Playwright: Dario Fo & Franca Rame

Director: Sara Zaker

Group: Nagorik Natya Sampradaya, Bangladesh

Language: Bengali

Duration: 1 hr

The Play

The Open Couple, written by Dario Fo and Franca Rame, and adapted by Sara Zaker, is the story of a couple where the husband is having multiple affairs. The wife is going crazy and wants to kill herself each time she discovers her husband’s latest affair with yet another woman. As the play proceeds the husband convinces his wife to accept the concept of an ‘open relationship’. As the story moves on the husband discovers that the wife too has fallen in love with another man. Seeing the wife so happy and in control, makes him very angry and jealous. Now, the husband behaves in the same manner as his wife earlier did i.e. trying to jump off the window of a four-storied building, attempting to shoot himself with a revolver etc. The wife, in turn, now pacifies him and urges him to have a dialogue in exactly the same way he had urged her when she was going crazy. 

Director’s Note

I adapted The Open Couple when my family was going through a crisis. My husband was detected with stomach cancer and was treated for more than six months in a foreign land. I took my mind away from all the side effects he had due to chemotherapy by working on this play. Adapting this play gave me relief from stress. I am primarily a performer so writing feeds the actor in me. Even though it was a trying time for the family, I liked to imagine (as a director) that one day this performance would see the light on stage. Also, as an observer of the society and as an actor-director, I felt it was time we articulated the polygamous relationship that permeates all levels of society.

The Director

Sara Zaker has been active on the stage since 1973 as an actress. She belongs to Nagorik Natya Sampradaya, the foremost theatre group of Bangladesh. She was trained at the British Theater Institute in 1981 for Direction. Some of the noteworthy plays directed by her are Ariel Dorfman’s Death and the Maiden, Anton Chekhov’s The Sea Gull, and Dario Fo and Franca Rame’s The Open Couple. She is the recipient of Bangladesh’s second highest civilian award Ekushey Padak.

The Playwright

Dario Fo was an Italian actor, playwright, comedian, singer, theatre director, stage designer, songwriter, painter and political campaigner. The Virtuous Burglar, Archangels Don’t Play Pinball, Mistero Buffo, Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Can’t Play! Won’t Pay!, Trumpets and Raspberries, Elizabeth: Almost by Chance a Woman, The Pope and the Witch are some of his popular plays. In 1997, Dario Fo received the Noble Prize in Literature.
Franca Rame was an Italian theatre actress, playwright and political activist. She was married to Dario Fo who dedicated his Noble Prize to her. In the 1970s, Rame began writing plays of her own, such as Grasso e Bello! and Tutta Casa.

The Group

Nagorik was established in 1968. It won recognition by the Shilpokala Academy and four of its leading actors Aly Zaker, Ataur Rahman, Abul Hayat and Sara Zaker won the second highest National Award Ekushay Padak for their contribution to theatre. Another member of the group, the present honorable minister for culture Asaduzzaman Noor has been awarded the highest National Award the Shadhinata Padak.

On Stage: Sara Zaker, Ziaul Hasan

Team Leader: Aly Zaker

Light Designer: Md. Nasirul Haque

Light Technician: Mir Badal Rahman

Sound Controller &Production In-Charge: Fakhruzzaman Choudhury

Production Assistant: Nima Rahman

Subtitles: Sara Zaker

Assistant: Ruhe Tamanna Labonyo

Stage Manager: Md. Mahfuzur Rahman

Assistant: Mishu Nasreen

Playwright: Dario Fo & Franca Rame

Director: Sara Zaker

Nagorik was established in 1968. It won recognition by the Shilpokala Academy and four of its leading actors Aly Zaker, Ataur Rahman, Abul Hayat and Sara Zaker won the second highest National Award Ekushay Padak for their contribution to theatre. Another member of the group, the present honorable minister for culture Asaduzzaman Noor has been awarded the highest National Award the Shadhinata Padak.

