The Play
Court Martial’s central character is Ram Chander, a jawan in the army. He has been accused of murdering one of his senior officers, Captain Verma, and injuring another, Captain B.D. Kapoor. When the play begins, Ram Chander is already in the court, facing trial. Col. Surat Singh is presiding over the proceedings. During the course of the trial the prosecution, Major Ajay Puri, sees no complication in the case as Ram Chander himself has confessed to the crime. But defence counsel Captain Bikas Roy is up to something else. He poses ostensibly irrelevant questions to the witnesses but they are actually related to the genesis of the whole saga. The witnesses Subedar Balwan Singh, Captain B.D. Kapoor, Captain Dr Gupta, Lt. Col. Rawat and Ram Chander respond to the queries initially in a roundabout way but as Captain Roy persists with his line of reasoning, they find it hard to suppress the truth. The truth is that Ram Chander belongs to a low caste and Verma and Kapoor (prior to the shooting incident) often insulted him using derogatory words such as harijan, bhangi and chamaar. Kapoor’s aversion to Ram Chander was aggravated by the fact that he’s an outstanding sprinter who once beat Kapoor in a race. Kapoor had left no stone unturned in insulting Ram Chander nd made him do menial work.

Director’s note
I have not seen any dramatic work, in my journey of twenty-five years of theatre, as my livelihood. It is always a way to identify my surroundings, human beings, and life. Court Martial surprised me; not because of its social relevance but because of the thought process of human beings. Political and social inequalities are working behind the debilitating minds. I've been trying to talk to the actors about the strange ways of the human mind… the distance between truth and justice … which is measured in this Court Martial.

The Director

Artistic Director of Abhinaya Theatre Research Centre, Kerala M G Jyothish is a director, designer, actor and teacher with more than two decades of experience. He graduated in Theatre Arts from the renowned School of Drama, at the University of Calicut, and post graduated in Theatre Arts (Direction) from the University of Pondichery. Later, M G Jyothish started practising with Abhinaya Theatre Research Centre, conceiving and scenographing more than twenty major productions. Many of his critically acclaimed plays have regularly been invited to and presented at numerous festivals like World Theatre Festival, Brisbane; Avignon Off Festival, France; etc. He has won many awards and recognitions including Sanskriti National Award for Theatre Excellence, Sangeet Natak Academy
Award, and the Culture Fellowship from the Ministry of Culture.

The Playwright
Swadesh Deepak (born 1943) is an Indian playwright, novelist and short-story writer. Deepak has been active on theHindi literary scene since the mid-1960s and is best known forCourt Martial, a path breaking play that he published in 1991. Several of his works have been staged and made into elevision programmes. Deepak holds master's degrees in bothHindi and English. For twenty-six years, he taughtEnglish literature atAmbala’s Gandhi Memorial College.

Cast & Credits
Bikas Roy Ananth Gejo Antony
B. D. Kapoor Nanda Kishor
Balvan Singh Chanthu S Panicker
Major Ajay Puri Vineeth PR

Ramachander Govind U
Ganesh Rahul Reghu
Brajendra Rawat Jitheesh Samuel
Maneesh Kapoor Suseel S
Mahesh Varma Renju Sebastian
Colonel Surat Singh Renjith M
Abhishek Athul Ramkumar
Dr Captain Gupta Jibin K Babu
Vivek Sujith KS
Music Execution Subeesh ES
Make-up Ajayakumar C
Light execution Renjith PR
Playwright Swadesh Deepak
Director Jyothish M G

The Play

The play is an autobiography of Gauharjan, who was a famous classical singer of India. She was born in 1873 in Ajamgarh. Her mother Malkajan too was a renowned classical singer. In 1883 Malka came to Calcutta to perform and settled there permanently. During her stay in Calcutta with her mother,Gauharjan developed a keen interest in singing and dancing. Gradually she became a famous classical  singer.

Director’s Note

The inherent blessings of God introduced Gauharjan to the country and the world. Her reations & presentations in Hindustani Classical Music brought about the recognition of Gauharjan  world-wide. But to achieve mental peace & happiness Gauharjan stopped performing, and decided to embrace love and lead a social life. But the pious desire of Gauharjan ended in smoke. Except for Amrit Keshab Nayak (the famous playwright, director and hero of Gujarati & Hindi Theatre) who died soon after they met, she could not find any man whom she could truly love. She was deceived on the pretext of love by other men. The play deals with the miseries of her later life.

Director
Priyanku Sekhar Das achieved success early in life as an actor by performances in various plays. As an Assistant Director he has successfully assisted in the direction of plays like Bharat Puran, Desodrohi, Dak Ghar. As a director he has directed Sesh Adhyaya, Jagaran Pala and My name is Gauharjan.

The Playwright

Sumitro Banerjee is the founder director of Sanyogsutra, a theatre group. He has done his masters in Buddhist studies and Mass Communication from Calcutta and Rabindra Bharati University. His early play Jhara Somoyer Kabyo (Based on the life and times of Mirza Ghalib) received the prestigious Sundaram award. Some of his major plays are Birpurus, Muche Jaoa Din Guli, and My Name Is Gauharjan. Sumitro has participated in national and international workshops and seminars organized by NSD, Delhi and other institutions.

Translator

Sri Sandip Bagchi has been writing, translating and producing plays since his youth. He trans created Macbeth in Bengali as Mobarak. He has written almost a dozen plays. Some of his popular productions are Raja Krishnanath, Bhor, The Car of Time and Siraj.

