10-day theatre fiesta comes to end

Neha Saini
Tribune News Service

Aakash during the festival. Tribune photos

Amritsar, December 17
The 10-day theatre fiesta came to an end only to leave the audience asking for more and with performing theatre groups happily obliging. The annual National Theatre Festival organised by Manch Rangmanch at Punjab Natshala drew curtains with Draupadi, a play directed by Chandradasan. And going by the success of the 10-day event, the organisers are content that Amritsar has finally arrived on the theatre map of the country.

“We had already hosted some of the best theatre groups with our national and international theatre festivals. And this time too, the audience support and encouragement has made us plan these events frequently,” shared Kewal Dhaliwal, organiser and a prominent theatre personality from the city.

The theatre festival hosted 10 theatre groups from across the length and breadth of the country, right from Jammu and Kashmir to Kerala, Jodhpur to Kolkata. With critically acclaimed plays like Draupadi, Math Ke Raste Me Ek Din, Yamlila and Karmawali being staged, the festival was high on theatre ethics and quality performances. Some of the theatre groups and directors seemed quite impressed by Amritsar’s support towards theatre.

“It was an amazing experience being a part of the National Theatre Festival here in the holy city. I am thankful to the audience for their support and full attendance during all 10 days. The festival was an excellent mix of classic, folk and contemporary theatre and brought together some of the most popular and acclaimed theatre artistes from the country,” shared Suresh Bharadwaj, a noted theatre person and director of the play ‘Math Ke Raste Me Ek Din’.

Suresh was impressed by the venue chosen. “Punjab Natshala is an amazing cultural and theatre space created with the right amount of ambience and technical support. It’s probably one-of-its-kind in the country,” he said.

Likewise, Bahrul Islam and Sharad Sharma, who brought their plays ‘Akaash’ and ‘Arey Sharif Log’ at the festival, too felt that Amritsar has picked up pace with the other noted theatre hubs in the country.

“It’s not just about quality theatre, but also its implementation and understanding. The city has a good theatre audience and its encouragement enough for any theatre artistes to come and perform again,” said Sharad Sharma.

As for the future plans, Kewal Dhaliwal is hopeful that bigger and better theatre events become calendar activity in the holy city. “Artists in the city have shared the responsibility along with the artists nationwide to promote the cause of theatre in the city. If only the government would take note and chip in with some assistance, we can have more such activities on a much better scale.”

Paying respect to womanhood through ‘Draupadi’

Neha Saini
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 16

Draupadi, as most would agree is the most prominent and fancied character from Mahabharat. There have been many inspired writings and portrayals of the character considered a strong embodiment of Indian womanhood.

And so the dramatised and a contemporary version of the character was at the centre of things when Lokadharmi Theatre Group presented Draupadi at the National Theatre Festival here on Sunday.

The Kerala-based theatre group enthralled the audience with an impressive play which tried to analyse the modern womanhood through the epic character.

It searched the many layers of complexity by which the motif of Draupadi exists in the psyche of Indian women and the reality of her life.

“Draupadi is an archetype for women of all ages. She was married to five men with virtues, yet never given her due respect and acknowledgement for her individuality. She was a woman with great intelligence and remained aware of her circumstances,” says the director, Chandradasan.

“Even when she rebelled against all odds, she couldn’t break through her constraints and this is where she becomes a representative of the contemporary women, who is aware and also tied into the archetypes of family and morality fed deep into her,” he adds.

Inspired by the idea after reading Yajnaseni, a novel written by Pratibha Ray, Chandradasan decided to represent the character as a symbol of both, modern Indian women and the marginalised segment.

The play made use of several props like paintings of many known women like Sylvia Plath, Madhavi Kutti, Taslima Nasrin, Silk Smitha and more.

It also brought in some great set design and drama with masks, puppets and innovative lighting on stage. The artwork, which plays a central prop in the play, was by renowned artist Shobha Menon.

A play that smoothened the Communists’ path to power

K.P.M. BASHEER

‘Ningalenne Communistakki’ turns 60

An old janmi (agrarian landlord). Steeped in old-world beliefs, but facing dwindling fortunes. He is cross with his Communist son’s new-age convictions. However, the new realities and the force of events turn him around and make him a convert to his son’s ideology. As the curtain falls, the old man demands: “Hand me that red flag, let me keep it aloft.”

You might step aside the play today and be tempted to dub it yet another Communist propaganda material. But 60 years ago,Ningalenne Communistaaki  (`You have made me a Communist’) echoed the reality of the times. Kerala was steeped in feudalistic mores, superstitions, upper-caste arrogances, poverty and exploitation of the working class. Communism was the only hope on the horizon for the toiling masses.

Ningalenne Communistaaki , which deeply impacted Kerala’s society in the 1950-60s and helped propel the Communist Party into power in 1957, will turn 60 this week.

Land reforms

The iconic play, written by Thoppil Bhasi and staged by the Communist Party-backed Kerala People’s Art Club (KPAC), premiered on December 6, 1952 at Sudarsana Theatre at Thattassery in Kollam district. Apart from launching a people’s theatre movement in Kerala that drove backstage the then prevailing genre of theatre dominated by Tamil musical melodramas, ‘Communistaaki’ helped set the scene for the radical land reforms carried out by the Communist government and hastened the end of rural landlordism. Perhaps no work of art has had such an impact on Kerala’s social, political and cultural domains as ‘Communistaaki’, which has been staged more than 10,000 times.

“I still remember the exhilaration that G. Devarajan, who had scored music for the play, and I felt while walking home under a moonlit sky after the first staging of the play,” poet O.N.V. Kurup, who wrote the songs for the play, recalls. “On the way, we saw people excitedly discussing the play. We sensed that the play would go places.”

Asked to assess the impact of the play on the 1950s Kerala society, the poet said: “Communistaaki made the common people sit up and think how to remove society’s ills. It was the first play to have followed the Indian People’s Theatre Association’s (IPTA) mission statement: “People’s theatre stars the people.” Audiences could identify themselves with the play and it inspired the new generation to dream of a socialist future.

Social conflicts

A bunch of young men, fired by Communist ideals, had wanted to present a play that would bring on stage the conflict between conservative and modern values and the ultimate triumph of progressive values (Communism). The young men — who included G. Janardhana Kurup, N. Rajagopalan Nair, K.S. Rajaamani, O.N.V., Devarajan and Kambissery Karunakaran — zeroed in on ‘Communistaaki’. They rehearsed for a year in a tent put up at the home of Kodankulangara Vasu Pillai, a theatre enthusiast.

Janardhana Kurup, one of the founders of KPAC, who was the play’s director initially, also donned the powerful role of the villainous landlord Kesavan Nair. Mr. Kurup’s daughter Sarada, a former professor at Cochin University, recalls that her father had put his body and soul into the play. “As a five-year-old, I used to accompany my father to the rehearsal camp,” she told The Hindu .” She remembers K.S. George and Sudharma rehearsing some of the songs in the play.

Dr. Ambili, another daughter of Mr. Kurup, recalls that her father had portrayed the wicked landlord’s role so realistically that at one point where he had to slap his daughter Sumam (actor-singer Sulochana), Mr. Kurup had forgotten that he was acting on stage and hit Sulochana so hard that she writhed in pain.

