Ramayana recycled for theatre

Ramanaya plays with the Indian epic using multimedia, videos and exploration of space for a surreal experience

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Ramanaya recreates the myth of the Ramayana with a playful twist. Produced by Sandbox Collective and directed by Felix Mathias Ott (featured in the interview), well-known for his other contemporary work The Odyssey Complex , the performance finds an entry into the revered epic through materials recycled from junk and debris. As the two performers journey in the stream, they find new perspectives in its surreal world, and the epic reveals itself to them in new and unexpected ways. The play will be presented in the first weekend of Remembering Veenapani Festival 2018 at Adishakti, Puducherry.

Why Ramayana ? What potential did you see in the original for this experimental interpretation?

The

Ramayana, with its seemingly simple storyline, hides an extremely complex world within its folds. I love the fact that there are so many versions of the text and that it is still open to interpretation. Our production is not the

Ramayana

: it is neither a reproduction nor an adaptation. We use the

Ramayana as a playground and enter a world that is huge and sacred and through a playful approach we find new ways of reading the story, and search for a platform to find new interpretations and new questions. Our work is not to provide answers but to propose questions and provoke thought. That’s what makes a story alive and contemporary.

How did the use of junk and recycled material add to the imaginative landscape ?

When we first started work in Berlin, we began by creating a mind-map: a model of sorts, which was used by the actors to transmit the story of the Ramayana to me visually. They sketched the scenes, used forks, knives and paper cups and everything else they found to create this model. But that was the starting point only. This playful approach helped us deal with a heavy, and sacred subject. We were able to distance ourselves,and find an entry point.

What fascinates European culture and creative minds about Indian mythologies when it comes to theatre?

I find mythology and fables fascinating. The challenge was, of course, working with an epic that is thousands of years old, something that has been explored many times by many people. I was interested in finding my own connection to it, especially because I come from a different cultural background. Unlike most of you, I did not grow up with the Ramayana , but I found parallels to other stories and fables from my own background; in the end, they all speak of the same thing. The challenge was to find a path to create our own truth and yet to be free enough to find the distance to look at this fascinating world through a new lens as part of our process.

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Is the stage craft abstract, verbose or purely physical?

It’s a multi-disciplinary production with physical theatre, music, lights, and video... all of this is used to create a complex construction that helps us approach the epic, find points of entry, and get carried away by the infinite possibilities within the story. We do use a little text, but it’s a far cry from verbose.

Ramayana brings instantly to our mind a sense of spectacle? How close is our guess?

I think we’ve created something spectacular, though I wouldn’t call it a spectacle, but since it is not strictly the Ramayana , there won’t be bows and arrows and crowns and thrones. The landscape and design is very contemporary.

Could you explain the role of multimedia in the play?

The video layer is a very important part of the performance, we have on board the video artist Benjamin Brix, who has been my partner in art for many years. I have developed several works with him including The Odyssey Complex . Our understanding has helped in creating a common language for our work.

Finally, how do the two actors contribute to this playful experimentation?

The two performers carry the entire performance on their shoulders. They are not just performers, they are collaborators on this journey. They have contributed immensely to the making of this production with their knowledge and skill. They dive in and out of characters and situations, and also take on the role of the story tellers.

(The play will be staged on February 3, 7 pm @ Edayanchavady Road, Villupuram District. To donate for the festival, log on to ketto.org/remembering veenapani.