Directors: Sapan Kumar Acharya

Group: Acharya Chhau Nrutya Bichitra, Jharkhand

Language: Non- Verbal

Duration: 1hr 15 mins

The Forms

Seraikella Chhau – Based on martial arts, the Seraikella Chhau follows the tenets of Natya Shastra as propounded in our scriptures. The use of masks is its uniqueness and the dancer uses these to clarify and depict the theme of the dance. The dancer expresses different emotions, notions and ideas with the drum beats (Tal) and musical rhythms. The dance runs in three phases i.e. Sthayee (Permanent posture), Madhyala (Intermediate movements), and Drut (Faster movements). Various topics from Ramayana and Mahabharata, abstract ideas, and common social incidents form the subject matter of these dances.

Mayurbhanj Chhau – Mayurbhanj Chhau dance form has a long history. Originally a tribal dance, which originated from the forests of Mayurbhanj, Odisha, in the 18th century, it got the status of a martial art form in the 19th century.

Slowly & steadily Mayurbhanj Chhau left its martial character and got mellowed. Under the royal patronage it received proper attention & direction and showed a bright future and utmost perfection as a dance of excellent style in the field of eastern art and culture of India. Mayurbhanj Chhau is performed without masks and is technically similar to the Seraikella Chhau.

The Performances

Jatraghat – It is a musical offering that evokes the gods and marks the beginning of a Seraikella Chhau & Mayurbhanj Chhau dance performance.

Radhakrishna by Govind Mahato & Veena Choudhary (Seraikella Style)

In this particular dance composition Krishna’s mellifluous flute forms an intrinsic part of the love imagery.

Hansa by Satish Kumar Modak

This depicts the beauty of the stately swan as it swims in its natural habitat of water.

Dandi by Niroj Kumar Mohanta & Phudan Majhi (Mayurbhanj Style)

This episode is taken from the Upanayana ceremony of a Brahmin boy.

Mayura by Sukant Acharya (Seraikella Style)

The peacock is a bird known for its grandeur and beauty. This bird of extraordinary beauty- its feelings of joy and vanity, and the qualities of grace in its movements are given an anthropomorphic representation.

Geeta by Bibhuti Bhusan Mohanta & Rajkapur Mohanta. (Mayurbhanj Style)

The dance depicts an episode from the Mahabharata, the epic based on the concept of Shrimad Bhagavad Geeta’s Sainya Darshana Yoga.

The Director

Representing the fifth generation in a family of traditional performers who have significantly contributed in the evolution and development of Chhau dance, Sapan Kumar Acharya is steeped in the tradition of Seraikella Chhau. He has inherited the knowledge of this art form from his father Guru Lingaraj Acharya. He has been awarded with Junior and Senior Fellowships from Ministry of Culture, Government of India. He is a visiting faculty of Chhau at Attakalari Movements of Arts, Bangalore, an Artistic Director of Acharya Chhau Nrutya Bichitra, Seraikella, and a Teacher at Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi. He has been training students of both dance and theatre for the past 15 years.

The Group

Acharya Chhau Nrutya Bichitra was founded by Late Guru Lingaraj Acharya in the year 1980. Since then the institution has been training several artists in Seraikella Chhau dance. Guru L.R. Acharya was one of the last gurus of the Purthosahi Akhada, one of the eight Akhadas of Seraikella Chhau dance schools. 
Apart from training dancers, the institution has participated in various national and International dance festivals in India as well as abroad like India International Mask Dance Festival, the first international festival and seminar on Dance and Martial Arts of Asia, Yuva Mahotsava, a festival of all styles of Chhau dance, and Chidambaram and Ikeri temples. It has also been selected as one the training centers by the Sangeet Natak Akademi under its project to support to Chhau dance.

