Sreenath Nair was a name to be reckoned with in Malayalam theatre in the Nineties with his plays such as Daivasilakal and Beauty Parlour being trendsetters at the time.
Away in the U.K. for the past 17 years, Sreenath Nair returned to Malayalam theatre with Mariyamma , the first social play in Malayalam, which had been denied its due even in the State’s theatre history.
In conversation with The Hindu , the performing arts teacher at the University of Lincoln, U.K., explains the missing link between the experiments happening in world theatre and the one back home.
Where did we go wrong?
Kerala is a consumerist society by all means. Right from the beginning, we have adopted the changes happening in world theatre and have updated ourselves from time to time. But somehow we have not yet come to terms with the experiments happening in theatre in Europe and other parts of the world at present. To experiment, we need to have a strong foundation from which our theatre evolved.
Does it mean that Kerala does not have a strong theatrical foundation?
Absolutely not. Kerala has one of the strongest theatrical traditions in the world. Take for example Kakkarissi Natakam, Koodiyattam, Kathakali… But Malayalam theatre did not evolve from any of these. We just adopted the premises of Western theatrical concepts from time to time. Now when it is time to rely on our foundation, we are missing the link.
So what experiments are we missing out on?
In Europe there is a strong conflict between two types of theatre, one is extravagant and spectacular while the other has bare minimum props and depends on nothing more than the magic that binds the writer, the actor and the audience.
Is this where Playwrights Theatre comes in?
Yes. Unlike earlier, the playwright is no longer a littérateur and drama is no more a part of literature. A play is formed as a collective effort of a group of people and playwright is just one of them; the one who develops the idea with the help of other members of the team.
So is it the death of the playwright?
No. There are innovations happening in play writing, as much as those on stage. Though the playwright is not a separate entity, writing is still important. Unfortunately none of our drama schools offer courses in actually scripting a play, which I would like to change.
What is the inspiration behind the Indian Theatre Journal of which you are the editor?
In India, we do not have a journal for theatre. Publishing the Indian Theatre Journal from the U.K. is a political statement. Any statement about India or Asia spoken in Europe has political undertones. Europe fed on Asia for around 500 years. It was not just the riches and silks that were taken to Europe, but ideas, culture and ideologies too. The contemporary theatre in Europe is largely indebted to the Indian theatre tradition, but Europe refuses to acknowledge it. Through Indian Theatre Journal , we are trying to point this out.
You are known to be one of the pioneers of Feminist Theatre in Kerala. How did it happen?
All my plays have strong female characters. It was not a deliberate move, but just happened. But it was a theatre camp at Koothattukulam in 1992 that was very important in my career. That camp was indeed a milestone for the feminist theatre movement in the State.
