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The Director's cut
Roysten Abel
Why Othello?
Seven years ago, some students from the northeast were upset that they were not cast in a National School of Drama production. The reason was that they didn't `look' or `feel' Indian. Enough to start our Othello. A protest against discrimination. Today, we do this play dispassionately, with much love for each other in the team. To probe so elemental an emotion with detachment is a different high altogether.
What made you introduce the Kathakali motif?
Seven years ago, fusing Indian exotica with contemporary European stuff was very much in. I thought it was great to match two classic forms of art.
How did the film version turn out?
I'm a theatre person. Didn't realise that cinema is dominated by details just as theatre leaves people's imagination free. We showed the film in London along with the play. Most people liked the play better.
Why not do the play straight? What's the need for a modern setting?
Makes it simple for people to get into, and for us as theatre practitioners to go from the real to the surreal. Then we find that the minimalist micro theme is really cosmic drama.
What political overtones do you find in the play now?
Now I know that political passion is topical, restricted in time and space. We're now interested in the resonance of the emotion. That's universal.
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