dramatic turn, but it feels almost like watching an OTT series unfold through everyday interactions,” she adds.

Adapting a nearly 300-page novel into a two-hour theatrical experience came with its own challenges. Nikhila says every adaptation begins with two questions: what to retain and how to stage it. While condensing the narrative, she remained committed to preserving the author's voice.

"Every word in the play comes from the novel," she explains. "I work as an editor rather than a writer. My job is to decide what to keep, how to sequence scenes, and how to make them work on stage." The production also embraces a minimalist staging style, allowing audiences to imagine and interpret spaces for themselves. "Theatre should leave room for the audience's imagination," she notes. "You don't have to spoon-feed everything."

Founded in 1955, The Madras Players has mounted more than 300 productions and remains the oldest English theatre group in India with an unbroken history. For Nikhila, staging contemporary Indian writing is central to that legacy. "We have always had a strong commitment to Indian writing in English," she says. "As the oldest English theatre group in India, staying connected with the newest voices in literature is how we remain relevant."

Beyond its literary origins, the play offers something deeply familiar to Chennai audiences. Nikhila hopes viewers will recognise their own lives in the residents of Grand Life Apartments and leave with a sense of warmth.

"I would like audiences to feel they have spent time with their neighbours. It's about the simple joys of life, the small moments that happen before and after the big moments. Nothing loud or dramatic, just a quiet sense of belonging, love, and hope,” concludes the director.

Minor Disturbances at Grand Life Apartments will be staged at Museum Theatre, Egmore, on June 26, 27, and 28 at 7.15 pm.