Each nameless character is drawn with psychological depth and layered motivations. Paralkar, a physician-scientist, melds medical realism and metaphysical debate, wry humor and somber observations to create a riveting and intriguing tale.
It's the kind of concept that would make a perfect Twilight Zone episode, or a great low-budget horror movie ... The drama necessary to carry such a claustrophobic scenario doesn't manifest. Part of the problem is that the characters always remain at a distance. We don't really get to know the people on display, except for the surgeon at the center of the tale ... The doctor has the seeds of an interesting story ... the other characters all seem rather lifeless — bad pun, I know — compared to him ... When you're setting up a play in a single room with only a few characters, you need to crank up the temperature with all of them, but the water never quite boils over during Night Theater, and the metaphysical questions it asks are not terribly interesting ... At his best, Paralkar also evokes a vivid sense of place, and his knowledge of medical procedures — he's a physician — also shows during the detailed surgical scenes. It's in those moments that Night Theater really blooms.
Within the text, surgery procedures are prominent with medical details. Saheb’s abrasive personality becomes more sympathetic as his backstory comes to light. The novel leaves important plot questions unanswered but ends on what the characters see as a hopeful note ... an imaginative novel that tackles questions about the purpose of life through characters who, when left to choose, find both pros and cons in the afterlife, too.
