Review: DIAL 1 FOR UK at Mukti Manch

Monodramas must be trodden upon carefully. They lie on a thin line between self-indulgence and fear of lack of control. If you let one character do all the thinking, all the talking, all the “being” and all the feeling – there are fewer chances of you making mistakes in empathy, and of course, dialogue writing as well. 

Mathur’s immigration drama, Dial 1 for UK walks comfortably on this line. The verbose nature of the play calms the anxious mind – it reassures the socio-politically hyperaware audience that the writer-director-actor remembers to do all the thinking there is to do, so you can sit back comfortably and enjoy a story oscillating from sad to funny, without worrying about the character forgetting the plot or the plot forgetting its setting. 
Dial 1 for UK is a refreshing entry to Mumbai theatre. It is original (despite its striking resemblance to the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Dunki). It chronicles the aftermath of UK—Uday Kumar’s journey from a call center in New Delhi to the United Kingdom, introducing us to the highs and lows of an immigrant’s life. However, an audience member's compassion might be weakened in a moment or two when the political commentary seems more lamented than lived.   

The writing is laden with macabre humor, making the audience an awkward witness to a young man’s loneliness and inability to come to terms with the direction his once bright life has taken. Dial 1 for UK is Tennessee-esque in its mawkish portrayal of (the British equivalent of the) Great American Dream – molding it into the Great Influencer Dream. It borrows the passion of William’s kitchen-sink existentialism and brings a new-age hyperreal twist to it, where all possible people in the lonely protagonist’s life disappear – only to reappear fragmented in his anxieties. 

Mohit Mathur shines as Uday Kumar, any onlooker will not be able to peel their eyes away from his efficacious stage presence. Uday Kumar’s political equivocations about exploitation in Indian call centers and in the British healthcare system are made sincere by Mathur’s unfeigned energy. The drama makes use of a “mood board,” building on its expressionist ideas – an attempt that could have been explored more through music and the stage paraphernalia. The expressionist setting is often diluted by exposition, giving the audience very little time to identify or understand Uday Kumar. Lastly, some of the 

You can find tickets for Dial 1 for UK and other upcoming listings by Mohit Mathur here.

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