August 7, 7.30 p.m.
Venue: Kerala Fine Arts Hall
Take a universal tale of revenge, place it in the colourful world of our Indian films, and add in liberal doses of quirky, socially-relevant humour.
The result would be Ms. Meena, inspired by the classic play The Visit (1956) by Swiss-German playwright Friedrich Durrenmatt, and based on an original story written by Rashmi Ruth Devadasan.
It tells the story of Ms. Meena, an aging queen of the silver screen who returns to her village to make a film on the story of her life, and in the process, exact revenge on the man who wronged her. Since her departure many years ago, the village of Pichampuram has fallen into disrepair, and Ms. Meena uses the promise of money and the movies to turn the villagers against her former lover, Ravi, in a deliciously Machiavellian move.
“The lure of cinema and its promise of untold prosperity and fame exert a fatal attraction on the entire village, and lead it gradually into moral and ethical compromise,” says Rajiv Krishnan, director of Ms. Meena.
“The play uses a combination of laughter and pathos to seduce the viewer, much as cinema does. In the process, the distinction between the real and the reel becomes tenuous, and both serve to lead the story to its inevitable end.”
Ms. Meena features a cast of four actors from the Chennai-based Perch and five from the Bangalore-based theatre group Rafiki, and minimal sets, depending instead on creative use of props. Despite the dialogue being mostly in English, it contains a smattering of other languages such as Tamil, Kannada and Hindi, giving it a natural, colloquial feel.
“This was not a conscious decision but evolved from the simple fact that the actors were comfortable with these languages,” says Rajiv. “The story can be understood even if you aren't familiar with one or more of them.”
Making the play even more entertaining is the music, singing (again in various languages) and background sounds – all live and evolved from improvisations by the actors. Revenge has rarely been more engaging.
For Tickets
Priced at Rs. 300, Rs.200 and Rs 100, students can get it for Rs 50. Season passes are priced at Rs. 750 and Rs. 450. Buy it online at > The Hindu website and >www.indianstage.in . In the city, you can buy it from Coffee Beanz outlets at Panampilly Nagar and Marine Drive. In The Hindu office at Vytilla, tickets will be available between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. only.
Sponsors
The Title Sponsor of the event is Bose. Associate Sponsors are Hirco, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts Pvt Ltd, and Hair O Max. The Hospitality Sponsor is The GateWay Hotels, Marine Drive, Ernakulam. The Mall Partner is Oberon Mall, Edapally.