Kambissery Karunakaran had played the role of the janmi Paramu Pillai initially (and later by P.J. Anotny and Premji). Sudharma took the powerful role of Maala, the peasant girl, who is secretly in love with Paramu Pillai’s son Gopalan who has fallen in love with Kesavan Nair’s daughter Sumam (Sulochana).

“My mother acted and sang as Maala in over 100 performances of the play,” Sudharma’s daughter Chitra Gangadharan, who teaches at Madappally Government College, told The Hindu . “She was very passionate about the role and very committed to the Communist movement.” Sudharma, a fine singer and actor, was a music teacher in a government school. Her actual name was J. Gomathy; she had renamed herself for the stage to hide her identity.

“My mother used to act in the play at night and during the day she would work at school, for several days on end,” Chitra Gangadharan recalls.

“Those days, no glycerine was used for sobbing on stage and hence she had to actually weep after whipping up real emotion. She actually lived as Maala on stage and the huge emotional stress used to shoot up her blood pressure. She became hypertensive (high BP) from her early twenties because of the emotionally-charged acting.

Break with old theatre

Playwright and director Chandradasan notes that ‘Communistaaki’ marked a break with the then prevailing theatre practices in terms of content, text, acting, and staging.

“It was Kerala’s first indigenous theatre performance,” he told The Hindu . “In fact, Communistaaki later on set the formula for the professional theatre in Kerala.”

Sajitha Madathil, actor, theatre researcher and author of `Malayala Nataka Sthree Charithram’ points out that a play cannot be evaluated out of its social context. ‘Communistaaki’ had provoked its viewers to think of social change, and that was a great achievement. “But, the depiction of women characters is problematic — it smacks of male-chauvinistic construct of female roles.”

Courtesy The Hindu Daily-  KOCHI, December 6, 2012

Drama of a Decade

-Parul

Posted: Dec 01, 2012 at 2236 hrs IST

Theatre director, actor and anchor of the group Manch Rangmanch, Kewal Dhaliwal is in a reflective mode as he looks back at how the National Theatre Festival, Amritsar, which he began in 2003 as a humble initiative has reached a brand new stage. As the countdown to the 10th National Festival begins, Dhaliwal is happy that this time it’s a collective effort, with support from various quarters. “It’s a heartening to see that the festival has grown and some of the best groups of the country are participating in it, with audiences coming in from all over Punjab,” says Dhaliwal.

This year, the festival is dedicated to the legendary writer Saadat Hasan Manto, with a line-up of plays reflecting the themes, styles, approaches and contexts of theatre and directors from states such as Kerala, Rajasthan, Assam and Delhi as well as a play from Pakistan.

“In the past nine years, we have staged plays in different languages here, and found that language was no bar in art,” says Dhaliwal, before talking about the selection of plays which will be performed from December 8 to 16 at Punjab Naat Shala.

Among the plays to staged is Karmawali, directed by Sunita Dhir and written by KL Zakir. The powerful play depicts the tragedy of Partition through the eyes of a woman — a reminder than women are almost always the most acute victims of any upheaval.

From Ujjain comes Arey Sharif Log, directed by Sharad Sharma, while director Baharul Islam’s group from Assam brings Aaakash, a funny story by writer-filmmaker Bhabendra Nath Saikia. The play begins with a letter that is dropped into tha hands of a loving father, whose daughter is about to be married. The letter reveals the immoral character of his would-be son-in-law.

Jamleela by Arjun Deo from Jodhpur will depict the folk culture and music of Rajasthan in this woman-oriented production. Anveshana’s Dance Theatre will present Anveshan, a woman’s story through dance and intense physical movements.

The audiences will also be treated to Kerala-based director Chandradasan’s acclaimed production Draupadi. The play, as its title suggests, revolves around the main female protagonist of the Mahabharata, the powerful and often-misunderstood Draupadi. In the production, the playwright tries to analyse the nature of modern women through this epic character. Draupadi, a woman married to five men, who is often considered to be one of the reasons for the great war between the Pandavas and Kauravas. The play is presented in an unusual style — with props such as paintings, masks and puppeteers taking the story forward.

The festival opens with Dhaliwal’s Manch Rangmanch’s new production, Kis Thag Ne Luteya Shehar, an experimental production that attempts to tackle the changing face of cities, where concrete is fast replacing human elements, and the youth are moving away to the greener pastures for power and money.

The last play is Kaun Hay Ye Gustakh, by Pakistani theatre person, Madeeha Gauhar’s group, Ajoka Theatre. The play is based on the various trials that Manto faced and brings to the fore some unknown facets and writings of Manto. “We have spent time and energy to put together a festival that will appeal to different audiences,” says Dhaliwal.

The foreign Connection

 Parvathy Nambidi

Terry Converse (Pic: Mithun Vinod)

Knowledge transfer and learning have no limits. This has been proved by academicians who have entered the country to teach Indians. Students are not only exposed to different styles of teaching, but get a global perspective. Edex spoke to the expat professor who is gung-ho about the Indian assignments

Terry Converse

Terry Converse, Emeritus professor of Theatre at Washington State University, USA, has been quietly imparting the nuances of contemporary world theatre to dramatists in Kerala. Converse, who came to Kerala in July to research on ‘Innovative mask characterisation exercises in plays’, is collaborating with Kochi-based Lokadharmi theatre group.

He describes his stint with the state as an ‘overwhelming experience’. “The actors are more naturally inclined here. With their rigorous movements, they can exert more physical force than the American actors, who stick to Kitchen Sink Dramas, which are more stylised,” he says.

Along with Chandradasan, artistic director of Lokadharmi, Converse is directing two plays — The World Renowned Nose (It is based on a short story of the same name by Malayalam writer Vaikkom Muhammad Basheer) and The Elephant Man (an adaptation of the famous play of John Merrick about a disfigured man).

Converse plans to use masquerading and gibberish language as major acting tools in these. “Acting with mask helps actors sustain their stylistic imagination because it enables them to shed away their original identity. It is a device with immense possibilities, which the actors in Kerala are yet to familiarise themselves with,” he says.

Converse, who read for his PhD in Theater Arts at the University of California, Los Angeles, feels Keralites genuinely appreciate art. “Watching plays is a high-price affair in the US and is usually enjoyed by the elite class. In Kerala, I got a chance to see a few excellent plays. More than the plays, it was the excitement of the audience, which comprises people from all walks of society that interested me. Here even common people have the aesthetic sensibility to understand art. The root cause of theatre is to bring together people of all class, which is happening here,” says Converse.

Converse graduated in MFA-direction from the University of Minnesota, USA, and has written several books on theatre.

The 66-year-old has produced notable plays like Tale of the Lost Formicans, Death and the King’s Horseman, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth and Dancing At Lugnasa.

Courtesy Indian Express 05th November 2012

Much ado about a growing nose

by SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Theatre of the absurd:Artistes of Lokadharmi rehearsing a theatre adaptation of ‘Viswavikhyathamaya Mooku’ on Tuesday. —Photo: H. Vibhu

Satire is taking the centre stage yet again with Lokadharmi Centre for Theatre Training, Research and Performance presenting a contemporary theatre adaptation of Vaikom Mohammed Basheer’s satirical story,Viswavikhyathamaya Mookku (The World-Renowned Nose).

