For 11 years, Evam, an Arts organisation with a presence in Bangalore, Chennai and Singapore, has proved that the performing Arts is accessible to all and makes for a solid career too.
On October 3, marking Evam’s 700 show, Evam-Stand-up Tamasha presents Aiyaiyo .
Karthik Kumar, one of the founders, says Aiyaiyo is special because it will be touring the US between October 14 and November 9. The show is being kick-started in Bangalore.
“ Aiyaiyo is an Indian take on world issues. It’s largely a South-Indian perspective on world events.” Karthik adds that the title is quite American too, as it has “yo” in it.
Karthik says they chose to perform Aiyaiyo in Bangalore as the audience here are receptive to new, innovative performances.
“The city has been the hub for stand-up comedy in the South. We performed Urban Turban in Kyra and Ranga Shankara and it was very well received.”
Evam has established itself as an Arts Entrepreneurship. It was founded in 2003 together by Karthik and Sunil Vishnu K.
Among their well-known shows are Five Point Someone , The39 Steps, Ali J, among others.
Speaking of their journey, Karthik says: “Ten years ago, when we started Evam, people couldn’t envision that we could make a living out of the Arts. But we didn’t see theatre as a puritanical space. We wanted everyone to try out theatre, in every form. We have four divisions in the company. One division is corporate training. Another division we have set up is into children’s arts education. We expose children to theatre as an art form. If theatre reaches everyone, then there will be no worries if theatre will survive.”
Karthik says in all honesty that Evam is not artistically as mature as say Atul Kumar and Naseeruddin Shah. “But we have ensured that theatre must reach out to everyone. We are somewhere the poster boys of theatre,” he adds.
With Ali J , a political thriller that premiered at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Evam faced opposition from a right-wing group in Bangalore.
“Frankly, I was quite honoured that the play threatened the organisation. That means theatre is being seen as a medium of change. We need to create a legal network for theatre. ”
Karthik studied chemical engineering. So what drew the Kollywood actor to theatre? “I’ve been interested in theatre since school. I remember after coming back from college, I did theatre with leading production houses in Bangalore and Chennai.”
For Aiyaiyo the performers are Karthik Kumar, S Aravind, Bhargav, Bala and Alex.
It will be performed at Alliance Francaise at 8 pm. The performance is for mature audiences.
Tickets are priced at Rs. 400. Call 9620999202.
