Ekaharya, a four-day solo performance festival, at Tripunithura, was an exploration inside the artistic self of 14 performers drawn from various parts of the country. It got off to a spirited start, lost a bit of steam halfway, but finished off with a stunning performance by the seasoned Seema Biswas.
The festival curated by a team of noted theatre practitioners headed by Abhilash Pillai was a brave attempt to bring the solo performer to the mainstream.
“This is the first time I’m part of a curatorial team for solo performances. And it was truly a challenging experience. First of all, this was not a replacement for total theatre and also not a platform only to showcase the talent of the individual actor. Solo is not about celebrating individualism or individuals. It is more about articulating the changing cultural conditions of the contemporary period, genuine concerns. So we had performers who challenged some of the core traditional values, creating spaces to imagine new hybrid identities,” says Abhilash Pillai, festival director.
‘Samjhauta’, featuring Manvendra Kumar Tripathi, which opened the festival, was a powerful depiction of the youth of today and the harsh realities that he is forced to confront with. Choiti Ghosh’s ‘A Bird’s Eye View’ was an object theatre production on war and conflict as seen by a carrier pigeon – Milu. Through the use of carrier pigeons, paintings, toys and games, Choiti conveyed the futility of war and violence.
Teejan Bai must have just warmed up when it was time to close. In one hour, with her throaty voice and unflagging energy backed up a team of musicians, the Padmabhushan awardee gave the audience a sneak peek into the traditional art form of Pandavani.
While M.D. Pallavi (‘C Sharp C Blunt’), Jayachandran Thakazhikaran (‘Josephinte Radio’) and Jilmil Hazarika (‘To Kill Or Not To Kill’) brightened up proceedings on the second day, the rest of the performers were rather inconsistent.
Pallavi, a singer, played the role of a smartphone App, Shilpa Version 202 that would sing the way you wanted her to at the touch of a button. With the advanced version Shilpa 404 where height, bust size and skin colour could be altered, the mood turns sombre. Interspersed are moments with a young woman looking for a ‘chance’ in the entertainment industry, a virtual character in a video game, and a filmmaker shooting a rape scene.
Jayachandran came up with a stand out performance as Joseph. His radio is a metaphor for democracy. When it stops functioning he desperately tries to get it repaired. The mechanics keep it for five years and return it with more problems. One mechanic finally tells him the problem is not with the radio but with the radio station and that no one could repair it. It was a strong critique of democracy and the fate of the common man.
The best was reserved for the last. Seema Biswas enthralled as Kadambani, a widow, in ‘Jeevit Ya Mrit’, based on Rabindranath Tagore’s short story of the same name. Directed by Anuradha Kapoor, the sensitive and innovative use of property, lighting and music enhanced Seema’s performance. Set in the ambience of a crematorium, lit up in dim blue light, with an overpowering smell of incense, Kadambani, taken to be dead by her relatives is left to be burnt. She gains consciousness, recollects her past and as if in a spell moves to the house of her childhood friend for shelter. Seema, through monologues narrated with superb modulation and brilliant acting, provides insights into her traumatic life as a widow.
In between the shows there was a devised performance by Vinu Joseph evolved from mystery, Bouffon and the body, inspired by Jacques Lecoq’s ‘pedagogical matrix in theatre.’
‘If It Be Now – Fragments & Impressions of Hamlet’ (Arka Mukhopadhyaya), ‘Unseen’ (Kalyani Mulay), ‘Moment Just Before Death’ (Manoj Omen), ‘Eagaleyum Cleopatrayum’ (Pooja Mohanraj), ‘Majuli’ (Shilpika Bordoloi) and ‘Notes on Chai’ (Jyoti Dogra) completed the list of performances. Also organised on two days was Mukhamukham, a projection and interactive session with the photographers of Project 365, a photo documentation of the ancient town of Tiruvannamalai. Ekaharya was organised by Rajeev Varma Memorial Trust and held at the historic Kalikotta Palace on five specially created stages.
