The Industrial Theatre Co Rejuvenates Girish Karnad's HAYAVADANA...
December 2, 2011 12:00:00 AM IST MTG editorial
Girish Karnad's HAYAVADANA, which is hailed as one of the classics of Modern Indian Theatre, and which was first produced in 1972, makes for a refreshing experience in a new production by the Industrial Theatre Co. Directors Pushan Kripalani and Arghya Lahiri combine aesthetics and urban, contemporary references with street and popular lingo to present this compelling and most interesting drama on the themes of mind v/s body, and a human being's search for completeness. The company in fact had earlier produced the play in 2002. Pushan Kripalani had formerly directed it with Rehaan Engineer.
The new production featuring Neil Bhoopalam, Dilnaz Irani, Prashant Prakash, Vivek Gombar, Preetika Chawla and Abhishek Saha is designed to take place in a mandap, a chauraha with audiences on all four sides. The KR Cama auditorium where shows will be performed till the end of this month proves to be very conducive to the production. In Mumbai, it has become necessary to explore alternative performance spaces as the better known theatres for this kind of production are either busy or too expensive to rent.
Set design by Dhanendra Kawade makes the action intimate and compact. The production in terms of its aesthetic sensibility gains chiefly from its stagecraft. Few theatre companies explore symbolism so well and with such a quiet sense of beauty too. More is thus said by doing much less. Both in terms of its design and choreography, the production stands out. It is no doubt aided by some of the best writing ever. The nuances (and there are plenty in the play) need time to breathe though, and some performances could be sharper and layered. Live music by Suhaas Joshi on the flute and by Rahul Sharma on the tabla, forms just the right accompaniment to the events in the play, and for the manner in which they have been envisaged.
Here's a production that is delightful and provoking, just as it is meant to be.