Cast & Credits

The Team: Sukant Kumar Acharya, Satish Kumar Modak, Ranjit Kumar Acharya, Shubham Acharya, Govind Mahato, Veena Choudhary, Bhibhuti Bhusan Mohanta, Rajkapur Mohanta, Niroj Kumar Mohanta, Phudan Majhi, Surendra Nath Soren, Yogesh Kumar Shankar, Bhagaban Behera, Shashadhar Acharya

Guru: Sapan Kumar Acharya

Acharya Chhau Nrutya Bichitra was founded by Late Guru Lingaraj Acharya in the year 1980. Since then the institution has been training several artists in Seraikella Chhau dance. Guru L.R. Acharya was one of the last gurus of the Purthosahi Akhada, one of the eight Akhadas of Seraikella Chhau dance schools. 
Apart from training dancers, the institution has participated in various national and International dance festivals in India as well as abroad like India International Mask Dance Festival, the first international festival and seminar on Dance and Martial Arts of Asia, Yuva Mahotsava, a festival of all styles of Chhau dance, and Chidambaram and Ikeri temples. It has also been selected as one the training centers by the Sangeet Natak Akademi under its project to support to Chhau dance.

Playwright & Director: Suranjana Dasgupta

Group: Nirbak Abhinay Academy, Kolkata

Language: Bengali

Duration: 1 hr 15 mins

The Play

Ashim and Joyita lives in their apparently normal household leading a conjugal life which seems to be a normal one, but gradually, their inner turmoil and unnatural co-existence penetrates the audience’s mind. Their attendants Mahadev and Chapala, are also dragged into the collisions somewhat unwillingly. Ashim is a crippled man, sitting all day in his wheelchair, due to an accident. The atmosphere turns claustrophobic when a mysterious apparition of Ashim is seen in the house. Joyita’s mind is troubled by the ghostly presence of a man who looks like her husband and is moving around the house like the past Ashim. She becomes psychologically ill and tries to escape. She provokes Ashim to commit suicide and Ashim turns her attempts to another game of clever torture. The play ends with Joyita’s ailing mind left to choose between the two – natural and the unnatural – where would she go?

Director’s Note

Directing plays for almost 25 years I have had a number of subjects to choose from, so I did social, mythological, historical and other plays. I kept the ‘time’ and ‘society’ as a consideration for choosing the subjects for my plays. The long journey as a theatre director taught me a number of things and brought me to these troubled times, when relationships and conjugal lives of men and women are at stake. A teleplay by a famous writer moved me and sowed the seed of Wheelchair. Though I did not take anything from that story, it somehow inspired me to write about the two characters Ashim and Joyita and their peculiarities. I had a discussion with one of my associates and getting positive inspiration from her, I chalked out the storyline immediately. Many sequences of the play were built during the rehearsals as we went on creating and discarding sequences. The play actually took shape while rehearsing – just like we do in workshops. I kept simple commonplace sentences for dialogues and the entire tension builds up mainly through acting and visual treats for the eye, taking the cinematic license of two similar looking men, at the same time using a dummy which is a novel thing. Apart from the technical marvels, what drove me strongly is the inner tension of the two characters and their collisions which gives the play its uniqueness. I believe in keeping a thriller short, as unnecessary stretching destroys its crispness. So only seven sequences say it all …

The Director & Playwright

Suranjana Dasgupta has acted in lead roles in productions directed by eminent directors of Kolkata. As a singer-actress she made a tremendous impact in Madhab Malanchi Koinya directed by Bibhas Chakrabarty and winning the prestigious West Bengal State Natya Academy award for the best actress in 1988, and in 2006 for Kanan Pisir Japomala. She has done workshops with Peter Brook in 1989, Marcel Marceau in 1986, Jean-Guy Lecut in 2006, and a playwright’s workshop with Alan Brody in 2007. She has written many original plays like Manadasundari, Kanan Pisir Japomala, Tukaalaam Durganaam and Wheelchair.

The Group

Nirbak Abhinay Academy, Kolkata was established in the year 1981 as a mime group by eminent mime artist Anjan Deb. The group participated in Natya Swapna Kalpa twice with their productions Dulai and Aar Ekjon Mahapurush. The group has produced children’s plays like Monikahini, Gachpakhalir Dukkhogatha, Bhusandir Maathe. It has produced Sita Theke Suru and Ratmohana based on Salman Rushdie’s novels and adapted by Sharmila Maitra.

