Sardine is among the smallest, most inconsequential and least expensive species of fish. Though it can be swallowed down in a gulp, the fish can hardly satiate your hunger, and Rafeeq, a fisherman, in no exception to it. He is the lead character of the play Matthi (Sardine in Malayalam) that bagged the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards in 2015 and was also staged at NSD International Theatre Festival this year.
The scene of sardine being cooked and eaten up on the stage throughout the play was a delightful experience for the audience. But the telling image slowly turned macabre as the main character himself got cooked and eaten by the circumstances of life that engulf him eventually.
The play that depicts images and vignettes of life in a small, closely knit Kerala village was staged at a tiny packed theatre. It shows the daily chores of life, like the hauling of ropes by fisherman, the neighbour’s chatting over dinner, village politics and a theyyam. A comic and wry performance by the actor who plays Rafeeq gets a different edge when he interacts. Though the play with a disembodied voice from the auditorium constantly broadens and reframes the central dilemma and conflict of the play. Rafeeq spends his day in simple pursuits, longing for the love of his neighbour, dealing with the village drunkards, getting reprimanded by his younger sister and then suddenly, this pastoral calm is disturbed by migration and change. Following these events, he has no choice but to hang himself—now we see him hanging, and the next moment he has turned into the bare bones of an eaten sardine.
Matthi is the outcome of a collective effort of the actors under the deft direction of Jino Joseph. The drama on the stage and the constant interaction with the audience together make the play look unique. The intention behind the design is very simple—to make the audience not merely watch a play, but to become a part of the celebration, sorrows, unpredictable interactions and changes of the life of the simple fisher folk living in Kerala.
The production is vibrant and energetic, drawn in broad strokes, but without subtlety or sophistication. It succeeds in capturing a moment in Kerala of the 70’s and 80’s, with the Left forces in ascendency and a great involvement of the community in truly understanding and internalising the ideology.
Coming from Kannur (Cannanore), the group Malayala Kalanilayam Natakavedi consists of non-professional actors, who created a fine theatre piece, far removed from the stylisation of Panniker’s Sanskrit productions or Chandradasan’s epic theatre from Calicut. This is a fresh new voice from Kerala—using popular music, the leitmotif of a cycle and the cycle of eating, cooking and consumption to drive home the adage, the big fish eats the small fish. Theatre at its best.
feisal.alkazi@rediffmail.com