Theatre lovers of Delhi have seen some memorable productions of Rabindranath Tagore’s Raktakarabi in the past but the latest production of this all-time great dramatic piece titled Jakshapuri (Raktakarabi) which was staged by the Berhampore Repertory Theatre, Murshidabad, West Bengal, at Bharat Rang Mahotsav at LTG auditorium was in a class itself. It was performed not by experienced or professionally trained actors but by prisoners.
A complex work of dramatic art replete with metaphorical imagery, the king remains invisible and helpless. Another invisible character is Ranjan who symbolises liberation. The State functionaries have transformed the town into a prison. Nandini is the soul of the play who questions king again and again. But the invisible king appears to be miserably weak to act. In the production, there are characters keeping stern watch on the movements of agitated townspeople. Ironically, various exit points in the auditorium police personnel were on guard to watch the movements of prisoners acting out roles in the play. Despite the fact that they are under constant watch, the prisoner-turned-actors performed with great passion, sincerity and commitment. Arguably, this is for the first time in the history of BRM that prisoners have performed. The characters in the play are prisoners of an imaginary totalitarian system and the performers are prisoners of a jail of a modern State. Ironically, the boundary between the art and life are dissolved.
Ingenuity in production
The play is directed by Pradip Bhattacharya, a leading theatre practitioner committed to do stage play with prisoners who has been conducting theatre therapy in prison for the last 12 years at Berhampore Central Correctional Home (Jail), Government of West Bengal. With his prisoner cast, he has produced several plays. Without government support, he is determined to carry forward his creative mission to bring out the noble sentiments inherent in every soul with the belief that no man is born a criminal. A sensitive creative personality as he is, he has established cordial relationship with his prisoner-cast.
The director displays remarkable ingenuity to design his production. A huge structure is created with multiple layers and exit and entry points, creating an ambience of repression in which people are desperately interacting to achieve freedom.
The movements of the performers are charged by intense motivations. The production is punctuated with booming voice of the invisible king with Nandini questioning him for his ineffectualness. The soulful rendering of lyrics, lighting effects, stage compositions and inspired acting create a theatricality that cast spell on the audience.
Theyyam presentation
Kerala has the distinction of being the home of traditional, classical and Sanskrit theatre. It is credited with the contribution to modern interpretation of the plays by Bhasa using the traditional technique of Koodiyattam and the martial art of the Kalari. But we know little about “Theyyam”, a socio-religious ritual being observed in the north Malabar region of Kerala. Thanks to the 20th Bharat Rang Mahotsav, we are able to watch the heroic tale of Kathivannur Veeran presented in the style of Theyyam on the lawns of the National School of Drama. This is not a play to be presented on a modern stage; it is the way of life of the people who observe it as a ritual with strict adherence to religious codes, eulogising heroes and worshipping ancestors and mythological characters.
The ritual is conducted under the supervision of group of leader, Sasikumar V. The performer has to lead a pious life during the course of rituals.
Theyyam’s presentation is restricted to its community who treat it not as an art form but as an act of sacred religious observance. The organisers brought it to BRM because the NSD is a teaching institution and the students should know about the intricacy and inherent sentiments involved in a ritualistic observation by a community.
The entire space of the lawn is used to enact the heroic tale. In one corner, a small structure is erected which is lighted with myriad of earthen diyas placed aesthetically. In another small structure, a Theyyam player takes his own time to have elaborate and intricate objects including headgear as part of make-up before he comes out and performs the rituals. Every movement and activities are performed slowly, rhythmically. The performance does not depend on stage lights. On one side of the lawn fire burns, using logs and on the other side special arrangement is made to keep sacred wicks burning, spreading glow. Enters “Theyyam”. There is a divine aura about him. He is in trance, his wide open eyes have divine kind of glow. The audience sitting on a make-shift elevated structure is irresistibly drawn to his performance.
The solo performer, through his gestures, movements and myriad facial expressions, communicates intricately the story of Kathivannur Veeran who is remembered by the community for his valour and as one who discovered nobility in his love for his wife. He performs to the accompaniments of drum beats and music.
He grows up as a carefree and handsome youth. His father wants him to be a great warrior. Furious at his carefree manners, the father breaks his bow into two parts.
Terribly shaken, he leaves home, settles in another region and becomes a prosperous farmer by dint of hard work and marries a lovely girl and adores her from the bottom of his heart. One day, the couple quarrels and Kathivannur Veeran joins war being fought fiercely by neighbouring rulers and becomes a martyr.
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