Theatre

Shatarupa Bhattacharyya found herself fascinated by Medea, the Greek mythological character, when she first read about the sorceress many years ago. “I have been practising theatre for a good 14-15 years now, and in the middle of my theatre journey, I realised that I only wanted to do plays with strong female characters…which talk about women’s journeys,” explains the Bengaluru-based theatre artist and social scientist.Medea, says Shatarupa, interested her because she (Medea) had empowered herself. “I was intrigued by the storyline, the character’s agency and the emotional drama, but I also wanted to make it a simpler version because Medea…

MR Vishnuprasad | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement MR Vishnuprasad sits atop a column, at the central gallery space at Durbar Hall, while his audience gathers around him in a semicircle. He is set to present ‘Footnotes’, a performance based on tidal flooding in Kochi. There are no props in sight, other than a visual of a graph projected on the wall behind him, and no fanfare. How is a performance artist going to tackle a complex environmental issue in a gallery setting? As Vishnuprasad begins his narration, the questions begin to dissolve. He opens the piece by recounting a recurring nightmare…

Sam George with participants of the community theatre workshop for visually challenged held in Thiruvananthapuram | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT It was in May last year that Loyola College of Social Sciences at Sreekariyam in Thiruvananthapuram hosted a community theatre workshop for the visually challenged. The 10-day workshop, perhaps a first-of-its-kind in the country, saw 21 participants being trained and staging two productions at the end of the workshop.The documentary, Natakantham, directed by G Rarish, chronicles this path-breaking workshop. The good news is the documentary will be screened in the international documentary category at Cinema Palooza film festival to be…

The plays at this year’s AHA! Festival are connected by themes of self-discovery, courage, imagination and play | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Ranga Shankara’s much-awaited AHA! Theatre for Children Festival returns with its 15th edition, from July 15 to 19, featuring five plays designed for young audiences. Started in 2006, the festival remains one of the few consistent theatre initiatives for children in India. “Ranga Shankara’s most ambitious programme to date, bringing the magic of theatre in all its aspects to children and theatre makers in the country,” states the festival’s release, further adding that by bringing world-class productions from…