The story — jointly dramatised and directed by Professor of Theatre in the Washington State University School of Music and Theatre Arts Terry Converse and Lokadharmi director Prof. Chandradasan — will be staged at Changampuzha Park in Edapally at 6.30 p.m. on Tuesday as the culminating production of a ‘Mask Workshop’ organised by Lokadharmi.

Rendered in a mix of Malayalam and gibberish, the production will seek to heighten the satire ingrained in the Basheerian story by way of use of masks coupled with grotesque, swift movements in the performance idiom. The makers of the play maintain that the story is perfect for bringing the curtains down on an enriching workshop on masks.

Straddling the hilarious and the absurd, the nose story throws light on mass psychology that almost borders on nonsense.

It narrates the story of an idiotic cook finding himself sporting a growing nose one fine morning. The nose grows exceptionally large and evokes varied feelings, from revulsion in the beginning to adulation and reverence in the end. The growing nose costs the cook his job, but the controversial olfactory organ brings him fame and celebrity status.

The Lokadharmi production is without scenery, costumes, music and facial expression (as actors will all be masked), the production is challenging for the actors as a test of their ability to communicate and sustain the interest of the spectators without such instruments.

Hence, the production is an experiment in itself, say its makers. V.R. Selvaraj will appear as the ‘Mookan’ (the cook, the protagonist) in the production.

K.J. Sohan, chairman of the Corporation Standing Committee on Town planning, and poet S. Ramesan will be the chief guests for the staging.

Courtesy The Hindu 30 October 2012

The Revealing mask

Parvathi Nambidi

A group of men in mask, nudge a stout man, ridiculing him with gibberish. They pull his nose, and roars of laughter in an unknown language reverberates through the hall. The scene is the rehearsal camp of the play, ‘The World Renowned Nose’ adapted from the well known short story of the same name by Vaikkom Muhammad Basheer.

The play, to be staged by Lokadharmi Theatre Group, on October 30 at Changanpuzha Park is unique in many ways. It is being staged as part of the ongoing mask workshop conducted by Terry John Converse, Professor of Theatre at Washington University. Plays using masks is a rarity in our theatre scene. And moreover the play will be staged as a prologue to the production of the world famous play, ‘The Elephant Man’ that will be staged by Lokadharmi next year.

‘The Elephant Man’ by Bernard Pomnerance is a haunting tale about the plight of a Victorian man named John Merrick with a monstrous disfigurement. From a desperate misfit, the man gets elevated to a celebrated status, thanks to the same deformity he has.

And ‘The World Renowned Nose’ is about a naive cook whole sole aim in life is to have enough food to eat and to be able to inhale snuff. But one fine morning his nose starts to grow exceptionally. Though initially people were revolted by the sight, he later became a celebrity, because of his remarkable nose.

About why they chose ‘The World Renowned Nose’, Chandradasan, the director of Lokadharmi Theatre explains, “The mask workshop by Lokadharmi has more than 20 artists. ‘The Elephant Man’ does not require that many actors, so we thought about a play that can enable all the actors to have an acting practise and that thought lead to the Basheerian story.

“We thought about a story that could connect with ‘The Elephant Man’. First we thought about the tale of Ganapathi. Then Ganapathi’s nose is a natural protrusion, not something unusual. Then the satirical story of the cook of Basheer came to our mind. There is a strong connection between the two plays. For one thing both of them deal with the psyche of the life of two outcasts, caused by their physical deformities. Both deals with how they deal with the fame, when they become celebrities in an overnight,” explains Chandradasan.

In the play, the characters wear masks and speak gibberish. Chandradasan says, “Basheer is a person who has coined several new words that has no meaning in itself. That is one reason why we chose gibberish.”

Dr Terry says he is charmed by both the beauty of the Malayalam short story as well as the talent of the artists of Lokadharmi.

About the use of mask in the play, he says, “Mask has immense possibilities. Acting with mask is much more challenging than the usual acting. Since there is no expression, the artist has to rely completely on the body language, which itself makes it all the more challenging.”

The artists of the Lokadharmi says all this is a new experience to them. “Using mask increases the relation between the artist and the space,” says Charu Narayanan and Joly Antony.

Another actor Selvaraj says, “While wearing a mask, we leave our original face behind and have another face.”

The Elephant Man to be staged

STAFF REPORTER THE HINDU –03 SEPTEMBER

Lokadharmi is bringing another first to the city with the staging of “The Elephant Man,” the play that has been toasted as an analysis of the man’s search for his real persona.

Written by Bernad Pomerance in 1977, the play is based on the life of Joseph Merrick, who suffered from extreme physical deformities and lived in London during the second half of the 19th Century. Afflicted by a rare skin and bone disease, Merrick was first paraded around as a star attraction in a travelling show before being admitted to the renowned Whitechapel Hospital in London.

With support from Frederick Treves, a young physician at the hospital, Merrick was slowly introduced to the higher strata of the English society, but his dream of leading a normal life remained unfulfilled.

The play that established Pomerance’s position as a playwright was premiered in 1979 and won him the Tony Award, the New York Drama Critics’ Award, an Obie Award, a Drama Desk Award, and the outer Critics’ Circle Award. The play was made into a successful Hollywood film in 1980.

In the words of Terry Converse, Professor of Theatre in the Washington State University School of Music and Theatre Arts, who is co-directing the Lokadharmi production along with Chandradasan (the art director of Lokadharmi), “as Merrick becomes the toast of Victorian society, his ambitious saviours are confronted with deformities of their own souls.”

The encounter with Merrick, the elephant man, also made the Victorian society aware of the masks it put on in interpersonal relations. “Merrick’s lack of mask — his lack of protection — ironically made him less “freakish” than many of the more “protected” people who interacted with him.” At another dimension, the play is also about empathy and sensitivity, evoked when one encounters those affected by personal tragedies.

Dr. Converse, who teaches direction and specialises in use of masks in theatre, is on a Full Bright scholarship to work with Lokadharmi for six months. “Depending on the pace of the work, we are expecting to stage the production in three to four months. We need nearly 25 actors for the play, who will be selected through audition,” said Mr. Chandradasan, who has started the translation of the play. The production will be done in Malayalam under the title “Gajamanushyan.”

Gajamaushyan- The Elephant Man

Lokadharmi announces the casting/audition workshop for its new production Gajamanushyan, an adaptation in Malayalam of  the play ‘The Elephant Man’ written by Bernard Pomerance

The play will be co-directed by Dr.Terry Converse, (Professor of Theatre in the Washington State University School of Music and Theatre arts) and Chandradasan,(the artistic director of Lokadharmi ). The workshop starts at 10.00 am on 2^nd September 2012, at KEEB Hall behind Public Library Ernakulam.

The Elephant Man is a 1977 play by Bernard Pomerance.

The story is based on the life of Joseph Merrick who lived in London during the latter part of the nineteenth century and is known for the extreme deformity of his body.

A horribly deformed young man, victim of rare skin and bone diseases, he has become the star freak attraction in travelling side shows. Found abandoned and helpless, he is admitted to London's prestigious Whitechapel hospital. Under the care of celebrated young physician Frederick Treves, Merrick is introduced to London society and slowly evolves from an object of pity to an urbane and witty favourite of the aristocracy and literati. But his belief that he can become a man like any other is a dream never to be realized.

The elephant Man is a winner of numerous Tony Awards including Best Play.

Bernard Pomerance is an American playwright and poet born in Brooklyn, New York in 1940. He is a very private man and there is very little information about his parents, his childhood, his early education, or his personal life.

