On man’s conflicts, with oneself and with society

‘12 machines’ , by Kannan Unni A., was one of the highlights of the second day of National Theatre Festival

A scene from ‘Mahabharata’ staged by The Katkatha Puppet Arts Trust, New Delhi, at the National Theatre Festival in the capital city on Friday.

‘Abstract’ is not a classification that theatre director Kannan Unni A. has a particular liking towards, notwithstanding the fact that his play 12 machines , on an individual’s constant tussles with society, is often classified as that. 12 machines was one of the highlights of the second day of the National Theatre Festival organised by the Information and Public Relations Department here.

“All art is to an extent abstract. Even Raja Ravi Varma’s paintings can be considered abstract, if you think about the time period during which they were created, though it is no more considered that from constant exposure. Anything which expresses beyond our common language of communication can be considered abstract,” says Kannan Unni.

Clearly, he does not subscribe to the popular perceptions on abstract plays, expressed by one of the speakers at the inaugural event of the festival too.

Not a one-way affair

“No one makes a work of art with the intention of making it incomprehensible to everyone. Everyone has their own strategy, of living their life, of expressing. Understanding something is not a one-sided path. The effort needs to happen on the audience’s side too. Our audience have grown up watching the realistic father-mother-family stories. It’s a matter of viewing practice too,” he says.

12 machines is not a play, he says, rather it is a ‘show,’ structured as 12 episodes. Six of these episodes deal with the conflict between the individual and the society, while the rest deals with the individual’s internal conflicts and desires.

“The individual is considered as a psychopath in the play. When we talk about individuals, we always connect the idea to freedom. But, this is not true. The individual uses a language which has a history of several centuries, the culture that the individual is born into, also is not by choice. The fight for individuality, our doubts, desires and fears, happens within these,” he says.

A graduate from the National School of Drama, Krishnan Unni began his tryst with theatre by adapting a poem by Omchery for stage in Thevarude Aana . “The play was made for the Omchery festival,” he says.

Later, he worked on a Sanskrit text for the satire Mathavilasam . But his heart has always been in eschewing the text completely, which is where the idea of 12 machines began. “Often, our theatre practice is tied to existing texts, literary or historical. So, we started thinking around this idea of starting from zero and evolving something with the involvement of the entire crew,” he says.

Kavalam’s play today

The festival, dedicated to late poet-playwright Kavalam Narayana Panicker, will have a play directed by him, Madhyama Vyayogam , a Sanskrit play by Bhasa, based on an episode from Mahabharatha, when Bhima meets Ghatotkacha, at Tagore Theatre at 6 p.m. on Saturday.