His tryst with theatre transcends borders

Manoj Shiva, a native of Thiruvananthapuram, is making a name for himself in London’s theatre circuit.

With friend Remy Bertand, a tutor at The Poor School of Acting, Mr. Shiva is producing plays and holding workshops in London, based on the concept of ‘creative imprology.’ Imprology involves training in improvisation.

“The training employs a variety of games and exercises. This is a powerful way to learn or try new skills without relying on a particular set of traits or beliefs,” he says.

Actor Madhu launched a few projects of Mr. Shiva and Mr. Bertrand in London recently.

Mr. Shiva, who works in a law firm in London, produces and directs dramas, and plays the Tabla with local bands.

He was part of the cast in Shyamaprasad’s

English: An Autumn in London .

Mr. Shiva learned to play the Mridangam and the Tabla from Mavelikara S.R. Raju, Manohar Keskar, and Puneet Shaw. In his school and college days in Thiruvananthapuram, he worked with Prashant Narayanan of Chhayamukhi fame.

The plays he wrote, directed and staged in London include Guru Brahma , on Sree Narayana Guru and his teachings, Mind the Gap , on the 2005 London blasts, and Kanti , on the vagaries of love. He directed C. J. Thomas’s Aa Manusan Nee Thanne for the Malayali Catholic Community in U.K.

Swati Vedam , a musical play produced by Mr. Shiva, deals with the life and times of Swati Tirunal.

The play portrays the Maharaja’s struggle to strike a balance between his artistic life and his responsibilities as a ruler, and argues that he was murdered.

“I drew inspiration from Milos Forman’s movie, Amadeus , on Mozart. The cause of Mozart’s death is a mystery. Swati Tirunal’s death too is. There was no love lost between him and General William Cullen. The Maharaja was given a drug allegedly at his behest. A biotechnologist had recently drawn attention to an advertisement placed in London Times on December 8, 1846, stating that an order for ‘six of the largest pots’ of Holloway’s ointment had been placed on July 11, 1846 for the personal use of the Raja of Travancore,” says Mr. Shiva.

Manoj Shiva, native of Thiruvananthapuram, is making a name for himself in the London theatre circuit.