Pomerance was a student at the University of Chicago, but then moved to London when he was in his early thirties. After moving to England, he began working with small, innovative theatre groups. His first play, High In Vietnam, Hot Damn was performed at the Interaction Almost Free Theatre in 1972 and directed by Roland Rees With director Roland Rees, he founded the Foco Novo theatre group, which produced Pomerance’s early plays. Other productions include Someone Else Is Still Someone (Bush Theatre, 1974), Melons (RSC 1985-6) and an adaptation of Bertolt Brecht’s A Man’s A Man (Hampstead Theatre, 1975).

Pomerance’s reputation as a playwright is based on one play, The Elephant Man, first performed in 1979 and then made into a successful Hollywood film in 1980. The play initially opened in London at the Hampstead Theatre before moving to New York and eventually opening on Broadway. For The Elephant Man, Bernard Pomerance won a Tony Award, the New York Drama Critics’ Award, an Obie Award, a Drama Desk Award, and the outer Critics’ Circle Award.

Several of Pomerance’s plays take as their subject politically weighted views of American history

Note from Terry Converse

As Merrick becomes the toast of Victorian society, his ambitious saviours are confronted with deformities of their own souls. In the early part of the twentieth century Jung argued that the personality could conceal itself behind a persona—or mask. The persona is a false personality that individuals adopt to facilitate social interactions. Although the mask can help in taking the rough edges off interpersonal relationships, it also poses a risk that the wearer will mistake it for his or her true personality. A persona becomes a problem only when a person becomes too attached to it and cannot put it aside. When a person cannot move flexibly between roles—when the mask can’t be removed—then the persona not only hides the person from others but also from himself. Merrick condition obliterated the possibility of his ever having a protective persona, and without a mask, he was forever exposed and vulnerable. Yet, Merrick’s lack of mask—his lack of protection—ironically made him less “freakish” than many of the more “protected” people who interacted with him.

When life hurls upon us such horrors as divorce, disease, and death, perhaps that is when we are most receptive to identifying with the Elephant Man, and tapping into what this play is really about—empathy and sensitivity.

Dr. Terry Converse is a Professor of Theatre in the Washington State University School of Music and Theatre arts, where he teaches Direting, Contemporary world theatre, Script Analysis etc..

He holds an M.F.A. in directing from the University of Minnesota and Ph.D. in Theatre Arts from the University of California at Los Angles. Prior to coming to Washington State University, he taught at Centre College in Kentucky, the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks and Livingston University in Alabama. Additionally, Dr. Converse has directed works for the Long Beach Grand Opera, the Guthrie Other Place Theatre, The Arkansas Art Center, Cherry County Players, Peninsula Players, and Theatre by the Sea. His text: Directing for the Stage: a Workshop Guide of Creative Exercises and Projects is published by Meriwether. He has presented papers and all-day workshops at the National Convention of Association for Theatre in Higher Education and at the Northwest Drama Conference. He has directed twenty-eight plays with university students and thirteen plays/musicals/operas in professional settings.

Draupadi in many moods

Parvathy Nambidi

Lokadharmi Theatre Group’s ‘Draupadi,’ to be staged tomorrow will look into the various shades of the epic character | EPS

Draupadi, as one of Mahabharata’s central characters, has always fascinated writers.  There have been several literary works on her, many portraying her as an embodiment of Indian womanhood. And all set to enthral the Kochi audience is Lokadharmi Theatre Group’s ‘Draupadi’, to be staged this Sunday at Changampuzha Samskarika Kendram directed by Chandradasan, the director of the theatre group. The one-and-half hour play will begin by 6.45 pm.

The play, as its title suggests, revolves around the character of Draupadi. The director says he was inspired by the idea after reading the novel ‘Yajnaseni’ written by Prathibha Ray. “I was enamoured by the multiple layers of the character. Novels ‘Ini Njan Urangatte’ by P K Balakrishnan, ‘Randamoozham’ by M T Vasudevan Nair, ‘Bharathaparyadanam’ by Kuttikrishna Marar and ‘Women of Mahabharata’ by Chaturvedi Badrinath were equally inspiring,” he says.

In the play, the playwright tries to analyse the modern woman through the epic character. “Draupadi is an archetype for woman of all ages. She married five great men, and hence could be considered a content person. But she could also be viewed as someone who had to compromise her preferences and priorities for the sake of others. She was a woman of intelligence and understanding. But she was forced to bear some injustice that came her way, so as to not break the framework of family. In that sense, Draupadi can be viewed as the representative of both the modern woman, and equally that of the marginalised section of the society,” says Chandradasan.

The play is presented in a unique way with several props like paintings, masks, puppeteers. Paintings of many well-known female faces like Sylvia Plath, Madhavi Kutti, Thaslima Nasrin, Silk Smitha and others have been used so as to relate to the present era. Masks are used to symbolise male characters, the concept being introduced by Dr Terry Converse, the Head of the Theatre Department of Washington State University.

In order to maintain the continuity of the narrative, the same performers appear as different characters. The main character has been presented by Sukanya Shaji, a Kochi based theatre artist. While Adithye K Narayanan performs the role of Arjuna and Krishna, that of Yudhishtira, Bhima and Dushashana are enacted by V R Shelvaraj. Music of the play is by Sreevalsan J Menon. While art is by Shobha Menon, make up is by Pattanam Rasheed. Director Chandradasan, a professor at St Albert’s College has directed more than 40 plays in different languages.

Courtesy 18th New Indian Express August 2012 KOCHI

Premiere of Draupadi

Draupadi a play in Malayalam that tells the story of womanhood written, designed and directed by me is to be premiered at Changampuzha park Edappalli, Kochi India at 6.45 pm on 20th August 2012. Terry Converse from Washington State University, KS Rajendran from NSD New Delhi,  KG Paulose, and TM Abraham the vice chairman of Kerala Sangeeta Nataka Akademy will be the guests of the day.

The play

This play analyses the relationship between a contemporary girl living in an Indian town with the epic character Draupadi. It searches into the many layers of complexity by which the motif of Draupadi lives in the psyche of Indian women and also the reality of her life.

This performative analysis makes use the novels Yajnaseni written by Prathibha Ray, Ini njan urangatte by PK Balakrishnan, Randamoozham by MT Vasudevan Nair, the critical studies Bharathaparyadanam by Kuttikrishna Marar, and Women of Mahabharata by Chaturvedi Badrinath.

Draupadi is wedded to five great men who are embodiments of all virtues, and is the love of Krishna, the universal lover. So it seems logical that she might have been the happiest lady on earth. The play looks into reality. In fact all her husbands have their own priorities and perception about Draupadi’s life; none of them acknowledged her individuality and self, her potential/needs as a human being, or even her sexuality. She was just another pawn in the game of politics, and has to sacrifice her ideals, dreams, and life itself for the men who mattered to her. The play looks into these aspects transports the experience of Draupadi transcending through the ages to the life and conditioning of a contemporary girl.

Draupadi is a woman of acute understanding and wisdom, very well aware of her circumstances. She opts to keep silent and go through whatever comes her way with the understanding that it was unjust and that she deserved better. Even when she rebelled against the odds in her own individual ways, she was not all that empowered to break out of the constraints that bound her and abandon the people who she believed were her family. This is where she becomes the representative of the contemporary Indian woman who is aware but also tied into the archetypes of family and morality fed into her by the collective conscience of her roots.

