Sankar Venkateswaran’s artistic director’s note on the International Theatre Festival of Kerala (IToFK) is a string of queries. The simple yet multi-headed questions gnaw at the root of our theatre tradition – What are the plays we need? Whom or what do they represent? How does it resonate with the audience? How are our plays relevant? – are snippets from what he asks. The ITFoK, which the young theatre director is curating, will surely not answer all of those. But it intends to open a window – to discuss, debate, watch and ponder over at least a few.
The seventh edition of the ITFoK, which opens on January 10, stages 25 plays from India and abroad; so too six radio plays along with discussions and other performances. It showcases theatre experiences from countries and spaces that have been rarely represented here. The intention is to steer away from easy options and cultures where theatre is a well-supported endeavour. Instead, attention is on theatre from spaces that are potent with new realities and where art itself is an enterprise against odds. Hence, a hearty presence of theatre groups from the conflict-stricken West Asian region. Four plays from Lebanon and one each from Palestine, Egypt, Tunisia and Sri Lanka speak of theatre against political upheaval. “The groups from Palestine, Lebanon and Tunisia are performing in India for the first time,” says Sankar.
A mighty will and a keen desire to perform at ITFoK are bringing many of the West Asian groups to Thrissur. A wafer-thin budget for the festival means theatre from lesser known spaces has to battle odds to perform here. “For instance, the team from Lebanon are 16 actors and technicians and they had to pitch in from their personal resources to perform here. What binds the groups and us are a shared will to perform in this space,” adds Sankar.
Yet, the spirit is formidable and the festival looks at theatre as a sustainable movement in creatively challenging environments. It does so by thematically focussing on ‘Theatres of Resistance, Theatres of Today’. The plays were chosen at the time of heightened confrontation in West Asia. “We wanted to bring plays that were not familiar to the spectators of Kerala. The first edition of IToFK had plays from the SAARC countries, while the second one dealt with African plays. The third one had plays from Latin America and since then a lot of European plays have been performed,” says Sankar over the telephone from Thrissur.
Resolving to bring what he calls ‘relevant’ theatre, Sankar has picked only two plays from Europe. Even when he chooses ‘Fashion Zombie & Touchscreen’ from Denmark and ‘Made in Bangladesh’ from Germany, he says, they are there for attempting a different narrative. ‘“Made in Bangladesh’ is a contemporary dance performance choreographed by Vikram Iyengar, performed by dancers from Bangladesh and is from Germany,” he says. ‘Mahabharata’ from Japan is a collaborative effort where Japanese director Hiroshi Koike researches on the Mahabharata tradition in South East Asian countries and mounts a performance with Indian, Indonesian and Malaysian actors. Creative exchanges are on between West Asian countries as Syrian playwright Abdullah Al Kafri directs the Lebanese Zoukak team for ‘I Hate Theatre I Love Pornography’. The “acting of today”, says Sankar, was the yardstick in the choice of Indian plays at the festival. Among the plays to be mounted are Abhishek Majumdar’s ‘Kaumudi’ and Rajiv Krishnan’s ‘How to Skin a Giraffe’.
The strain of sparse resources though is evident in subtle ways. On Zoukak from Lebanon performing four plays, Sankar says, “With limited resources, it is easier to get one group down and get them to perform many plays than getting many groups here.” Sankar is also hoping that multiple performances from a region will allow spectators a deeper engagement with the essence of theatre there. It is also an experiment in getting repertories with many productions in their kitty to perform.
Empowerment of the audience has also been a talking point at the festival. “The attempt is to look at the audience as vital co-creators of the theatre experience,” he says. Reservations have to be made for each show with a Rs. 20 entry pass. With this, Sankar says, the spectator is assured of his place even as he steps into the venue. Respect, for both the performers and the audience, marks the beginning of a creative engagement, he believes. Performances will unfold in spaces diverse in ambience. From the intimate spectatorship of the Black Box and the circular seating at the tent to the freedom of open air spaces and the proscenium ambience of the enhanced gallery – the experience aims to be multiple. “The gallery allows the audience to occupy space that is at a higher level than the actors,” says Sankar. The different viewing dynamics, he hopes, will create a new way for the audience to respond to what they see.
With the idea of resistance key to the festival, a series of radio plays that date back decades and speak a language of dissent have been sourced from All India Radio and would be broadcast at the venue. “In the past, emphasis has been overtly on the body. The word and the voice have not been examined much. But this is a very powerful medium,” says Sankar.
The IToFK will take place at Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi premises at Chembukkavu, Thrissur from January 10-17. For details visit http://theatrefestivalkerala.com/
