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Shakespeare, the desi way
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Indian playwrights interpret Shakespeare in their own way, at the `Hamara Shakespeare Festival'
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FIGHTING OLD AGE `Lear Lahiri'
Shakespeare by any other name is as sweet,
says the Prakriti Foundation, as they bring
the third edition of the `Hamara Shakespeare
Festival' to the city. The festival reinvents
the works of the great Bard of Avon, giving
them an Indian twist, and will be on from 9 to 15
September.
In Anurupa Roy's `Almost Twelfth Night',
based on Shakespeare's immortal comedy about
two siblings separated during a storm at sea, the
love triangles, cross-dressing and all the ensuing
chaos, come alive through bunraku puppets.
`Lear Lahiri', by K.V. Akshara, is a take on King
Lear, which concentrates on the main character,
developing it into an intimate performance. The
state of mind of Lear forms the focus of the
play, as he battles one of mankind's greatest
fears - old age.
`About Caliban: Also About Colombo', by
Parnab Mukherjee and the students of Loyola
College, derives on several texts from the likes
of Peter Handke, Edward Kamau Braithwaite,
Sumathy and several poets from Jaffna,
besides Shakespeare. It explores the desire of
the fringe to be a part of the mainstream, and
reworks `The Tempest' as voyage to find
`Caliban', amongst the dissenting maps of
India and Sri Lanka.
Then Rajat Kapoor's `Hamlet-the Clown
Prince', which was staged last month at the
MetroPlus Theatre Fest to critical acclaim
returns to Chennai.
The play follows a bunch of clowns trying
to stage Hamlet. They misinterpret the text,
find new meaning in it and often make a mess
of things, as they throw out some important
scenes and play around with the order of
events, as though the pages got mixed up. But
through all of this, they are simply looking for
the essence of Hamlet, and its context in our
own times.
Donor passes for all the shows are available
at Landmark (Nungambakkam and City Centre),
Nuts & Spices (Adyar and Anna Nagar),
Silkworm Boutique (Khader Nawaz Khan
Road), Colour Plus (in Spencer Plaza) and
Shilpi (Alwarpet, Nungambakkam).
Daily tickets are also available at the venue
before the shows. For more details, call
24527941 or 66848506.
AT A GLANCE
`Almost Twelfth Night'
Language: Hinglish
Venue: Spaces, No. 1, Elliots Beach Road,
Besant Nagar
Time: September 10, 7 p.m.
`Lear Lahiri'
Language: Kannada
Venue: Rama Rao Kala Mantap (Karnataka
Sangha), 111 Habibullah Road, T. Nagar
Time: September 11, 7 p.m.
`About Caliban: Also About Colombo'
Language: English
Venue: Spaces, No. 1, Elliots Beach Road,
Besant Nagar
Time: September 12, 7 p.m.
`Hamlet-the Clown Prince'
Language: English and Gibberish
Venue: Museum Theatre, Egmore
Time: September 13, 7 p.m.
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