Actress Minissha Lamba aces the role of a disturbed identical twin in the play Mirror Mirror even though the story falls flat in places, says Ayushi Sharma

A sister is both, your mirror as well as your opposite. Being a sibling is probably the most competitive relationship within a family, but once both grow up, it becomes the strongest one. So what happens when there is no love and only hatred between two sisters? The theatrical drama Mirror Mirror maps the life of identical twins, Minal and  Maanya, and the hatred they harbour for each other.

It is directed by Saif Hyder Hasan, who has also directed plays like Ek Mulaqaat, Gardish Mein Taare and Mr and Mrs Murarilal. Bollywood actress Minissha Lamba, who plays both sisters, has captured the essence of each and every conflict. The story begins with Minal narrating the events that shaped her life compared to Maanya’s, who has always been favoured by her parents. This biased behaviour makes Minal abhor her sister with a vengeance  that turns their lives upside down. She leads a happy childhood till her twin Maanya, who was living with her uncle, is brought back home. This changes Minal’s life and sows the seeds of hate within her. As she grows up, Maanya’s shadow keeps looming over her. She blames everyone from her parents to teachers and friends for preferring Maanya over her.

The first half, during which Minal talks about the incidents that destroyed her life, fails to capture the audience’s interest and falls flat. The director has used a tilted projection to illuminate a path that is a metaphor of her personal journey. The entire play is hypnagogic and dream-like. The stage is designed like a broken house as a metaphor for the state of ruin the family is in. From the audience’s perspective, it is disjointed and that’s what the story is all about. It is scripted in a manner that it takes you into a surreal world then takes you out of it and puts you there back again.

Usually in a solo performance, the actor has a monologue but here, Hasan has created a hook with a character named Rihan to whom Minal talks to. Even with a credible performance by Minissha, the play seems to stall a bit in the middle. The music and background score added value but there were times when it overpowered the character’s voice. The play was a visual treat but the story lacked depth. It is reminiscent of the silly sibling rivalry that everybody indulged in at some point without exploring the core issues of identity.