Cast & Credits

On Stage: Anjan Deb, Suranjana Dasgupta, Sharmila Maitra, Anindita Biswas, Tanmoy Mazumdar

Set Design: SuranjanaDasgupta

Set Making: Madan Halder

Music Design: Kathakali Bhattacharya

Music Operation: Koushik Sajjan

Light Design: Niladree Bhattacharya

Light Operation: Raju Dhar

Make-up: Mahammad Israfil

Direction & Script: Suranjana Dasgupta

Playwright: Ujjwal Chattopadhyay

Director: Bratya Basu

Group: Naihati Bratyajon, 24 Paragana

Language: Bengali

Duration: 1 hr 30 mins

The Play

The central point of the play 21 Grams or Ekush Gram is an accident around which revolve three families and lives of a few individuals. The sequence of events spins simultaneously from the past to the present and back to the past. These circular motions embody individuals merged in emotions of love-affection, lust-violence, despair-dejection, and wide-ranging gives and takes. Under the same kiosk, into the varied complexities of life penetrate many heart pulsations lub-dub..lub-dub..lub-dub…….. A compelling and unbearable rhythm of lub-dub…. this is an endless tremor. Its harmonious impact signifies the mysterious beauty of life. Barely 21 grams lub-dub..lub-dub..lub-dub..lub-dub…

Director’s Note

Naihati Bratyajon was established with an aim to present films rich in creative and theatrical content on stage. For theatrical presentation, they had resolved to choose from films produced in Bengal. The first play staged in this design was Meghe Dhaka Tara. The play premiered at University Institute Hall on 2nd January, 2016. The premier show of the second production Ekush Gram is planned on 26th March 2017 at Mohit Moitra Mancha, Paikpara. This play is based on the second film of Oscar winning Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu, titled 21 Grams. The essence of this theatrical production is to make the two islands of theatre and film to become mutually relevant in the great ocean of art.

The Director

Bratya Basu, is an accomplished theatre artist, a playwright and director. Basu launched his career as a dramatist and director with the play Ashaleen (1996), described by theatre critics as the first post-modernist Bengali play. His noted plays (as playwright, actor and director) thereafter include Aranyadeb, Shahar Yaar, Virus-M, Winkle-Twinkle, 17th July, Chatushkon and many more. Basu has bagged many awards and recognitions both in Theatre and Film. Some of them include Hyderabad Bengali Film Festival Award, Ritwik Ghatak Honorary Award, Kalakar Award, Shyamal Sen Memorial Award, Dishari Award, Satyen Mitra Award, Shilpayan Samman, Srestho Natya Nirman etc. Bratya Basu, is currently Hon’ble Cabinet Minister and in charge of the Ministry of Information Technology & Electronics for the state of West Bengal. He has created his own space in contemporary theatre by moving beyond its existing boundaries. He formed his own theatre group Bratyajon in 2008. The first theatrical production of Bratyajon was Ruddhasangeet (2009) which has so far staged more than a record 150 shows to packed houses.

The Playwright

Ujjwal Chattopadhyay is a professor of Economics and an eminent playwright of West Bengal who has been serving Bengali theatre for decades. Most of his plays have been produced by directors like Bibhas Chakraborty, Meghnad Bhattacharya, Bratya Basu, Soumitra Mitra, Kaushik Sen, Prokash Bhattacharya and others. Some of his remarkable plays are Akarik, Antaral, Bhrom, Antoni-Soudamini, Arabyorajani, Biley, Drohokal, Dhrubatar, Nati Kiranshasi etc. He has also adapted the works of Chekov, Tagore, Shakespeare and Kalidas.

The Group

We have formed Naihati Bratyajon by merging all the theatre groups of Naihati. On the suggestion offered by our respected playwright and director, Bratya Basu, we have decided to stage plays based on popular movies carrying social messages. Our first production, Meghe Dhaka Tara, is a well-known film of Ritwik Ghatak. We will produce several such film productions on stage in the future and present them to theatre lovers.

