Oikos (ii-kos)

This show was unlike anything I have seen before. Heavily steeped in Hindi Biblical mythology, 'Oikos' opens on a man, Salil, overworked and frustrated, coming home from work. He is stressed, talking on two phones at once, and clearly exhausted. He remembers the simpler times, back in his home in India. When he and his sister used to play a game that involved a rock, a skip, and good balance.

"Boys don't have good balance!!"

What follows is a tumble through the interesting, but surprisingly normal, lives of 3 family members. Salil, and his wife and daughter. Who are both feeling disconnected from him, as he spends so much time at work. His wife, emotional but unyielding, volunteers for the poorer Chinese people in the area, as she likes their 'family ethics', she is also desperate to reconnect with Salil. His daughter, Lily, is a teenage dirtbag, who frequents parties, and is going through what you would call her 'rebellious' phase. However, Salil is having re-occuring dreams and visions about his life in India, and his family.

We find out later that his family were drowned. Salil blames Gungah, the water god, for taking them away from him, and as we see, his past may come back to haunt him in more ways than one.

The acting is suberb, the setting is intimate, and the storyline is sublime. So different from anything I have ever seen before, and I can only say positive things about it. The way the actors interact with other 'people' (as in, acting with no one there) is incredible. The Oikos Project is indeed a fantastic one, and I believe everyone should go see this show!