Nirankusha, Alternative Law Forum and Maraa are jointly organising a series of events in November to focus on censorship and bans in creative fields in the country.
The events of November will opens with Chennai-based theatre group Marapachi performing Sudailamma on Sunday at 5.30 p.m. at Indian Social Institute auditorium in Benson Town. The play is in Tamil. The audience will have the benefit of English sub-titles.
Marapachi is a renowned Tamil theatre group headed by well-known artist and performing arts academician A. Mangai.
The 45-minute performance features a female graveyard worker. She is determined to grant a decent burial to a young man who has died in a police encounter. He is a much loved political activist, engaged in organising agricultural workers and taking on caste injustice.
However, with the police guarding his corpse, a routine task turns into a risky act. Sudailamma decides to risk police disapproval and, in the event, comes to learn of how even the dead can prove to be seditious.
The play is a journey into her consciousness and reasoning. Sudailamma is keenly aware of the folly and injustice that goes even with death in our social context. On the other hand, she has a deep existential sense of human dignity and frailty. The play is dedicated to the memory of the late K. Balagopal.