Cast & Credits

On Stage: Poulumi Basu, Arna Mukhopadhyay, Sumit Ray, Loknath Dey, Dyuti Halder, Partha Bhowmick, Prantik Chowdhury, Aritra Banerjee, Raktim Dutta, Partha Pratim Das, Subrata Biswas, Nantu Kundu, Mahuya Bhadra, Subham Sil, Soumadip Kundu, Ronit Paul, Rick Deb, Mou Mondal, Rupa Mazumdar, Sayni Ghosh, Shankar Dutta, Srijoni Adhikary

Light: Sudip Sanyal

Set design: Debasish Dutta

Set Making: D’Moy

Sound: Dishari Chakraborty

Sound Operator: Santonu Paul

Costume: Madhumita Dham

Make-up: Md Ali

Movement: Debkumar Pal

Logo Design: Inner Circle Advertising

Stills, Brochure & Publicity Design: Abhijit Nath

Production Assistance: Prithwish Rana

Production Control: Jitobrato Palit

Playwright: Ujjwal Chattopadhyay

Director: Bratya Basu

Playwright & Director: Anasuya Subasinghe

Group: Salt Theatre Company, Sri Lanka

Language: English

Duration: 2 hr 30 mins

The Play

Welcome to the extraordinary world of Kōlam! The past meets the present and strangely familiar stories unfold in a patchwork of bittersweet encounters. Lǣli Kōlama, the man bearing a plank of wood, crosses the ocean to arrive on foreign shores with the hope of becoming a deity. In the wake of neo-nationalist ethos, Diyasēna Kōlama presents himself as a self-appointed saviour, equipped with a master plan to outplay the evil forces threatening his race and religion. Weighed down by her children and their children, Attamma Kōlama endures the adored burdens and fears of the archetypal Sri Lankan grandmother. Vanda Kōlama, the praying mantis, whose palms meet in habitual genuflection, has found a method of survival in the many interpretations of the namaskāra. Gandhabba Kōlama wanders between death and rebirth, seeking justice for those who have been disappeared through the troublesome history of the Island. Lǣeli Kōlama returns to the arena, still hopeful of becoming a god. But urged by the Narrator, he has little choice but to take on the role of the Garā Demon responsible for ‘mopping up’ the arena and concluding the performance.

Director’s Note

Kōlam, once a popular secular Sinhalese dance-theatre tradition of Sri Lanka, was performed in the outdoors, incorporation a large repertoire of masks, traditional low-country dance, yak-bera percussion, song, satire, Buddhist cosmology, and the influence of exorcism rituals. Both didactic and entertaining in nature, the Kōlam practitioner was inspired by his social and political landscape in bringing narratives to life in the arena. My Sweet Rotten Heritance is a political satire that attempts to reimagine this moribund Kōlam practice beyond its ‘fixed’ repertoire, by introducing new masks and narratives familiar to the contemporary spectator. Inter lacing political, historical and mythological accounts, and reinterpreting them in today’s context, the play explores the perform ability of Kōlamas a ‘living’, ‘evolving’ performance practice.

The Director & Playwright

Anasuya Subasinghe is a Sri Lankan academic in performance studies, a playwright, theatre practitioner, and film actor. She has received the award for Best Female Performance at the National Festival of Theatre in Sri Lanka and has won several national awards as Upcoming Female Actor for her role in the international award-winning Sri Lankan film, Ho Gānā Pokuna (The Singing Pond).  Anasuya has worked in both the Sinhala and English language theatres of Sri Lanka over the past 20 years, and has interests ranging from masked theatre, physical theatre, solo performance, autobiographical performance and Sri Lankan traditional theatre and ritual performance. Anasuya completed her Doctoral degree in Performance Studies at Victoria University Melbourne Australia where she was awarded a Postgraduate Research Scholarship. She has since returned to her home country to continue her work as an academic and performance practitioner and is currently employed as a visiting lecturer at the University of the Visual and Performing Arts in Colombo.

