Museum Fest, a three-day annual theatre event, at the lush gardens of the Kerala History Museum, brought a mélange of presentations from Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai to art connoisseurs of Kochi. The cozy amphitheatre nestled in the green-canopied locale, the intimate performances and the richness of the art that was staged, left the audience wishing for more and in anticipation of the next such event. The plays staged were ‘Romeo & Juliet – No Strings Attached’, ‘Stories In A Song’, and 'Yasodhara.'
Romeo & Juliet – No Strings Attached
When feeling trapped in the monotony of living pre-written stories of stereotyped lives, if the freedom to choose is sprung at you all at once, you might realise that you have indeed been living your best choice. The restrictions that were leaving you feeling bound, are just a result of your own choice.
Tahatto Theatre’s playwright/director Prashanth Nair uses the classic as a framework to present this central theme. The characters are depicted as ‘live’ puppets who, after their daily show of the classic, suddenly find themselves free from their binding strings in the empty theatre. The puppets rejoice at their newfound freedom, craving to live free, not bound by roles or a script. They decide to perform their own version of the story one last time and a hilarious, freewheeling take, that goes back and forth between original Shakespearean dialogues and modern-day casual banter, follows. Having pondered their choices, realisation dawns that their sense of fulfilment is in being what they were and they willingly ready themselves for the next show.
The multi-layered presentation peppered with satire, witty repartees, live music, pop-culture and Bollywood references evoke contemporary relevance while drawing poignant parallels between the wistfulness of the puppets and the existential angst of humans.
Backed with a tight script, Christopher Avinash as the lively bard-cum-narrator, Rijul Ray as the intense Romeo, Kalyani Nair as Juliet, Shashank Purushotham and Anshul Pathak as multiple characters, staged a telling tale. Shashank and Anshul juggled roles with finesse, at the drop of hats and props. If different hats or lack of it showed Anshul as Mercutio, Count Paris or the puppet Panuati, an assortment of props took Shashank through the roles of Tybalt, Friar Laurence, Juliet’s nurse and Nautangi, the puppet.
Using Juliet as a metaphor for our deep desires, for which comforts are readily forgone, and suffering willingly undertaken, the presentation urges one to break stereotypes and re-evaluate your choices, to own your choices and their consequences, and to live life from the front row.
Yasodhara The music ceased. The lights left the dancer. “It is important to travel well than to arrive…”. The lights focused on the narrator as she walked to the centre stage of the otherwise dark arena. “We choose our own way not knowing the destination, but longing for freedom, wisdom and compassion. Travel well, friends. Travel with Light” - Gowri Ramnarayan’s voice cut through the night air, thick with the mixed emotions that the gripping depiction of Yashodhara’s story left behind, bringing the audience to the present. The show had ended.
‘Yashodhara’, a JustUs Repertory production has been scripted, scored and directed by playwright-director Dr. Gowri Ramnarayan. It draws attention to the anguish of Yasodhara, the young wife of Gautama Siddhartha, after being abandoned for his pursuit of Truth and her transformation as she grapples with her loss. An aesthetic blend of dance, music and narration, ‘Yasodhara’ uses Bharatanatyam, excerpts from the distinguished poet Maithilisharan Gupt’s kavyam set to Hindustani ragas, and story-telling to depict the powerful story. The story unfolds through the enactment of Yasodhara as a dukhini, janani, virahini and maanini .
Mythili Prakash as Yasodhara, Sushma Somsekharan’s vocals and Dr. Gowri’s narration transported the audience to the chambers of the young princess to witness the story. The ‘actor’ and the ‘acted’ became one as Mythili conveyed a wide spectrum of emotions ranging from the anticipation of a young bride-to-be, the lament of an abandoned wife, the delightful exchanges with her child, the longing of a woman, forgiveness and renunciation when she eventually breaches the palace walls in search of salvation. Her dignified portrayal of the princess who tries to keep her sorrow aside by finding solace in motherhood and narrating stories of her husband’s valour and compassion to her son so that the child can know his father, wrenched many hearts.
The minimal, yet tasteful stage design, the soulful rendition and the well-worded narration equally contributed to the completeness of the presentation that succeeded in evoking a strong emotive experience in the audience and imparting the aesthetic value of the art in its entirety.
The programme was organised by the Madhavan Nair Foundation.
