Pune: A youth named Nobody showcases the challenge of art, well-being and struggles of being a young artist in a 70-minute play, Four Horsemen of Name, Fame, Pain and Death, that is a satirical take on society’s ignorance about mental health.The play addresses the concerns through the lens of four characters. Filmmaker Guru Dutt, author Sylvia Plath and painter Van Gogh — known for mental health struggles reflected in their literary works and real life — as well as Shakespearean character Hamlet.The Clay Cart Theatre presents the play with Kashmira as the creative producer and art director, Shounak as production manager and Mustakim Shaikh responsible for lights. It is an attempt to address the mental health of artists and creative people and how society is apparently the root cause of their problems. The production explores society, love, parenting, history and education, portraying how these forces shape the mind of sensitive individuals.Writer, director and protagonist Rushikesh Jadhav inspiration to write and enact in the play came from witnessing the works of Dutt, Plath and Gogh — who died by suicide while they struggled with their lives, art and its clash with the society.The production is presented as an interactive performance divided into four stages. A day before his first therapy session, the protagonist emulates the four characters in anticipation of what his actual session would look like. He addresses his questions and concerns in a circular setup like a group therapy, as he holds the society accountable for making him the person he has become.Jadhav said, “I started to realise how the society ignores artists when they are alive and praises them, while expropriating their art, when they are gone. This motivated my writing.”Initially, the production started as a tour called Theatre on Wheels in south India. The first show premiered on Oct 10, 2025, observed as World Mental Health Day and also the death anniversary of Dutt. It will be staged for the sixth time in Pune on Thursday at Sudarshan Rangmanch at 7pm.Jadhav said people only like art that flatters their ego and when an artist questions them, he becomes an outcast. “The main challenge I faced with the play was the responsibility and fear that come with addressing mental health struggles — given its sensitive nature as also the misinformation and taboo associated with it,” he added.Jadhav spoke about art production in the age of social media. “The problem is people are insensitive to actual artworks, due to exposure to algorithms and machine-generated art. The quality of art has depreciated, resultantly. However, I am hopeful that better days are ahead. Theatre is the space where real humans with souls perform on stage,” he added.
