Date night with Nagib took us to Crow’s Theatre for A Fine Balance, adapted by Anosh Irani from Rohinton Mistry’s novel and directed by Chris Abraham.
We went because we’re fans of Husein Madhavji. We left moved by an entire company of actors who poured their hearts into the performance. The audience gave that love right back.
Against the turmoil of India’s Emergency, four people from very different backgrounds find their lives intertwined. Watching their bonds develop, you begin to care deeply about what happens to them.
Zorana Sadiq’s Dina held the play together for me. Layer by layer, we watched her change. Anand Rajaram brought such understated passion to Ishvar, the uncle. You wanted so desperately for life to give him a chance.
Alongside them, Ben Yoganathan’s Omprakash and Siddharth Sharma’s Maneck completed the unlikely foursome at the heart of the story. Four different lives, becoming deeply important to one another – and to us.
Husein Madhavji and Sugith Varughese, each taking on multiple roles, brought the wider world into that intimate story. Six actors. So much humanity.
Having both Rohinton Mistry and Anosh Irani in the audience made the evening even more special.
“Depressingly beautiful” is how I would describe it. There was so much suffering to sit with. And so much tenderness. People finding ways to care for one another when there was so little they could control.
I came home thinking about that fine balance. How we keep making room for hope, even when despair has every reason to move in.
If you missed it at Crow’s, the production moves to Soulpepper’s Baillie Theatre from January 14 to February 7, 2027.
This one stays with you.
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