Jump Teaser: A black comedy about life, death & everything in between

Описание: A successful female executive is ready to commit suicide by jumping off a roof when a male cab driver saves her, leading to the collision of two completely opposite worlds and sparking a conversation about life, death, and everything in between.

Jump is set on the rooftop of a building in a city. A successful female corporate executive is standing on the edge of the roof, ready to commit suicide. Just in time, a male cab driver intervenes and saves her. This sets the stage for a collision between two completely opposite worlds, personalities, circumstances, beliefs, and perspectives.

Despite their contrasting socio-economic classes, backgrounds, and lifestyles, this unusual encounter leads to a night of pure and simple human connection.

Will the man be able to truly save her, or will she be back to jump again?

The play will explore the themes of suicide, depression, loneliness, happiness, love, having or not having a purpose in life, and ultimately death, creating an emotionally complex and thought-provoking experience for the audience. Jump delves into the human psyche, showcasing the struggles, challenges, and aspirations of two very different individuals who would never meet in normal circumstances but find a unique connection in the most unexpected of places and in their shared humanity.


DIRECTOR'S NOTE
Apart from being an actor and director, I’m also a professional mountaineer. In October 2022, I was part of an advanced mountaineering course where we were trying to summit a mountain in Himalayas. An avalanche came, and we lost 29 people out of a batch of 53 people. I somehow survived the incident and escaped death. The incident changed me, my core beliefs, and my perspective on living life. For the first time, I felt depressed and tried therapy. The incident left me with a lot of questions. Questions, which I’m still trying to answer.

WHO recently declared loneliness a ‘global public health concern’. In India, 1 in every 5 individuals suffers from some form of mental health illness, and over 2.6 lakh cases of suicide occur in a year. Given these alarming numbers, mental health is still at a very early stage in India.

In a post-pandemic world, the alarming rise in suicide, depression, and loneliness rates around the world shows that our pursuit of success and materialistic goals doesn’t lead us to genuine happiness and fulfilment. In the world of social media, because of personal, sociological, political, and geographical reasons, we feel disconnected more than ever before. We often witness instances where seemingly successful and happy individuals suddenly take their own lives. In spite of the number of self-help books, motivational speakers, and influencers preaching about finding life’s purpose, a significant portion of us are just trying to survive.

Our individual perspectives play a significant role in shaping our lives. We tend to surround ourselves with like-minded people who share similar perspectives. We believe that our own perspective is the ultimate and only valid one. If we look closely enough, all the conflicts in the world are just a clash of different and opposing perspectives.

The essence of Jump lies in the collision of these two contrasting characters, identities, perspectives, lifestyles, and worlds within a highly unusual situation.

CAST & CREW
Female Actor: Vidushi Chadha
Male Actor: Sandeep Shikhar
Writer & Director: Maneesh Verma
Dramaturg: Akhshay Gandhi
Associate Director & Lights: Vishal
Scenography: Maneesh Verma
Production Manager: Monika Gupta
Soundscape: Sahil Vaid
Song Music Producer: Kaizad Gherda
Song Lyrics & Music: Asif Ali Beg
Song Singer: Shazneen Arethna
Special Thanks: Kalyani Hiwale, Harsh Khurana, Tushar Pandey
Produced by: Collective Madness Studio
Commissioned by: Serendipity Arts Festival 2023
Jump is inspired from “Umbrella” written by Larry Pontius

MORE INFO:
https://collectivemadness.co.in/jump/

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