by Michele Markarian
“Guards at the Taj” – Written by Rajiv Joseph; Directed by Gabriel Vega Weissman. Presented by Underground Railway Theater at Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge through April 1.
A few years ago I drove to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. Words can’t begin to describe how magnificent it was – I wanted to live in its shimmering beauty and sleep in its shadow. Hard to imagine how brilliant the Taj must have looked at its unveiling in 1648, but luckily, we don’t have to – we can see it reflected on the faces of Humayun (Jacob Athyal) and Babur (Harsh J. Gagoomal) in Underground Railway’s fantastic, funny, and tragic production of Rajiv Joseph’s “Guards at the Taj”.
Humayun and Babur are close friends and lowly guards, working at a post that nobody wants – guarding the Taj Mahal at dawn, which has been under construction for sixteen years and hidden by screens. The autocratic Shah Jahan is building this monument as a mausoleum for his beloved wife, and the guards are not allowed to gaze upon it. Humayun does not take his job lightly – he is belittled by a father who, as he says, “yearns for my defeat”. Guards are not supposed to talk, a rule that the garrulous and fanciful Babur does not take seriously. Babur is a sensitive soul with an inventive mind (one of his ideas is a flying palanquin he calls an “aeroplat”). When dawn arrives, Babur dares to look at the Taj, convincing Humayun to do the same. Reza Behjat’s artful lighting and the look of wonderment on their faces says it all.
Humayun hears a rumor that architect Ustad Isa has had the temerity to ask Shah Jahan if the 20,000 workers who built this majestic building could see it. Shah Jahan is so deeply offended by this request that he demands that Ustad Isa and the 20,000 workers be dealt a horrific punishment. As the lowest of the low, Humayan and Babur are asked to execute the punishment. Which, viewing public, is the gory part of the show. But don’t panic. Stay with these guys. The task and the ruler that ordered it affects them both in different ways, and splinters their friendship irreparably.
It’s an interesting play, because the men represent two different points of view, both whom only really intersect in a vulnerable way after they have carried out the punishment. Humayan is a guy who plays by the rules – “There’s either allegiance to the king, or death”. He knows his place in the pecking order isn’t great, and wants to curry favor so that he can rise. Babur is more rebellious – he has no use for a system that is cruel and unjust. But he’s not strong enough to change it. Instead he talks about running away, living in nature. Shah Jahan has declared the Taj Mahal the last and only beautiful thing ever to be built in Agra, which is why workers must be punished, and this is not something Babur can live with. “I killed beauty.” he mourns, while Humayan urges him, with false cheerfulness, to “brag about it”.
Director Gabriel Vega Weissman has managed to cast a dream team with Athyal and Gagoomal, who project an uneasy arc of affection that rises and falls throughout the piece, as old friends with different temperaments will have. Athyal plays Humayan with heartbreaking restraint as he struggles with doing the “right” thing. Gagoomal’s Babur is goofy, more buoyant, which belies a deeper integrity and thoughtfulness. Both actors have wonderful comic timing, which works well against some of the script’s more sorrowful moments.
Grace Laubacher’s amazing set – I don’t envy the crew – lends another layer of credibility to this deeply funny, deeply disturbing, and always riveting tale. For more info, go to: https://www.centralsquaretheater.org/
