It’s not the intensity and brilliance of a solo performance that makes it special, it’s how the performer single-handedly holds your attention through the entire drama, encouraging you to be an active part. It’s time to experience the same in Kaveri of Kittale Villa. Lakshmi Chandrashekar, (also the playwright of the play) narrates and enacts the story of Kaveri…
“It’s always hard to find a solo play for women; it’s usually adapted from other mediums, like this play. It is an adaptation of a Singaporean author’s famous book, Emily of Emerald Hill. The novel has been adapted in different languages and has been performed by artistes across the world. My director, Soumya Varma, who stays in Singapore, decided to bring this act to the city, and that’s how it came about,” explains Lakshmi.
The original script deals with the Chinese community (Straits) that exists in Singapore. “To give it more native relevance, we’ve adapted the script and concentrated on the Kodava community in our state. It’s how, despite being modern, Coorgs are highly traditional, and won’t give up their customs. It can be a true tale of any modern family,” she adds.
This powerful script deals with many important issues. “The play sheds light on a recent issue that needs special attention — students committing suicide due to parental pressure. In the play, the mother forces her sports-loving son to be a lawyer. Unable to handle the mounting pressure, the child commits suicide. Such enactments reflect on present times in a distinct cultural background,” explains Lakshmi further.
Kaveri (the protagonist) reveals this journey, sometimes through narration, often as she enacts the drama, which has been an intricate presence in her life. “As a solo performer, Kaveri, I act out bits of the different phases of her life, as the realisation slowly seeps into the play, and things begin to become clearer,” she adds.
Talking about a few challenges Lakshmi faced, she says, “I’ve performed this play in Kannada and Coorgi earlier, where I had to learn the language perfectly, and adopt the same accent. But for this English play, reflecting the Coorg accent subtly through English has been quite challenging. Filling the stage and being comfortable ‘as a Coorg’ is another act that I had to master.” Besides hinting on a woman’s situation in a patriarchal society, the play lays bare hard-hitting facts that haunt our society. Kaveri of Kittale Villa, a part of the Kriyative Theatre, will be staged at Ranga Shankara on June 23.
source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> Tabloid> Potpouri / by Khushali P. Madhwani, DC / June 21st, 2012
