Captivating plays
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The recent theatre festival indicates a more serious creative activity in University of Hyderabad.
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THOUGH IT was "World Theatre Day" and the plays were being staged by the students in the open at the historic Golden Threshold city centre ( Nampally Station Road) after a gap of more than two years, it was a very low- key affair. Possibly because they were practice plays for students who were not really geared up for public performances. But the two plays were studies in contrast.
The first was a very sensitive, lyrical and restrained production of a theatrical adaptation (by Dr. N.J. Bhikshu) of a short story, "Bhayam" by reputed Telugu writer Kalipatnam Rama Rao. Written in 1970, the story faithfully conforms to the prescriptions of socialist realism including a common man's hero who is extremely bold and selfless. The setting is in rural Andhra and the theme is the human frailty of fear, symbolised by the terror and superstitions surrounding snakes. The hero, a dashing young farm labourer called Sattaiah, hates snakes, as much the credulous mythology and lore surrounding it.
Transforms mindsets
Admired and reviled for his skill and bravado in killing snakes, Sattiah is unfortunately a proud loner. His tragic death due to snakebite while trying to help a selfish hag in front of timid onlookers, nevertheless has a salutary transformative effect on the villagers' mindset. The play was directed by the renowned theatre director and academician, S. Ramanujam (formerly with Thanjavur University). That he could really mould the body language of the students in a short span of three weeks and a carefully .crafted choreography speaks of his directorial skills. The slow rhythm of the production (supported by beautiful flute music) was near magical and deep in its impact, despite many rough edges owing to the bad diction and some deep-seated penchant for melodramatic action among some of the actors. The most effective contribution to the play ironically came from the students of the dance discipline. The girls were simply marvellous.
The other play should have been a terrific hit, but alas! it squandered the potential of fairly talented actors doing their P.G. Diploma in Acting. An old radio play — " Ma Nishada" by Girish Karnad is an intelligent take-off on a minor character of a butler in the Ramayana. The butler casts aspersions on Prince Rama for taking back Sita, despite she being in Ravana's captivity for several months.
Stung by such aspersions, Rama orders his pregnant wife to return to the forest. But this sets off public condemnation of the butler who turns into a recluse and goes to the forest. His wife dies heart broken. The tragedy has a parallel drawn to the denouement in the lives of the royal couple. Sita gets merged in Mother Earth and Rama turns into a rock. S.V. Ramana, the director of the play, did resort to innovations like some five or six actors playing the role of the butler. But then an innovation is not worth the effort, unless you can make it work. With a set of new buildings, excellent studio and theatre facilities to come up soon, one hopes Golden Threshold would turn out to be a hub of serious creative activity.
SUMANASPATI
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