The sounds of music and dance start ebbing as the sun peaks and heatwave grips Chennai. To bring some respite and change of scenario, the city sabhas turn their attention to theatre by hosting festival of plays. The themes range from comedy and historical to social.
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Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan recently presented its week-long annual theatre festival. This edition featured four Tamil plays, one bi-lingual and a Dramathon (collection of six short plays).
Deva Kanya | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The six plays presented here were prize-winning entries from three different festivals — Short and Sweet Festival by Prakriti Foundation, Kiss Festival by Poochus Productions and Ten Ally Drama by Theatre Marina. The diverse themes and the standard of presentation made Dramathon an engrossing.
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The travails and angst of devadasis who were left asunder by the Madras Devadasis (Prevention of Dedication) Act was the theme of Deva Kanya directed by Namritha Kalai. To communicate the emotional turmoil and social milieu in a short span of 15 minutes is a mammoth task. The actors performed with great conviction and the play left an indelible impact. However, costume design reflective of the period, and entries and exits needed little more attention.
from Muruganai Kaanom | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Muruganai Kaanom directed by Arun Rajkumar was an interesting story of how a grandmother and grandson selling pooja articles outside a temple, spin a tale when they discover the idol of Murugan missing. It was a scenario that totally depended on the actors’ skills. The the two rose to the occasion with their brilliant comic timing and dialogue delivery, making the play thoroughly enjoyable.
Dabba Nadgam by Abhishek Srinivasan showed how theatrical elements can be used to create maximum impact. The actors dressed in black and donning different roles moved within a frame. They sometimes transformed into props and at others created vocal percussion. The slow motion effects reminiscent of cinematic fight scenes added to the viewing experience. Meeting - the Conscience directed by Prasanna Rajaram resonated with the current times with its take on two politicians meeting to form an alliance. As a counterpoint, two other actors emerge as their alter egos highlighting their background details. The comical touches though slightly overdone lent an edge.
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From Meeting | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Akkara Adisal was about a lawyer, his wife and a court case. Directed by Aiswarya M, the domestic scenes were impressive but the courtroom scene was lacklustre.
Puratchi Onguga by Karthik Mohan highlighted how unemployed youth in the 1980s were drawn into political movements. It was a powerful play but the comic elements lacked punch.
At a time when the attention span of viewers are shrinking, these short duration plays comes as a welcome format. The large audience turnout proved it.