Is there some kind of connection between mathematics and theatre? There is perhaps none better than E. Rajarajeswari, one of the founders of the Nireeksha women’s theatre group, to answer that question.
“Yes, other than the accounts of our group, there is some scope for mathematics in theatre. Some of the theorems and studies in mathematics transcend mundane calculations and reach a creative and imaginative space,” she says.
Ms. Rajarajeswari, who took up theatre after leaving her profession as a mathematics professor more than a decade ago, has penned the group’s latest play ‘Punarjani,’ staged at the Vyloppilly Samskrithi Bhavan on Wednesday.
When a group brands itself ‘women’s theatre,’ she says, the general impression is of a group of women performing together. But be it on or offstage, men are very much part of the show.
“The issues that we take up and the play’s content are always about everyday concerns of women. We draw on authors who write from a women’s perspective. This is important because a number of women authors seem to view the world with a man’s eye,” says Ms. Rajarajeswari.
The latest play is also no different, telling stories of three women who have faced different types of violence.
“It is a kind of response to the increasing incidents of violence, but given a different treatment than the usual. The props are all huge, dwarfing the actors, to mark the oppressiveness of the prevailing power structures,” she says.
The Nireeksha theatre group was started in 1999 by Ms. Rajarajeswari and Sudhi Devayani, the artistic director of the group.
They have dabbled in community theatre and in workshops, in addition to producing popular plays such as ‘Pravachaka’ (based on the Greek mythology of Cassandra) and ‘Aanungalillatha Pennungal.’
“More than anything else, doing theatre by involving small communities is very uplifting owing to the kind of response you get. Huge crowds gather whenever we perform in villages, away from the usual theatre festivals, and comment on the energy of our performances,” she says.
In 2012, Nireeksha conducted a theatre workshop for a group of Kudumbasree workers who, despite the initial uneasiness, went on to perform the play ‘Bheri’ on a number of stages across the State. Four of them are acting in the latest play too.
They have also worked with paraplegics from the Cheshire home, tribal people in Attappady, and various groups of children and women.
Around the group’s home at Paamancode, near Malayinkeezh, a small community of theatre aficionados has slowly formed over the years.