The performance structure is fluid in its narrative; the actors are performers as well as characters, shifting from one persona to the other. The role of Arjuna and Krishna are enacted by one actor, and that of Yudhishthira, Bhima and Dussasana by another actor. In between they transform to stage hands, narrators, puppeteers, and musicians so as to take the performance dynamics ahead and are in tune with the tradition of Indian theatre.

The play uses paintings, music, movement, puppets, props and lights to enhance performance and is in tune with the mode and aesthetics of Indian art.

Cast and Credit

A group of eminent artists are associating in this production that include, SUKANYA SHAJI, VR SELVARAJ. SHAIJU T HAMZA /ADITHYE K NARAYANAN as the actors. The credits is Music: SREEVALSAN J MENON, Music control: LATIF CEEPEE, Live percussion: KISHORE NK Vocal: RADHIKA NAIR Choreography: DEEPA KARTHA & RANJITH TRIPUNITHURA  Physical Trainer and Costumes– CHARU NARAYANAN Set: JOLLY ANTONY Properties &Materials: PRAMOD GOPALAKRISHNAN Art: SHOBHA MENON Make up: PATTANAM RASHEED Lighting- SRIKANTH Production Assistance: CHANDRAN V A AROOKKUTTY & JEBIN JESMES, Stills: JIPSON FOURFRAMES, Video KALLYAN, Mask Characterization – Dr. TERRY CONVERSE, USA Production in charge, & Media Management: MADAN KOLAVIL

Two mothers; two cultures, one Theatre

The project from North Karelian arts council to Lokadharmi for a collaborative workshop with artists from Finland and Lokadharmi to end in a production was accepted with an open mind but was a challenge in itself. Only seven days from the start, and on the seventh day on stage for the show! And we have artists meeting for the first time, from alien cultures, different tradition of performance, different work methodology and different sensibilities; who cannot understand the language each other. Actors, and musicians meeting for the first time; the only consoling aspect was that I knew Tuire Hindikka and Pirkko Kurikka, the director and playwright from Finland and that they knew me and my theatre. We share something in common; we both work mostly with improvisation with actors to create the play, and would love to use the actor as the source and means of our theatre.

We started working together with a thin storyline from Kalevala, the Finnish national epic; which is to be: “there are two main themes in this: mother's love (which does not finally change the son's fate) and son's arrogance (which creates destruction)” as Pirkko scribbled to me in her first note.

The participating artists were Eija Jalkanen, Mari Kortelainen, Anna Venalainen, Martta Hyytiainen, Janne Hyytiainen, (from Finland) along with Charu Narayanan, Adithye K Narayanan and Selvaraj VR(from Lokadharmi); and musicians Laura Vuorjoki-Elo, Mammu Koskelo Kishore NK ; Antti Koukonen as the sound technician .The lighting designer Gireesh Menon joined later. The play is to be directed by me and Tuire Hindikka with supports by Pirkko Kurikka. I decided that the role of the director was to facilitate the devising of the play and orient the actors towards meeting a common performance culture and style.

The story line as it evolved

Far in the North young maidens are playing on the shore. One of them is the daughter (Anna Venalainen) of Louhi (Charu Narayanan), mighty female shaman of the North. The daughter is dancing with her fiancée (Adithye K Narayanan) and the other girls teasing them.

Suddenly there comes Lemminkainen (Selvaraj VR), a charming stranger. He falls in love with Louhi’s daughter. Both the fiancée and Louhi fight with him. Louhi humiliates him and despises him, because of his humble birth in a lower race.

Lemminkainen returns home, but cannot forget the maiden in the North. Is spite of his mother’s (Eija Jalkanen)and wife’s (Mari Kortelainen )warnings he decides to return to the North to get the girl. He leaves mother with his hair brush, saying arrogantly: “When this brush bleeds, then you know I have been killed”

Louhi’s daughter is tempted by Lemminkainen the fiancé enters, and there arises a battle between the two men. Louhis daughter gets killed during the battle, by accident. When Louhi finds her daughter dead, she kills Lemminkainen with her magical weapons.

In the realm of death, the King (Janne Hyytiainen) receives the two dead pwrsons, they become part of the River of Death.

Louhi comes to beg her daughter back to life, saying that the girl was innocent, and she as a mother guilty. The King denies, and Louhi must go. Lemminkainen’s mother also comes for her son. She begs the King to get her son back, because he has not fulfilled all the tasks meant for him. She offers herself to the River of Death (Martta Hyytianen), instead of her son. Finally she shows the King his hair brush, still bleeding. “If your son still bleeds, he is not dead. Take him away.”

Lemminkainen returns home. The loving wife is happy to get him back. But in a short moment everything changes, when Lemminkainen tells that he has to return to the North, to meet bigger challenges and other beautiful women. Mother tries to stop him, as she is convinced that his life will be destroyed in the North.

The son leaves the home again; the mother has taken him back from the realm of Death, but he has not given up his visions about new life, far away in North.

The play ends with a Finnish song, which means, “Death is the final resort, death is the final consolation and is the abode of peace…” which was sung by all the cast.

The process

We started work trying to explore each other’s body dynamics, movement pattern, potentials and inclinations in acting. Charu initiated the workshop with Yoga and Kalari based movements which the Finnish girls adapted very easily. In return Mari and Anna who are dancers reciprocated with movements from their repertory. Selvaraj initiated movements with singing and in rhythm. In the improvisation Eija came with strong and powerful expressions and emotions. The work developed very fast and the mutual inclusion was instantaneous.

We had movement sessions, improvisations, and discussions. We don’t want to re-narrate the story from Kalevala (even if it reflected episodes and characters from Indian epics), but was looking into the story and extract the meaning of it, for us living in this time. Anna told me that the story is about the violence that is happening inside contemporary Finnish houses. In Finland there is not that much violence out in the society; but there is much violence inside the four walls of the house. Most of the murders are domestic; husbands, wives, lovers, in-laws, parents and brothers, kill each other. In our story also there are two murders… one a fiancée killing his love and the Louhi killing Lemminkainen who was the reason for the death of her daughter. These two murders were giving us the opportunity to look into the relations and contemporary violence that happen in Finland, India or elsewhere. We had the contemporary situations, incidents, and happenings in our mind when we created the emotional progression of the story and its interpretation. The story of Kalevala was instrumental in understanding the current relationships, affairs, disintegration of family, the betrayal and dissatisfaction that creeps into marital life.

For me, the disintegration of the social structure based on closed family system has become a continued obsession in my plays. It started somewhere in the production of Medea, and Abhayarthikal by G Sankara Pillai was a profound articulation into the treachery, falsehoods, fragility and meekness of the secluded family system. That play had a very Ibsenesque structure where the female vs male conflict breaks the family structure so that the heroine celebrates her freedom and self-respect by opting out of the walls of the so called ‘happy home’. The sequences with Ravana and Mandodari in Lankalakshmi also had undercurrents of deceit and make belief that keeps the family ties on. In the current play Draupadi (in rehearsal) this theme is more closely and intensely looked into. In all these plays I approached the state of affairs from the female point of view, the marginalised entity in the whole business. In the play ‘Two mothers in the Realm of Death’, the same theme is repeating, but looked from a more neutral point of view. A strong male figure is absent except Lemminkainen, who is like a modern youth charmed by passion and beautiful girls around. Louhi’s daughter also shifts her love from her fiancée to Lemminkainen, when she sees that this new man is more heroic, fashionable and charming than her old lover. Love, attraction and bonding are so docile and can change with a slight reason. It is just unreasoned passion and blind dreams that guides the characters.