The Group

Prantik is a registered theatre group of Berhampore, Murshidabad, West Bengal. Since 1968 Prantik is organizing workshops and producing plays regularly. It has bagged many awards and certificates of excellence for various productions. Prantik is known for its milestone production Nana Hey in 1978. The popularity of Prantik has reached its zenith by staging the play My name is Gauharjan.

Cast & Credits

Gauhar (Child) : Oshiaan Das Bhattacharya
Gauhar (Teen) : Oishi Bhattacharya
Gauhar (Young) : Ranita Lahiri/Piyali Roychowdhury
Gauhar (Senior) & Malkajan : Jhulan Bhattacharjee
Salma : Ritwika Bhattacharjee / Ananya Rajbanshi
Ashia : Swasti Bhattacharya
Rehena : Ishani Bhattacharya
Bhaglu : Ardhendu Majumder
Ganesh Chandra Chandra/Moulana Sowkat Ali : Tapan Jyoti Das
Goswami : Priyanku Sekhar Das
Bose : Goutam Majumder
Roy Sahab/Ganpat Rou : Goutam Bhattacharya
Mitra : Bidyut Baran Mahajan
Representatives : Sadhan Roy, Sidhartha Mahajan
Chagon : Anwar Hossain
Abbas : Somnath Bhattacharya
Tabla Assit. :  Amit Moitra
Maid : Moumita Saha
Set & Light : Shyamaprasahad Bandhyopadhy
Set & Assistant : Rahul Das, Srabon Saha
Set Drawing : Soumen Mondal
Music : Subhamoy Bandhyopadhy
Make-up : Kanai Routh, Praloy Routh

Music Execution : Kajal Mondal
Costume : Jhulan Bhattacharya
Dresser : Abanish Chandra Sinha, Moumita Saha
Technical Assistant : Nilanjan Pandey
Still Photography : Tamoghnajyoti Das
Team Manager : Sabir Zaman

Playwright : Sumitro Banerjee
Editing, Design & Direction : Priyanku Sekhar Das

The Play & Director’s Note
The journey for Ashok Ki Chinta started when I was thinking about my new Hindi play for 2017. Iasked Dr. Vinaye to write something for me. He showed me the script of Ashok ki Chinta. The play is  the journey of Samrat Ashok, the great emperor, conveying the contemporary issues like war, oppression and misuse of power. Ashok has been portrayed as not only the one who rules the state but also, as one who tries his best to keep the power in his hands. Three specific situations, that are contemporary to Mauritius, have been retained in this play – war and terrorism, conquering world- market through money and power, and marginalization of the Diego Garcia people by uprooting them to Mauritius. Having won various wars, Ashok starts realizing his ultimate goal towards life – his love for simplicity and Nature. Ultimately, after winning the Kalinga war, Ashok’s heart is truly transformed by grief and love and he becomes the proponent of humanity by adopting the path of Buddhism.

The Director
Rajeshwar Seetohul won his first award as Best Junior Actor in 2010 at the age of 14. He became the youngest actor ever who won the Best actor award at National level in Bhojpuri language at the age of 17, and Hindi language at the age of 18. He became the youngest Director in Mauritius. After that he won many awards for his performances. After winning three Best Actor awards at the National Level, he was offered his first play in Hindi for direction in 2015. That was his initiation into direction. He directed the play Shakuntala, authored by the greatest poet and dramatist Kālidāsa, and won the second-best director award. He is also a cinematographer and has made several short movies for social awareness and competitions organized by Mauritius film Development Corporation.

The Playwright
Dr Kumarduth Goodary (Vinaye) is presently Senior Lecturer at the School of Indian Studies withabout 17 years of experience in teaching and research at tertiary level. His interests vary from creative writing, leadership skills and motivational pedagogies to multi-disciplinary research. He is the presenter of Srijan-Your Rendez-vous with Culture, a talk show programme aired on MBC 1 TV weekly, since 2015 with some 60 interviews with scholars in Hindi. He has also acted in local serials and short films in Hindi, Creole, Bhojpuri, French and English. He has directed a short film Reperkision based on domestic violence. He wrote a film on mother's day named Merci which was
projected at Jaipur International Film Festival in which he played the lead role. He has been scriptwriting for numerous films and serials. Having authored Ashok ki Chinta, a contemporary play, he won the best local writer and best actor awards for the national drama competition. He has been awarded at several occasions for his contribution to Hindi in Mauritius.

The Group
The Vacoas Rang Bhoomi Kala Mandir (VRBKM) was founded in 1977 by Late Shri Gawkurrun Seetohul. VRBKM presents plays and films in English, Hindi, Bhojpuri, Urdu and Mauritian Creole (Local Language). In the Past 40 years, VRBKM has presented more than 150 one-act plays and 200 Radio Bhojpuri Jokes on the National Radio. Lately, VRBKM has been producing short films to create awareness on social issues.

Cast & Credits
Ashok : Goodary Kumarduth
Radhagupt : Seetohul Rajeshwar
Sushim/ Soldier : Mohundin Mounesh
Dancer/ Keem Loo/ Villager : Gunesh Girisha

Dancer/ Bankarm/ Chanda : Sooroop Sonam
Dancer/ Widow : Ghurbhurrun Joshita Devi
Village Child : Reetam Keshav
Buddha/Senapati : Seetohul Rajiv
Soldier/Buddha’s Disciple : Gooljar Shakshi
Light Designer : Dabydoyal Leenisha
Music / Sound Effect : Konnjah Yashveer
Stage Manager : Ramdeny Krishnanand Singh
Technical : Seerkissoon Rakesh, Sovida Sunkur
Head of Delegation : Rashid Neerooa

Playwright : Dr. Vinaye Goodary
Director : Rajeshwar Seetohul