JEONA MANAH HAI (LIVING IS FORBIDDEN)

Set in a grocery warehouse , the play “Jeona Manah Hai” charts the tragedy of a human - a senseless puppet stuck in the past who is being led by his unconscious behaviour. The characters are a community of immigrant workers from all walks of life representing the lifespan between the ages of 18-70. These immigrants are forced to leave their motherland due to the political and socio-economic system and migrate to foreign countries in the hopes of having a better future. Unfortunately, they end up living in duality of never truly belonging to their new adopted home, nor being able to return to their homeland. They end up becoming the ultimate victim of their harsh reality, eventually realizing that perhaps life was better back home where they had a sense of belonging.

“Jeona Manah Hai” represents the hopelessness felt by not only these immigrant workers, but collectively by humankind, where one is never fully satisfied because of the tragedies brought upon themselves due to their fixed life pattern and unconscious behaviour, resulting in frustration and unhappiness.

The grocery warehouse where the play takes place metaphorically represents the boundaries of a human’s mind. The workers get stuck in a box and are unable to get out of the trap set by their own mind. Will these characters become the anomaly amongst humankind and successfully escape their harsh reality to reach a conscious way of living, or will they perish to their own tragedies?