With water as the theme, the Bard’s play The Tempest was refreshingly retold with local flavour and relevance.
The play, a Tamil adaptation of William Shakespeare’s comedy was presented by Crea Shakthi as part of Urur Olcott Kuppam Vizha 2018. The play was a political satire set in December 2015 when the city was hit by floods. From disaster management to corruption in politics to oppression of women, it brought out a host of issues crippling the society.
Samyukatha P.C, the director of the play, said, “It was written in January 2016 just when the city was just getting back on its feet after the flood and it was also the 400th death anniversary of William . As a commemoration, we adapted The Tempest, and it offered a good narrative that allowed us to talk about political issues.”
Karthik A, assistant director who also played the central character ‘Parasparan’ spoke of how bringing such significant issues to the fore using theatre as a medium helped in reaching out to a wider audience. “We have been training children in schools because it is not enough if you just have the craft, you must have an audience for the present and future too,” he says.
Since it deals with the ethos of Tamil Nadu politics, they have planned to take the play to other places in the State too like Kancheepuram and Nagercoil, Ms. Samyuktha said.
