In a beautiful India where this play takes place lives a very old demon. Sitting on his sacred throne, he feeds only on hate. He divides the world into four Varnas — at the height of purity are the Brahmins; below them, the Kshatriyas, the warriors; then the Vaisyas, the merchants; and, finally the Sudras, the servants. There should be a fifth category that needs to be added — those who are totally impure to touch, the Chandalas. They are excluded from everything because they can pollute the purity of the objects they touch, the places they pass by, the earth they walk on, water they drink, air they breathe…”
Director’s quote...
“The choice to do Romeo and Juliet was triggered by quite a few honor killing incidents in Tamil Nadu. Among these stories, one story that has left a deep impression on us is that of Shankar and Kausalya. Shakar, Kausalya’s lower caste husband was killed in broad daylight by her family. As we started working on it we came across more examples of love affairs which had fallen prey to the caste system despite efforts of our leaders like Gandhi and Ambedkar to abolish the caste system from our society. Through our play, we hope to explore the caste system from the point of view of the contemporary Indian youth. The characters from this play are very much based on the documented lives of real people and situations. We also attempt to explore how our means of entertainment like cinema are affecting the idea of love amongst our youth.”
Director: Koumarane Valavane
Playwright: William Shakespeare (adapted from Romeo and Juliet )
Language/s: Tamil
Genre: Drama
Duration: 160 minutes
Tickets available on www.insider.in and The Hindu's Theatre Fest page