The Group

Salt Theatre Company was established by playwright, director and actor Anasuya Subasinghe as an independent theatre ensemble that engages in practice as research. My Sweet Rotten Heritance, the debut theatrical Endeavour of the Company, was originally produced in 2017 as the performance component of Anasuya’s Doctoral Degree. Well received by a multicultural audience, Salt Theatre returned to Melbourne in July 2018 for two more successful performances of the play. Composed of an ensemble of young, dynamic performers, Salt Theatre aims to present theatrical works of high standard that are socially and politically incisive, creatively challenging, and most certainly entertaining.

CAST AND CREDITS

Narrator: Anasuya Subasinghe

Lǣli Kōlama: Jithendra Vidyapathy

Diyasēna Kōlama: Ishara Wickramasinghe

Attamma Kōlama: Stefan Thirimanne

Vanda Kōlama: Stefan Thirimanne

Gandhabba Kōlama : Dinupa Kodagoda

Musician: Nadika Weligodapola

Music: Nadika Weligodapola

Choreography: Jithendra Vidyapathy

Mask Design: Anasuya Subasinghe

Mask Illustrations: Trevor Stacpool, SujeewaWeerasinghe

Mask Design Development & Painting: Sirimal Sanjeewa Kumara, Sujeewa Weerasinghe

Mask Carving: Thuresh Manjula

Backdrop Art: Sirimal Sanjeewa Kumara

Costume Design: Dinushika Senevirathne

Puppet Mask Carving: Sumith Jayawarnana

Puppet Making: Tilaka Subasinghe

Set Design: Anasuya Subasinghe

Set Construction: Gamini Ranasinghe

Lights Design & Operation: Anuradha Mallawarachchi

Production Managers: Malith Hegoda, Sadhani Rajapakse

Playwright & Director: Anasuya Subasinghe

Playwright: William Shakespeare

Director: Bhaskar Boruah

Group: Replica, Jorhat

Language: Assamese

Duration: 1 hr 28 mins

The Play

Crownless Prince is the story of prince Hamlet whose father is murdered by his uncle, Claudius who, soon after the funeral marries his sister-in-law. Hamlet is unable to accept the sudden death of his father and the hurried re-marriage of his mother. The ghost of King Hamlet commands his son to avenge his death by killing his uncle. Hamlet affects madness and with the help of a troupe of players stages a play, the plot of which is told by the ghost. The performance finally leads to the death of the whole family.

Director’s Note

It is a common saying that as soon as one gets attached to Hamlet, he/she can’t evade it, as his way of seeing life changes after that. Same was the case with me. I got associated with Hamlet during one of my classes while I was studying at N.S.D. I played the role of Hamlet then and I don’t think his psychology ever left me. For me, there is no place for Hamlet and his emotions in the beautiful facade of the world that surrounds him. The revenge that prince Hamlet is called to wreak upon his uncle by his father’s spirit dispirited Hamlet. Hamlet’s situation can be traced to the untimely death of our political figures as well. When I started the work, it was meant to be a solo piece. But as I went along I realised that Hamlet cannot exist without the crisis of the world that he lives in, as each character brings out a different face of the crown prince. His ‘madness’ is as much due to external factors as it is due to his internal conflicts. These are the views regarding Hamlet which I have tried to present in front of you in this stylized piece.

The Director

Bhaskar Boruah is an upcoming playwright, director, and theatre trainer. He graduated from National School of Drama, New Delhi in 2015, with Specialization in Acting. He has directed many stage plays like Junakirkothare, Dhemalirkothare, Xastirxondhanat, Karnaittyadi, Monai, Tetontamuli, Bharmi, Ravan, Hamlet, Rjardeul, Kekoni, Oi…Who am I? etc. He established his group Joonak (a group of little stars) in 2008. He has worked with acclaimed theatre directors from India and abroad. As an actor, he has acted in 45 stage plays and participated in 18 National/International theatre festivals including Shakespeare’s International Theatre Festival held in China and Serbia, and Colombo International Theatre Festival in Sri Lanka.  

The Playwright

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright who is considered one of the greatest writers to ever use the English language. He is also the most famous playwright in the world, with his plays being translated in over 50 languages and performed across the globe for audiences of all ages.

