Many of them haven’t been to a theatre school. Some have just their experiences of watching plays to fall back on, while others look up to mentors who they previously worked with. However, these new theatre groups in Chennai bustle with ideas. Some blend theatre, music and stand-up comedy too. For these young theatre artistes, there are absolutely no boundaries. And, some are just not ready to yield to commercial whims. MetroPlus talks to these artistes who mesmerise the Chennai audience with their stage tricks.
DJ’s Ensomneacks
They expose those who are inexperienced to the limelight, but are passionate about theatre, to the heady delight of the stage. That seems to be the motto of DJ’s Ensomneacks that was formed last July in the city. Vikram Dhanasekar, the founder director, says, “Many in the city are now interested in acting. But, few are passionate enough to go that extra mile. For us, the passion is a pre-requisite.”
The group has already produced 18 shows and 12 productions. Even though their focus is on youngsters, they rope in established theatre people. Dhanasekar also agrees that 10-minute plays can help you offer a variety of genres. “And, it provides a platform to more people. In EnsomneacksAnthology #1 , we featured 18 actors and four directors. For the second in the series, the cast and crew consisted of 17 people.”
However, the biggest challenge for theatre is cinema, feels Dhanasekar. Everyone in the troupe needs to buck up to promote their productions and one can’t afford to be reluctant about marketing your play even if she is just a director or an actor. “This is our bread and butter. My job is also to push as many tickets as possible. I need the money to fund my next production. At times, I have to spam my friends with messages, urging them to come for my show.”
Naveena Koothupattarai
Revive folk art forms and village traditions through modern theatre — that is the goal of Naveena Koothupattarai. Aadhira Pandilakshmi, the founder and director, decided to revamp the terrace of her house in Valasaravakkam as a performance space. “We want to use modern theatre to recreate yesteryear games and art forms such as gilli-danda , therukoothu , thappattam , thevarattam and silambattam .”
Last weekend, the group came up with a production in collaboration with Vaayusastra, a company that holds theatre workshops for stress relief programmes for corporate employees.
Jagadeesh Kanna, the proprietor of Vaayusastra, has directed the hour long Feathers Series-5 , consisting of seven monologues, essayed by seven women. The characters include resolute women such as a sales girl and a woman pilot who never give up on their dreams. The actors included both professionals and amateurs. On the popularity of short plays, Kanna says, “It is a convenient model for the actors too. Considering the increasingly shrinking attention span of people, this format seems to be working.”
Narjaya
“We would like to break even. But, I want to do something that convinces me. Only then can I convince my audience. Right?” Anantharaman Karthik, founder- director of Narjaya is clear about the kind of theatre he wants to do. This group likes to do plays “that are relatable and engaging to us. For instance, What is to be done with Sathe? , which we staged recently, is of a different league.” The criteria is simple; that they all like it. “One of our actors read the script and suggested it to me. When we read it together, we liked it. The parameter is to like a script enough to want to invest our time and money in it. We all have parallel careers to make money. We’d rather do something we are passionate about.”
What is to be done with Sathe?, their maiden production, written in the 90s by Rajeev Naik, is about musings between a young couple.
“We had approached him for rights to stage his play. He thought his work was dated. But, it is about problems that arise in a relationship between two people when the professional cuts into the personal realm. It was relatable.”
They also believe in minimalist theatre. “Minimalism is also a challenge. It is difficult to fill a space with minimal props and sets. I do not think too much work is done in keeping the simplicity and honesty of theatre.” However, they are concerned about the lack of an affordable performance space, with decent seating arrangement. Karthik hopes there are theatre buffs in the city, who are ready to rent out space for upcoming theatre troupes.
MacTrics
A mime festival was the dream of Sravanth T.R., a theatre artiste. He organised it in 2015 and 2016 with MacTrics, a mime and body theatre group, which he had co-founded with a like-minded artiste. However, he could not go further with his vision. The reason? The perennial problem: the fund crunch. His group has struggled hard to establish their name in the theatre circuit in Chennai. They work out of a space behind a car garage in T Nagar, which was once a cow shed.
However, these issues do not deter them. Ramani’s goal is to build a mime academy, featuring actors skilled in kalari , gymnastics and other body regimens. They not only perform, but also teach mime in schools. They have mesmerised their audience with formations using human bodies depicting wax palaces, skyscrapers and speeding vehicles. Soon, they added more components into their repertoire such as pantomime, shadow play and clown theatre. They have designed a syllabus involving all these elements.
Their latest production, KoKo, featured aerial acts, juggling and shadow play. In the last three to four years, the theatre company has spread its wings to many schools in Chennai, Coimbatore and Kumbakonam. They have also carved a niche in the Tamil theatre circles with Vidhuran , a mime production on The Mahabharata character.
Chennai has a great theatre community with talented actors and directors, but that is not enough, Ramani feels. “We need a space for technical rehearsals, testing lights and presentation. More than great scripts, these basics deserve attention first.”
