Is it a plane? Is it a bird? Is it Superman?
It could be none of the above. Or, perhaps it is a little bit of all of the above. As long as it stays up in the air and lands, all parts intact...does it matter what it is?
We live in a hyphenated world where it is becoming increasingly difficult to capture the whole in one word. It's hit us that we have one lifetime so we best take on all the identities we can. I should know...I swap with alacrity between writer/editor, teacher and physical trainer, borrowing a bit from one to play the other.
The traditionalists may shake their heads and mouth "Focus? Focus?" But, that's only necessary if you are aiming for bullseye...and whoever said you had to? I want my darts capturing every bit of that board.
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The week starts off with a play seen on screen. It is Julius Caesar, a West End production performed originally at London's Bridge Theatre and broadcast on screens across the world via National Theatre Live. Unlike films, theatre has limited reach - number of audience multiplied by number of shows. NTL expands this reach significantly - it gives theatre the opportunity to travel without the shackles of logistics. The purist may frown at this cinemafication of the art but to a theatre lover in Mumbai it is access to best of West End from the NCPA. The plays are shot during a live performance and
This version of the Julius Caesar stays true to the Bard's original plot but supplants ancient Rome with a modern day setting. Caesar, Brutus, Marc Antony and others don trench coats and tote rifles while they mouth Shakespearean passages. It reiterates the timelessness of the writer's words. But its current day relevance also spookily draws attention to the stagnancy of certain ideologies. The entire pit becomes the stage and the audience in the pit play the role of citizens of Rome. Bits of the stage popping up and down, actors mingling and emerging from amongst the audience, jeeps piled with ammo rolling into the pit all combine to bring Caesar's Rome alive.
The next on the calendar is Gillo's Hanuman ki Ramayan based on Devdutt Patnaik's book. Gillo is a theatre company that specialises in bringing meaningful theatre to the children and the child in us. Their plays over the years have been a combination of super stories and skillful storytelling. Their respect for the young audience's intellect and perception is evident as is their desire to educate the audience on different art forms.
With Hanuman ki Ramayan they bring nautanki to the stage. Over the years,.the word 'nautanki' has earned a derogatory connotation. But, a little over 160 years ago, it started as an art form in Allahabad. Folklores were performed in village maidans and streets at night under the light of oil lamps. During the freedom struggle, it became a means to spread the message of revolution. But, over the years it has lost its sheen.
The story Hanuman ki ramayan highlights the importance of intent behind action. Hanuman's Ramayan written out of love for Rama trumps the version written by the skilled Valmiki because his writing emerges from his devotion for his Lord. I am not sure I agree with the simplicity of the message but the story has its heart in the right place and the nautanki element makes the moral more palatable to imbibe.
The last for the week is a play which is showcased as a performative reading. The first instalment of a new venture 'Readings in A Shed', the play under the spotlight is Ariel Dorfman's Death and the Maiden. Actors occupy chairs on a minimal stage and read from the script. The narrator reads out stage directions which in an enactment would have been carried out through the actors' movements, lights and sounds.
Why read? Why not perform? Because what a performative reading does, is it allows for the writing to take centre stage independent of all other accessories that comes with a theatrical performance. And Death and the Maiden deserves that spotlight. Written by Dorfman while he was in exile, the play through the story of its protagonist Paulina draws attention to that dark period in Chilean history when it was transitioning into a democracy. Paulina's traumatic experience is chilling but what carries the chill to the bones is the realisation that the atrocities carried out in Chile half a century ago continue to be repeated across the world till date.
It is exciting to see boundaries of art being shattered... Old definitions being redefined, terms hyphenating with other terms to birth new terms. Fun times lie ahead!
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