The Group

Replica was established in 1997 and has taken part in various all India cultural activities. It has received appreciation for its street plays, musical plays, stage dramas, mono-acts, etc. It also organizes The North-East India Drama Festival, a 45 days Residential Drama Workshop and stages the workshop production for 30 days at a stretch.

Cast & Credits

Hamlet: Bhaskar Boruah

Ghost: Bhaskar Tamuly

Claudius: Nitu Gogoi

Gertrude: Neelakhi Gohain

Ophelia: Dorothy Bhardwaj

Polonius: Kaushik Hazarika

Horatio: Bijit Borgohain

Laertes: Himanshu Gogoi

Marcellus: Ajay Mech

Grave Digger : Debajit Bhuyan

Bernardo: Bijit Kumar Das

Players: Mitali Saikia, Nitu Gogoi, Ajay Mech, Bijit Kumar Das, Rosey Mudoi, Kaushik Hazarika

Light Design: Bharat Chutia

Set Design: Bhaskar Boruah

Assistant Set Designer: Shivam Saikia, Ajay Mech, Nitu Gogoi

Music Direction: Bhaskar Boruah, Raktutpol Bharadwaj

Costume Design: Bhaskar Boruah

Assistant Costume Designer: Apsara Khan, Mitali Saikia

Properties: All Team Members

Set Design: Bhaskar Boruah

Subtitles Projection: Sanjib Pathok

Assistant Set Designer: Bharat Chutia, Ajay Mech, Nitu Gogoi

Make-up: All Actors

Stage Setup, Co-Make-up & Wardrobe Stylist: Rupjyoti Mahanta, Satyam Kushwaha, Modhusmita Goswami

Movement Choreography: Bijit Kumar Das

Stage Manager: Nipen Bora

Team Leader & Secretary: Rupjyoti Mahanta

Playwright: William Shakespeare

Assamese Adaptation, Design & Direction: Bhaskar Boruah

Playwright: Siddheshwar Sen

Director: Babulal Deora

Group: Individual, Ujjain

Language: Malwi

Duration: 1 hr 30 mins

The Form

Maach is a folk theatre form of the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. This form was initiated around 200-250 years ago by Guru Gopal Ji of Bhagsipura of Ujjain. Even today three major akhadas of this theatre form viz. Daulatganj Akhada of Ustad Kaluram Sharma, Jaisinghpura Akhada of Balmukund Ji, and Mali Pura Akhada of Ustad Radhakishan Ji are prevelant. Maach has more than 150 scripts/ manuscripts and 125 melodies sung on 5/7 different rhythms. The main musical instruments of Maach are Harmonium, Dhol and Sarangi. Maach is a musical theatre that begins 10 at night and runs till 8 in the morning. Traditionally Maach is performed by men only, but Ustad Kalu Ram Ji’s Gharana has always had female artists as well.

The Play

Raja Harishchandra denounced his kingdom and mortgaged his own, his wife’s and his sons’s life to repay his guru’s debt, and to preserve the Truth. Written by Siddheshwar Sen and directed by Maach guru Babulal Deora, this presentation Raja Harishchandra has been staged by the group in many festivals held in different cities like Jamshedpur Tatanagar, Jharkhand; All India Craft Festival, Shilpramam, Hyderabad (Telengana) and at Ankur Rangmanch & Pratibha Lok Kala.

The Director

Born on 11 October 1963 in village Nayakhe of Ujjain District, Babu Lal Deora, at the age of 15, participated in the stories of Lokarg and Tejaji Maharaj and decided to step into the field of Maach. He was inspired and trained in Maach of Malwa by Guru Shri Siddheshwar Ji Sen and elder brother Ratan Maharaj Lokesh Sen. His first performance was as a singer in the chorus. After the death of his guru he continued the tradition. Later he went to Chittor for a workshop with Hafiz Khan, where he was introduced to some more melodies of Maach associated with Turra Kalangi folk theatre. Since then he has constantly been staging and promoting this folk art.

