One of the director I am going to talk about is M.G. Jyothish, who used to work with Abhinaya Theatre Research Centre, Thiruvananthapuram. His production Siddhartha based on the book by Hermann Hesse made in 2003 travelled to many festivals, including Avignon Theatre Festival in France. It was the first Malayalam play to go to this festival. The language was very fresh and it was a proper work in terms of the amount of professionalism they maintained in the design, costume and performances.
Another play I would consider is Sankar Venkateswaran’s The Elephant Project. That came out around 2008-2009 and that project was based on Vyloppilly’s poetry Sahyante Makan. He collaborated with a Japanese actress named Mikari Fukui. The way Mikari portrayed a chained elephant imagining about freedom was was quite something! It was a mix of Koodiyattom and Kabuki. This production too has travelled a lot and it is one that has captured a lot of imagination and pushed the boundaries of conventional drama.
Azhiyur based Suveeran’s Ayussinte Pusthakam is a play I would like to place in this list. It is based on the work of C.V Balakrishnan. It is another production I loved.
Talatum based on Shakespeare’s Tempest directed by Abhilash Pillai is a very recent and brilliant production. Abhilash is from Thiruvananthapuram, but based in Delhi. His independent production, Talatum really pushed the boundaries. The play unfolds in a large actual circus tent with about 20 circus and theatre artists. It is a spectacular production with international quality. The play premiered in the Serendipity Arts Festival, Goa just three months ago.
Naripetta Raju’s Kootukrishi is a play that came out around the time of globalisation. Not something that pushed the boundaries. The value of the production is that it brought together lot of villagers and local actors. It was a very simple play which could be performed anywhere. Wherever the play went people loved it. It is one of the best plays to be made in the history of Malayalam theatre. This play opened up various possibilities and Raju inspired a lot of us.
Spinal Cord which is one of my productions is another one I would like to mention. It is based on Gabriela Garcia Marquez’s Chronicle of a Death. That play unfolds in a Christian setting and revolves around how a mother recollects the murder of her son. It is not just about a private memory. A lot of things are discussed in the play such as the idea of morality and virginity, the hippocratic and pretentiously modern culture of Kerala.
(As told to Deepthi Sreenivasan)