In contrast the mothers are trying hard to keep the family structure and the social order intact. They have to argue, fight (even physically), plead and cry to keep the status quo maintained for a smooth life, but both the mothers ultimately fail leaving life as a tragedy.

The two mothers play important roles in this play. One is highly physical, a shaman, with magical weapons and innate strength, but fails to convince the King in the realm of Death. She has to be more physical in her expression; Charu with her Kalari tradition did the role with sharp, quick movements and with intense passion that suits the strength and mobility of the character. The mother of Lemminkainen is more passionate, conformist, and more human. She is arrogant with her son; pleads and cries to convince others. Eija came with a very powerful emotive presence on stage, with loads of emotions, involvement, energy and passionate physical attributes to suppliment. The two mothers ruled the stage with different approaches, equally gripping and powerful. It was the journey to the same situation from two diagonal positions; the journey through two different paths from different perceptions, reaching almost at the same place, done with the same intensity.

Selvaraj could use his own skills gathered by his long experience in theatre, to make Lemminkainen convincing. His passion, determination, restlessness, dream about a more charming life, inferiority complexes, arrogance and an innate thirst to hunt in newer meadows was clear. He used his sense of music, rhythm, movement, physical agility, along with his stage presence in portraying this character. At the same time I noticed that he was more expressive and intense than his usual style of acting, may be reciprocating to the western counterparts in equal terms. This is one achievement of this workshop and this production. There was good give and take between actors, mutually supplementing and supporting; influencing each other, so that the blend was more spontaneous. Charu, Adithye and Selvaraj used more intense facial expressions, more connected to the inner character than usual, spontaneous and genuine, yet keeping the physicality of the performance intact. The actors from Finland on the other hand responded to the fluidity of movement and physicalization of their Indian counterparts, keeping the facial and emotional expression as their innate strength. Mari and Anna being dancers could easily adapt to the movement and choreography, develop it further to create fluidity, transcending to the visual poetry. Adithye and the Finnish girls seemed to create a very passionate movement pattern, beautiful to watch, improvising on stage, mutually enjoying and alert to each other and at the same time communicating to the audience without the use of words or spoken lines.

It was really interesting to create this play which turned out to be an ensemble effort, as in all devised productions. In the early stages, I was more observing, talking and inspiring actors to create. Slowly I found myself on my toes, moving along with the actors, physically involving in the scheme of things, trying to get into the skin of the actors, to provoke and persuade them to create, articulate precisely and fine tune the images, actions, and expressions. Looking back I found myself acting as the bridge between the two theatre styles to land in a common island. The rehearsals were very relaxed, peaceful and much creative and on the fifth day I was sure that we will come up with something interesting and worth to perform.

The one strategy that I adapted was that, we started with no dialogues and speeches, trying to perform the play without any spoken word; so the actors created visual images, movements and expressions to communicate the essence of the situation. It is on the fourth day after the blocking is finished that I asked actors to start speaking in their own languages; but they have to focus on the sonority and expression of the sound than the meaning of the spoken word. The audience has to understand the ‘meaning’ of the dialogue, from the context and expression. Music played a very important role in this phase, which was developing till the last day. There were beautiful moments of exchanges in Finnish and Malayalam, in modulated coloured the voices with expressiveness, punched with emotion, linked to the gestures and body language. And finally the lines were written and fixed, on the sixth day.

The very talented musicians Laura and Mammu along with Kishore contributed a lot to this production. They used vocal singing, created many sounds to match the dramatic situation, performed instruments like Melodica, Kantale and supplemented by percussion from Tabla, drums, djembe, udukku and different kinds of bells. The system of music, singing pattern, pitches, and rhythm, could meet and supplement to become the backbone of this performance never overruling the actors. Antti at the sound was creatively complementing the musicians by accentuating the effects created by them.

I have to write the experience of working with Janne Hyytianen, an exemplary actor in the Finnish film and theatre scenario. He is a very powerful and shrewd actor, true to himself who can create magical moments with subtlest of movements, changes in postures, voice modulations. On the first few days, he was so neutral and took a lot of time to respond and react, was asking for clarifications like, “can I turn now, what shall I do with my hands, can I move upto there’ etc. He was trying to understand assimilate the role, the orbit he can take, trying to understand the design and the freedom he could utilise etc. In this phase I almost felt that he has a slight hesitation to move and to be dynamic, but things started to change on the 5^th day. Slight cues given to him were assimilated and enlarged, started improvising his movements and expressions, communicated to the rhythm with footwork and dance (it is astonishing to see him pouncing, jumping, dancing as if possessed by the music and the headgear like a Theyyam which he has not seen in his life). The suggestions like “enjoy the smell of blood, use tongue, laugh and be playful’ was elaborated to create the character. Actually I have not directed him directly, but was observing the graph with which he developed the character, and assimilated himself into the design of the play, quite smoothly, creatively and intelligently. He is one of such actors any director would love to work with.

The play has 3 distinct locales in its storyline, the lush green pasturesque landscape of Lemminkainen by the side of the River of Life, the land of Louhi at the North, full of passion, warm with intense emotions and ecstasy of magic; and thirdly the Realm of Death by the River of Death. Gireesh Menon created the ambience of these spaces with changes of hues in lighting.

Finally when on the seventh day the performance was premiered, me and all artists associated were happy and satisfied so as the audience who witnessed. The Indian artists may travel to Finland next year to work with the same artists and take the production ahead, if things work out.

The workshop was exhaustively documented by Jebin Jesmes, and the production done by Anna Susitaival, for North Karelian Art Council Finland, coordinated by Pradeep Sukumar, and supported by Chavara Samskarika Kendram.

Photos: Shobha Menon, & Jolly Antony

World Theatre Day 2012.

Message of the 50th anniversary of World Theatre Day from John Malkovich

"I'm honoured to have been asked by the International Theatre Institute ITI at UNESCO to give this greeting commemorating the 50th anniversary of World Theatre Day. I will address my brief remarks to my fellow theatre workers, peers and comrades.

May your work be compelling and original. May it be profound, touching, contemplative, and unique. May it help us to reflect on the question of what it means to be human, and may that reflection be blessed with heart, sincerity, candour, and grace. May you overcome adversity, censorship, poverty and nihilism, as many of you will most certainly be obliged to do. May you be blessed with the talent and rigor to teach us about the beating of the human heart in all its complexity, and the humility and curiosity to make it your life's work. And may the best of you - for it will only be the best of you, and even then only in the rarest and briefest moments - succeed in framing that most basic of questions, "how do we live?" Godspeed."
World Theatre day @ Lokadharmi; Release of the book ‘Bommanahalliyile Kinnarayogi’

As John Malkovich suggests let the theatre become more human, and let us reaffirm our conviction in human energy, passion and the organic process of converting human energy to an aesthetic experience that is unique in theatre. Only theatre can be as human as it is, and let us not make it more technical, mechanical and dogmatic and devoid of jargons.....

