Lights, sets, action...
NANDINI NAIR
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Nissar and Amal Allana's "Nati Binodini" premieres this weekend in Delhi.
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Many actors playing the same character helps them to explore different dimensions. NISSAR ALLANA
PHOTO: Shanker Chakravarty.
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS Nissar Allana with "Nati Binodini" director Amal Allana.
Director Amal Allana brings "Nati Binodini" (based on actress Binodini's autobiography "Aamar Katha") to the Delhi stage. With successes like "Erendira and Her Heartless Grandmother" and "Mahabharat Project" under her belt, the next play is highly anticipated.
Nati Binodini was the fifth woman in Bengal to become a professional actor, in the 19th century. At that time theatre was by men and for men.
From the age of 12 to 23, Binodini came to dominate the stage with her versatility and talent. Her autobiography is about her struggle and encounter with the bhadralok.
Sets and lights designer and co-founder of DADA, Nissar Allana speaks about "Nati Binodini" before its première. Nissar elaborates why they chose to dramatise "Aamar Katha". A lot of Amal's work, he says, deals with the question of women in society, as she's attracted to the ethos of a person within a scenario.
Like in their previous works, more than one actor plays a character. Five actors play the role of Nati Binodini. Nissar says that many actors playing the same character helps them to explore different dimensions of a character. Multiple identities are of interest to them as a theatrical device, which expands characters in a compressed time frame.
Elaborate stage
Describing the sets, he says the entire floor appears like glass as it is made from transparent acrylic-like material. The under-surface lights up in different ways. The entire set is in white and glass. Using an LCD projector, different 19th Century scenes are projected. The three backdrops are divided into five panels to create ambiences of forests and streets. Nissar says that the lighting is very elaborate with the lights divided into seven different sections.
Dissolving boundaries between stage and seats, lots of action actually takes place in the auditorium itself.
Speaking in measured tones, Nissar explains the logic behind this: "While stylising her life, the reality of theatre remains."
The music consists of both original 19th Century music and modern music.
Being a light and set designer, Nissar feels that the training of directors should be such that they connect more with scenography (relating to stage design).
He asserts, "It's not a question of making sets, it's about creating a performance through the sets."
The play is in Hindi with super-titles in English. It will run from Friday to Sunday at the Little Theatre Group Auditorium, Copernicus Marg. For tickets call 9810166643
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