CHENNAI: A mythical story which most of us would have heard — about a boy with the head of an elephant, came to life recently as Yuki Ellias, theatre artiste-cum-director pulled off a one woman show — Elephant In The Room as part of The Parks New festival in association with Prakriti foundation. CE caught up with the artist who talked about her performance, her journey as an actress, experimenting in theatre, and opportunities. The performance, a coming of age story about the adventures of a young boy, Master Tusk, in search of his missing head is a tribute to the Indian myths, says Yuki.
“The story is about going on a journey, trying to find yourself and growing up. I wanted to do this story for a very long time. When I received a call from Prakriti Foundation to commission a show, I decided to do this and also go solo,” shares Yuki, who played eight different characters in the story.
The artist, who played the role of ‘Hermia’ in A Midsummer Night’s dream, made her directorial debut last year with a sci-fi absurd comedy, Charge. “This year I have made three shows. Dying to Succeed, a solo standup comedy-cum-interactive theatre show on Shakespeare’s characters in today’s world, Yatagarasu, a dance-theatre show on stories on growing up and of course, this play!” she explains.
Yuki is also the founder of Dur Se Brothers. With her kitty full, she reminisces the time when she started out as an actor and then switched to directing. “I realised that both are exciting! In the plays I direct, I don’t act (group shows), I learn from other actors and enjoy watching them perform,” she explains. “It’s a great joy in itself and working with such talented people is amazing. In fact I have to credit my team for pulling off this show. Though the show is a one-woman act, about eight people have worked behind the screen!”
A corporate coach, Yuki tells us that the nature of her job helps connecting people who work in corporates and theatre. “It’s very satisfying to talk to them about theatre and see them excited about acting. Since it’s a non-theatrical space, it brings the wealth of skills we have as communicators and bridges the gap. It’s opening new venues!” shares the recipient of Audience Choice Award at the Anchorage International Film Festival for the movie Love You to Death.
With the younger generation actively participating in theatre, Yuki is excited that smaller venues are opening up to theatre groups. “As an artist, we need space to give vent to our creativity, and this is where we get to perform our new shows. From here we take it to bigger ones,” she says.
Yuki will be touring other Indian cities as part of the festival. “For me, it’s about stylised concepts and new ideas. I keep thinking about new pursuits. For now, The Elephant... is my big show!”