We in Lokadharmi Celebrate this year’s World theatre day with messages from TM Abraham, playwright and director and vice-chairman of Kerala Sangeet Natak Akademi. The play written by Chandradasan named ‘Bommanahalliyile Kinnarayogi’ will be released by M.Thomas Mathew on the occasion. KG Paulose will introduce the play. Noted critic MV Benny, Music director Bijibal, Cultural enthusiast and organiser K Balachandran, playwright, actress and director Shirly Somasundaran will be participating along with the artists of Lokadharmi and Mazhavillu. The book is published by Kerala State Institute of Childrens Literature, edited by G Mohanakumari, Photographs by Jipson Zikhera, paintings and illustrations by Shobha menon and design and layout by Alice Cheevel.

This play has been performed by Mazhavillu throughout Kerala on important festivals that include the International Theatre Festival of Kerala 2011, International Seminar on Children’s theatre at Bharath matha college Thrikkakkara, National book exhibition of KSICL Thiruvanathapuram, Soorya Festival 2011, Swaralaya fest Palakkadu etc.

Death of a Salesman

The screening of the film version of ‘The death of a Salesman’ by Arthur Miller with excellent performances from Dustin Hoffman, John Malkovich and Keith Reid in the cast and directed by Volker Scholandroff will take place on the occasion.

John Malkovich

John Malkovich is a founding member of Steppenwolf Theatre Company and has worked on 33 productions with the company since 1976. In 1983 he won an Obie for his performance in Sam Shepard’s True West. The following year, he appeared with Dustin Hoffman in the Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman, which earned him an Emmy in 1985 when it was made into a television film. He rose to fame in cinema with his interpretation of Valmont in Dangerous Liaisons by Stephen Frears, alongside Michelle Pfeiffer and Glenn Close. After this role he acted in more than 70 movies internationally, receiving Academy Award nominations for Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire and playing a version of himself in the films Adaptation and Being John Malkovich. He has periodically returned to Chicago to act and direct, and was recently seen in the international tour of The Infernal Comedy: Confessions of a serial killer. This production traveled to nearly 20 countries and received its New York premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in November 2011. He also directed his third theatre production in Paris, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, at the Théâtre de l'Atelier following the success of Hysteria (2002) and The Good Canary (2007) for which he was awarded the Molière Award for best staging.

Poranadi (the Outcast)

Lankalakshmi

Karnnabharam (The anguish of Karnna)

Karnnabharam (The anguish of Karnna)

Collaboration, the base of creation'

Anna Salas

'

 

 

 

 

 

SEARCHING FOR CREATIVITY: Italian drama director Andriya Kusomano speaking at a 'Social, political, cultural and aesthetics surroundings of Collaborative Theatre' yesterday at the Regional Theatre. Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi chairman TM Abraham, theatre actor K Kaladharan and Prof Chandradasan participated.

"Collaboration is the base of creation," tells Andriya Kusumano from Italy. The concept means so much to the director, stenographer, performer, painter and installation artist all-rolled-into-one theatre activist.

So, collaborative creation is what in US called devised theatre. It is a form of theatre in which the script is developed not by a writer or writers, but originated from collaborative, usually improvisatory, work by a group of people.

However, the work is developed not necessarily through the performers, but usually it could be so. This form could be easily connected to the street theatre.

Surprisingly, it is not always distinguishable from improvisational theatre, but by the time a devised piece presents itself to the public, it usually has a fixed form.

The improvisation is confined to the creation process, and either writer, director or the performers themselves, will have decided exactly what is to be included and the running sequence.

"Collaboration turns on the expression of the natural emotions and also it helps bring in a complete change in the social and political field in the West" he added.

The renowned director and vice chairman of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi TM Abraham explained the drawbacks of the collaborative theatre.

"The politics of funding helps escape from the real daily life and the collaborative creation is trying to ruin the language and the writing process," he observed.

The seminar discussed the subject 'The perception of scientific, cultural, political and aesthetic view of the collaborative theatre'.

Andriya Kusumano presented the Western view of the theatre art, especially in the collaborative theatre.

The seminar was conducted at the Regional Theatre as part of the 4th International Theatre festival of Kerala yesterday.

Collaboration is the theatre of the future and it is trying to find a venue in Malayalam theatre, actor K Kaladharan said.

The Lokadharmi Theatre Group and Mazhavillu, a children theatre group, founder Prof Chandradasan made the introduction speech at the seminar.

In the morning session, a talk show with Rajasthan Institute of Folklore secretary Kuldeep Kothari, and in the evening session musical programme were held.

Courtesy –City Journal 03 February 2012

Lankalakshmi@Kottayam

The play Lankalakshmi is performed at Darsana Auditorium Kottayam on 29th January 2012, as part of the vilambara of ITFoK 2012, organised by Kerala Sangeet Natak Academy.

“The plot of this play is not just the frailty of a king who is an admirer of beauty. War, diplomacy, ethnic conflicts, ups and downs of ethics, etc are engrossed in it… It originated from the blood that surged from the severed breast of Soorppanakha. That river of blood is ferociously flooding down, with all its fury. Betrayal, Deceit, Destruction, and Death have taken charge of the four destinations…. Now, there remains just a single resolution….”

This play is about the anxieties and agonies of war. It can be said that war is the protagonist and antagonist of this play, and is reflected in different shades in different characters, with Ravana as the key metaphor. Death is projected in all its intensity; the death of heroes is continuously taking place, one after the other. Amidst the continuity of deaths of dear and near ones, the play envisages the plight of Ravana caught in the cross-roads of life and death, the ultimate fate of an egoist reveling in his physical and mental prowess.

The play starts when Rama and his army has crossed the sea, reached Lanka and is waiting outside the fort of Ravana; the war is imminent and near. The first act of the play portrays the internal conflicts and turbulence in the Ravana clan at the face of the war; different voices rise within the race.

"All the treasures in the three worlds should belong to Lanka," is the motive force that leads Ravana. He went after women, not just because he fancied them, but also to enrich his pedigree, to glorify Lanka. In its wake might have come, lurking shadows of crime and curse. Sita is the priceless jewel that should be part of Lanka, even if she is married to another man.

The conflict between Ravana and his brother Vibheeshana goes back to their childhood. His companionship with his uncle Suparsvan reveals the generosity of give and take, although decision-making is the prerogative of Ravana. The conversation between them is like an inner monologue. The love for his brother Kumbhakarna is another tender knot that breaks his heart. His pride in his son is a pointer to his shattered persona as he hears the death of Meghanadhan. His intimate bond with his wife Mandodari is another aspect of his noble nature. Soon the enemy enters his palace, ravishes Mandodari.

The play is designed to be an intimate experience to the audience where the acting area merges and diffuses into the audience area. The presence of Sita and Soorppanakha depicted with paintings. The throne, palace, and the mighty Himalayas, where Ravana travels are abstracted into a multilevel set painted by monotones of blue.

The music has sounds of rain, thunder, wind, birds, and animals to create the ambience of a war field surrounded by ferocious sea of blood.

The narrative of the play takes place in a three dimensional space with varying perspective. The three different narratives used simultaneously merges and juxtapose to create a more universal meaning to the whole rendering. The text written by CN Sreekantan Nair is sandwiched between the Recital of Adhyatma Ramayana written by Ezhuthachan which is based on Bhakthi and Ramayana by Kambar (rendered as Tholpavakoothu) which treats Ramayana down to earth and looks into the potentials of the text as a performance.

