It’s a world of rules, and an evil king who is always on the lookout for new ways to oppress his subjects. There are interesting dialogues, props and live music all rolled into one in Jujubee ,a production by Perch, Chennai. Set to be staged (after a hiatus of one-and-a-half years) in the city this weekend, the Tanglish play promises to be just as good as it used to be.
Says director Rajiv Krishnan, “ Jujubee is a classic folktale, a story created by us. It’s about an evil king and the magical bird Jujubee that he uses to communicate his new fortnightly rules to his subjects. It’s his way of oppressing them. And then, there’s an unlikely heroine who comes to save the day.
The play was first staged in 2012 and features small and large puppets and even masks. It also has live music and a few songs to add to the colour and drama.”
According to him, the play is meant to engage and entertain, but with a message. In fact, a lot of viewers in the past have even drawn parallels with the story and the current socio-political scenario in the world.
“It’s a play that is interesting for both adults and children and has been rather well-received. We’ve performed at Bangalore, Puducherry, Delhi, Kerala, and Kandy and Colombo as well. In fact, the five shows that we performed in Sri Lanka in 2014 were on an invitation from a Human Rights organisation,” says Rajiv.
(The play will be staged on September 10 and 11 at 7 p.m. at Koothu-p-Pattarai in Virugambakkam. Entry is free and open to all.)
