The Indian epics -Ramayana and Mahabharata - have shaped our country’s politics, arts and culture. Its stories have been retold and its characters reimagined through various retellings, thus, forming an integral part of the literary and performative traditions in India. Each retelling has challenged the traditional narrative by subverting the dominant versions of the text to thrown light on various other interpretations. Often, these interpretations strongly reflect the writer’s subjective preferences with respect to her identities and ideologies.
Adishakti’s Bali is a retelling of the various events that lead up to the battle between Bali and Ram, and eventually, the death of Bali. The play explores the notion of right or wrong and, how it may change when each and every character is given an opportunity to voice their thoughts and opinions. Here, Bali’s death is placed in the centre and a personal take is presented that will enable us to transition seamlessly-back and forth- from the epic to the everyday and vice versa. The play presents powerful moments through alternate and opposing points of views of Bali, Tara, Sugriva, Angadha, Ram and Ravan based on their own ethics and contexts.
The play gives its artiste and audience a space for introspection - to take a step back and detach ourselves from our dominant ideologies and rigid identities to explore other perspectives.
Director’s quote:
“We at Adishakti are very happy to be performing at The Hindu Theatre Fest for the first time, an event we have been looking forward to for a long time. We have always wanted to be part of this festival because it’s a prestigious national festival which accesses the wide reach that The Hindu enjoys.”
“Adishakti has always shared The Hindu’s liberal thinking, so this festival is the ideal platform for us to showcase our work. Bali, being taken from the Ramayana, is as universal as the epic itself, and addresses issues which are relevant to all sections of social, cultural, racial, national and international backgrounds. The ethical questions surrounding Bali’s death, and the perspectives of those involved and affected by it, are the central provocation of this play. The artists suggest that it might not be so easy to define right and wrong and to determine whether gods are exempt from questions of justice as prevailing, narrow views of myth might assert.”
Playwright: Nimmy Raphel
Language/s: English
Duration: 70 mins
Interval: No
Director: Nimmy Raphel
Theatre group: Adishakti Laboratory For Theatre Art Research
Credits:
Written and Directed by Nimmy Raphel
Performed by Vinay Kumar, Arvind Rane, Ashiqa Salvan, Kiyomi Mehta, Rijul Ray
Music arranged & composed by Vinay Kumar & played by Meedhu Miriyam
Lights Designed by Vinay Kumar & played by Anand Satheendran
Creative Guidance: Anmol Vellani & Vinay Kumar
Production Manager: Bharavi
Costumes designed by Viji Joy
Suitable for mature audiences: Yes
Date & Venue:
- Chennai – Aug 18, Museum Theatre
Time: 7.30pm
Sponsors:
- Title Sponsor – YES Bank
- Radio Partner – Fever 91.9 FM
- Event Manager – I Ads and Events
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