Cast & Credits

Raja Harishchandra: Babulal Deora

Guri Vishwamitra: Sudhir Sankhla

Kalua: Mangilal Bhati

Pradhan Ji: Babu Bhati

Rani Tara: Visnu Chandel

Pharaasan: Sonu, Tikaram Bhaati, Teju Solanki

Harmonium: Mangilal Vaishnav

Dholak: Pappu Chauhan

Tek: Lakhan Deora, Madanlal Deora, Vinod Paanchal

Chela: Ravi Akodia, Kuldip Panwar

Playwright: Siddheshwar Sen

Director: Babulal Deora

Director: Koumarane Valavane

Group: Indianostrum Theatre, Pondicherry

Language: English

Duration: 1 hr 5 mins

The Play

Karuppu is a dance-drama representation of the movement of Purusha and Prakriti energies through the birth, destruction and rebirth of the universe. The separation of Purusha from Prakriti destroys the universe; but the destruction is not permanent as nothing is. Only in the powerful destruction of the world and all its constituent materials and forms, by Karuppu (Dark) energy, is the reunion of Consciousness and Nature possible, giving rebirth to all of existence. Karuppu depicts a universe absorbing all imbalances making itself a black hole from which rebirth of everything anew is possible.

Director’s Note

Karuppu, this is the black spot that we put on the cheek of a newborn. . .

Karuppu, is the nocturnal silhouette that will try to seize us at the corner of a deserted street. . .

Karuppu is the spirit that keeps the man alert. . .

Karuppu is the goddess Kali, the ultimate form of energy, the one needed to destroy everything. . .

Karuppu is also a world without God, without a creator, without the paternal guru omnipresent where the Man, alone in the face of his destiny, learns to tame the dark forces.

Karuppu is not evil but the darkness contained in him of whom he is wary, he conjures the hold through rituals. . .

Karuppu is the vision of a world born simply from the union between Pakriti (the feminine) and Purusha (the masculine). This union between energy and consciousness, dynamic of a whole universe is as fragile as the relationship between man and woman. . .

In the form of a dance-theatre we make and break the bonds that unite Purusha (the man) and Pakriti (the woman) through mythical characters including Iphigenia, Ophelia, Clytemnestra, Medea and Kali.

The Director

Koumarane Valavane, a Franco-Indian, who left for France in his early years for studies, started practicing theatre at a very young age. In the University of Marseille, he along with his friends created a cultural association which was called Centre Culturel de Luminy, and which made theatre its primary element. After completing his research in Theoretical Physics, he founded his own theatre company Natya. For 3 years he worked as an actor at Theatre du Soleil, the renowned theatre company in Paris, before returning to India in 2006. With the rich experience of contemporary theatre gained in France, Koumarane returned home with a decision to continue exploring theatre at home. His thought began to spread its roots when he met a few young people at Alliance Francaise de Madras. This small group connected by the passion to do theatre, decided to form a theatre group and created Indianostrum in 2007.

The Group

Indianostrum Théâtre was founded by Koumarane Valavane, a French-Indian director in the year 2007, along with few young actors who were ready to gamble their flourishing careers in conventional fields for their passion for theatre. Indianostrum’s core aim is to expand the role of modern theatre in the cultural life of the country, by developing new modern texts, finding the specificities of Indian modern theatre, exploring its relationship with traditional forms, and transcending political, social and historical divides.

Cast & Credits

On Stage: Abinaya Ganeshan, David Salamon P., Mani Bharathi G., Priyadarshini Chakravarty, Ruchi Raveendran, Santhosh kumar. C, Saranjith N. K., Vasanth Selvam

Music: Jean – Jacques Lemetre, ‘Requiem’ by Mozart, Tribal Oppari, Tibetan ritual music, ‘The rite of spring’ by Igor Stravinsky, ‘Therenody for the Victims of Hiroshima’ by Krzysztof Penderecki

Voice-Over: Kalieaswari Srinivasan (The Seagull by Anton Chekhov)

Light Design Execution: Baby Charles

Administration: Priti Bakalkar, Sudheesh K

Direction: Koumarane Valavane