The Artists Participating in the show at Kottayam are, VR Selvaraj, Johny Thottunkal , Ajaikumar Thiruvankulam , Madan Kolavil, Jolly Antony , Cijin Sukumar , Shaiju T Hamza , Joshua Antony K , Adithye KN, Manosh, Kishore NK, K Viswanatha Pulavar & Group Koonathara, Shoranur, Pattanam  Rasheed Prasanth Madhav, Gireesh Menon, Jenson, Jebin Jesmes, Charu Narayanan, Sukanya Shaji, Usha Shaji,Sanosh Palluruthy, Pattanam Rasheed and Arun R Kumar.

This is the Sixth performance of the production

Lankalakshmi @ Bharangam 2012, New Delhi

Bharat Rang Mahotsav was established a decade ago by the National School of Drama to stimulate the growth and development of theatre across the country. Originally a national festival showcasing the work of the most creative theatre workers in India, it has evolved to international scope, hosting theatre companies from around the world, and is now the largest theatre festival of Asia.

The 14th Bharat Rang Mahotsav will be inaugurated with a visually beautiful production of Rabindranath Tagore’s highly symbolic play, ‘The King of Dark Chamber – ‘Raja’ directed by Ratan Thiyam with Chorus Repertory of Manipur. As a tribute to Tagore on his 150th birth anniversary, the festival has a focus on his works with 14 productions and 4 Allied events from among the 88 plays in the main repertoire and 11 Allied events.

At the forefront of the International section this year we have a focus on contemporary Polish Theatre with three very vibrant productions. Other countries represented in this festival include, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa, United Kingdom, China, Japan, Italy, Pakistan, Israel, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Nepal.

A series of wrap around programs around the festival includes a talk on interactive sessions with the directors, a seminar on “The multi-disciplinary approach of Tagore’s performance language” and 5 photographic exhibitions.

The Schedule of the fest can be obtained from the link http://www.nsdtheatrefest.com/festival.php

Parallel Festival:

Bharat Rang Mahotsav is accompanied by a shorter festival in a second city, with selections from the main repertoire, extending the scope of the Mahotsav and sharing its fare with theatre lovers outside Delhi. The second festival has to date been held in Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai, Lucknow, Bhopal and Chennai. This year it travels to Amritsar, Punjab.

DATES: JAN 8-22, 2012

Theatre from Kerala is represented by

1. Lankalakshmi 

 

(Playwright:CN Sreekantan Nair, Dir: Chandradasan, Lokadharmi ) @ Meghadoot 3/Rabindrabhavan – 5.00 pm on 9^th January 2012

2. Khud and Khuda

(Solo Performance by Gireesh , playwright :Rabindranath Tagore, Dir: Kavalam Narayana Panikkar, Sopanam Thiruvananathapuram) @Sammukh, 6.00 pm on 10^th January 2012

3. Marimankanni

 

(Playwright: M.N.Vinaykumar, Dir: V. Abhimanyu, Janabheri, Thrissur) @LTG 6.30 pm on 13^th January 2012

4. The Water Station

 

(Playwright: Shogo Ohta, Dir: Sankar Venkateswaran, Theatre Roots & Wings, Thrissur) @ Abhimanch, 8.30 pm 14^th January 2012

5. Jalam

 

 

(Dir: Madhu Gopinath & Vakkom Sajeev, Samudra Centre for Indian Contemporary Performing Arts, Thiruvananthapuram)@ Abhimanch, 8.30 pm 15^th January 2012

 

6. Peer Gynt

 

 

(Playwright: Henrik Ibsen, Dir: Deepan Sivaraman, Oxygen Theatre Company)@Kamani, 7.00 pm on 20^th January 2012.

Lankalakshmi

“The plot of this play is not just the frailty of a king who is an admirer of beauty. War, diplomacy, ethnic conflicts, ups and downs of ethics, etc are engrossed in it… It originated from the blood that surged from the severed breast of Soorppanakha. That river of blood is ferociously flooding down, with all its fury. Betrayal, Deceit, Destruction, and Death have taken charge of the four destinations…. Now, there remains just a single resolution….”

This play is about the anxieties and agonies of war. It can be said that war is the protagonist and antagonist of this play, and is reflected in different shades in different characters, with Ravana as the key metaphor. Death is projected in all its intensity; the death of heroes is continuously taking place, one after the other. Amidst the continuity of deaths of dear and near ones, the play envisages the plight of Ravana caught in the cross-roads of life and death, the ultimate fate of an egoist reveling in his physical and mental prowess.

The play starts when Rama and his army has crossed the sea, reached Lanka and is waiting outside the fort of Ravana; the war is imminent and near. The first act of the play portrays the internal conflicts and turbulence in the Ravana clan at the face of the war; different voices rise within the race.

"All the treasures in the three worlds should belong to Lanka," is the motive force that leads Ravana. He went after women, not just because he fancied them, but also to enrich his pedigree, to glorify Lanka. In its wake might have come, lurking shadows of crime and curse. Sita is the priceless jewel that should be part of Lanka, even if she is married to another man.

The conflict between Ravana and his brother Vibheeshana goes back to their childhood. His companionship with his uncle Suparsvan reveals the generosity of give and take, although decision-making is the prerogative of Ravana. The conversation between them is like an inner monologue. The love for his brother Kumbhakarna is another tender knot that breaks his heart. His pride in his son is a pointer to his shattered persona as he hears the death of Meghanadhan. His intimate bond with his wife Mandodari is another aspect of his noble nature. Soon the enemy enters his palace, ravishes Mandodari.

The play is designed to be an intimate experience to the audience where the acting area merges and diffuses into the audience area. The presence of Sita and Soorppanakha depicted with paintings. The throne, palace, and the mighty Himalayas, where Ravana travels are abstracted into a multilevel set painted by monotones of blue.

The music has sounds of rain, thunder, wind, birds, and animals to create the ambience of a war field surrounded by ferocious sea of blood.

The narrative of the play takes place in a three dimensional space with varying perspective. The three different narratives used simultaneously merges and juxtapose to create a more universal meaning to the whole rendering. The text written by CN Sreekantan Nair is sandwiched between the Recital of Adhyatma Ramayana written by Ezhuthachan which is based on Bhakthi and Ramayana by Kambar (rendered as Tholpavakoothu) which treats Ramayana down to earth and looks into the potentials of the text as a performance.

The Artists Participating in the show at Delhi are, VR Selvaraj, Johny Thottunkal , Ajaikumar Thiruvankulam , Madan Kolavil, Jolly Antony , Cijin Sukumar , Shaiju T Hamza , Joshua Antony K , Adithye KN, Kalamandalam Prabhakaran, Manosh, Kishore NK, K Viswanatha Pulavar & Group Koonathara, Shoranur (comprising of KL Krishnakumar, Vipin, L Lakshmana Pulavar, KL Ramachandran, KN Somasundaran, Satheesh TP, S Sudheesh, and K Krishna Kumar) , Rasheed Kozhikode, Prasanth Madhav and Gireesh Menon, Jenson, Jebin Jesmes, Charu Narayanan, Sukanya Shaji, Usha Shaji, Rose Ligia, and Sanosh Palluruthy.

This is the fourth performance of the production.