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Reality TV on stage
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An original take on Tina Turner's life
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Photo: AP
THE INSPIRATION: Both Priscilla Corner and Kaushik Shankar love Tina Turner Photo: AP
"Doing someone else's script is just an exercise in stupidity," says stage actor and singer Priscilla Corner emphatically. "If you don't understand where the character is coming from and can't discuss it with the writer and get feedback, then you could go completely wrong. Such scripts suffer from adaptations and translations."
So it was perfect for her to meet young director Kaushik Shankar three years ago. They were both passionate about the music of Tina Turner; Priscilla because "Tina's and my range is similar" and Kaushik because "I've always admired her songs." Over the last month and a half, the script for their latest production What's Love Got To Do With It was written by Kaushik who was also right on hand to direct the production and even act in it. Although named after one of Tina Turner's songs and the movie about her life, this production draws only partly from people and events in Tina's life.
As Priscilla says: "I just couldn't look like her however much I tried!" and so the script centres around a character Priscilla could play — an aspiring pop star (Priscilla Corner) who sings Tina Turner on a reality show parodying American Idol.
Her talent is encouraged by a Simon Cowell-inspired character (Kaushik Shankar) who is on the show's panel. The play is woven around nine of Tina Turner's songs and some John Coltrane.
Similar to other Kaushik's productions such as Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll and the Blue Room, this production too doesn't shy away from sex and romance, but it's justified as a necessary part of the "journey of a 30-something woman in the music industry", he says.
"I loved her sheer passion even before I knew about her life," says Priscilla. And although she can't relate personally to Tina's life, "when someone has such passion, you know that they're coming from the right place. Like me, Tina Turner was a late bloomer. Her marriage broke at 39, but she's still singing at 65. She's a survivor. After this, I have lots more respect for Tina Turner — she has so much energy!"
The 90-minute production with lots of song and dance is on at Chowdaiah Memorial Hall at 7.30 p.m. on May 8. Tickets are available at all Arrow outlets, Taika, Infinitea, Supermarket on Brigade Road, and the café at the Alliance Francaise in denominations of Rs. 300, Rs. 200 and Rs. 500.
HEMANGINI GUPTA
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