BENGALURU: Musical theatre plays can sound soothing to the ears, especially when it has a spiritual aspect to it. Sunil Shanbag, who has been a theatre director for over 30 years, is now venturing into a different style of musical theatre play, showcasing the Bhakti and Sufi traditions. The play, ‘Soul’ has a new way of looking at Bhakti and Sufi songs. The show consists of songs in several languages which includes one in Kannada by Akka Mahadevi. Sunil’s ‘Stories in a Song’ is one his landmark productions in Indian theatre. The songs will be presented in the show, with a narrative in English.
The director, famous for his Doordarshan series in the 80’s such as Yatra and Bharat Ek Khoj, says that there is a kind of quality music that comes out of the Bhakti tradition which is very powerful. “The songs have tremendous depth to it, with a lot of meaning and feeling,” the director adds.While India is a country with many cultures, Sunil agrees that we all share a common ethnicity. Sufi, which is a Muslim tradition has in many ways incorporated the Hindu tradition and values.
The play talks about the human race wanting a just society and the desire to be treated equally with a powerful source or a spiritual God above us. “The play reflects the social reality that we live in and creates some kind of understanding about the times we live in,” he explains about the name given to the play as the message connects to the human soul.
The young actors with 10 years of experience have come under Sunil’s direction as part of the Tamasha theatre of Mumbai. While the actors are not professional musicians, Sunil points out that regardless, the actors will connect to the audience through music and not bring about a play. The show will be performed in the city on March 24 at MLR Convention Centre, JP Nagar.
The director has done several other plays depicting the culture of Mumbai, he has even done a Gujarati adaptation of a Shakespeare play. Sunil, whose play ‘Cotton 56, Polyester 84’ has won three META awards, also owns the theatre company, Arpana which started in 1985. Sunil has been regularly hosting his plays in Bengaluru since 2004 saying that the audience in the cosmopolitan city has been able to resonate to his plays which conveys a universal message across the country.