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Prithvi Theatre November Tue 17, 06:00 pm, 09:30 pm |
| ADISHAKTI'S THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE (English) |
| 1 Hour (without interval) Adishakti’s The Hare and the Tortoise is a dramatic meditation on the ethical possibilities inherent in the notion of contemporaneity. The Hare and the Tortoise develops its case for the importance of being contemporary through two devices. First, it explores the complex ways in which we occupy time by staging a dramatic colloquium between participants in notable inter-civilisational race-fables. The Hare and the Tortoise are the archetypal competitors who represent different ways of understanding temporality. Their race becomes the cover story for a theme, which includes other competing pairs such as Ganapati and Kartik, Ekalavya and Arjuna, Arjuna and Hamlet. Second, to help these fabulistic discussants the better to focus their arguments the play invites them all to comment upon the crisis experienced by William Shakespeare’s Hamlet; that dramatic protagonist for whom time was always so painfully out of joint. |
| Director's Note : All too often our lives are overdetermined either by the past or by the future, by the strictures of tradition, on the one hand, and of progress, on the other. In this battle between the condition of nostalgia and the desire for achievement, the present is forgotten or, worse, left unthought and unconsidered. Yet it may be the case that it is only in the recurring stillness of the present, of the moment, of what is now, that we can encounter ourselves as we truly are, untrammeled by the burdens of the past or the distorting pressures of the future. So too, it may well only be in the stark integrity of the present time-----when we are not concerned about falling behind or getting ahead-----that our relationships with others achieve a new equity and companionability. Thus, being contemporary, of the time, is linked to the notion of being coeval, of the same time, or, thence, of being together in the same time, or, of keeping time together, and so on. So too, being of the present carries within itself a kin set of etymological resonances, in this case, of being present to both oneself and to others. This play was inspired by an essay written by Nolini Kanta Gupta called ‘Hamlet: A Crises of The Evolving Soul’ which touches on the similarities and difference between Arjuna and Hamlet. The production attributes the difference to different ways of knowing. Formally the production rejects a linear narrative structure. It conveys significance through a synaesthesis of different arts- the word, the gesture, the image, the sound-each of which communicate sovereignly in their unique way. Adishakti : Adishakti Laboratory for Theatre Art Research, Puducherry, India is a theatre, music, dance and shadow puppetry troupe and a locus for hybrid performing arts. It is the home from which national and international performances, workshops, artist exchanges and research are generated. Adishakti defends a holistic view of theatre arts and seeks to recover systems of craft, artisinal activity, architecture and design, indigenous medicine and environmental awareness germane to most traditional performance cultures. Adishakti also connects traditional arts to contemporary arts practice - and rural forms to metropolitan expressions. Adishakti's holistic view of theatre finds expression in its campus, which is a cultural hub in the lap of nature. Three acres of sylvan surroundings house many heritage structures, an outdoor amphitheatre, an indoor theatre space built to the specifications of the Natya Shastra , the ancient treatise on theatre -- with contemporary acoustic paneling. The landscape is dotted with fruit trees and vegetable plantations – all organically grown. There are three sacred groves, { sarpa kavu} which have been nurtured in the traditional way and many trees mentioned in ancient texts are flourishing at Adishakti. Medicinal herb gardens have been planted in consultations with medicinal practitioners from alternative streams of treatment. In fact Siddha, Ayurveda and Naturopath practitioners are part of Adishakti's visiting faculty and treat its performers and its visitors. Adishakti is currently supported by the Ford Foundation and the R D Tata Trust. |
| Cast : |
| Hamlet Vinay Kumar Eklavya & Arjuna Nimmy Raphel The Hare Arvind Rane The Tortoise Arjun Shankar Ganapati Suresh Kaliyath Musicians : Saxophone, Clarinet Pascal Sieger Percussion Suresh Kaliyath Guitar Arjun Shankar Bass Guitar Arvind Rane Concept/ Writer/ Director Veenapani Chawla Music Composer Pascal Sieger Sets Arjun Shankar: Vinay Kumar Costumes Uma-Upasana-Auroville Puppets L Rajappa, Nimmy Raphel Light Designer Vinay Kumar Light Operation Anoop Davis Acknowledgements : The India Foundation for the Arts supported this production through its New Performance Grant |