It is said that theatre is one of the best mediums around to pass on a message to the public and open up discussions on taboo or controversial topics. The Chennai theatre fraternity chose to take this notion to heart, during the annual World Theatre Day celebratory performance that took place on Sunday night. The evening saw political commentary at its satirical best, with the Chennai audience lapping up it all.
With seven scriptwriters, seven directors and 31 actors – who were all picked out of a lot system and given just one day to rehearse – the fourth edition of ‘Kichadi Theatre’ kicked off with seven short plays and a packed roomful of theatre buffs who sweated it out in the Edouard Michelin Auditorium at the Alliance Francaise, Nungambakkam. Organised by the founder of Stagefright Productions Freddie Koikaran, the evening had the usual commentary on love, sex and alcohol in productions titled Boob Job, Woman on Top, Countdown and Sip & Chug. But the standouts of the night were three other plays, all satires.
Taking a cue from the recent ban on Evam’s political one-man play, Ali J, the three short plays tackled the issue of religion, politics and censorship with humourous ease. If Kichadi Republic was a commentary on Hindu-Muslim politics, further set aflame by politicians, Censored showed the plight of an author and her story when confronted by society’s ‘guardians’ who wish to keep the people safe from ‘unsavoury’ topics. With the playwright of Ali J, Shekinah Jacob, on the list of scriptwriters for Kichadi Theatre, the audience couldn’t help wondering whether this was her handiwork. This was in between sneaking glances at Karthik Kumar, Evam founder and actor in Ali J, for his reaction.
A Very Extremely Controversial Play, (which did turn out to be authored by Shekinah), was another satirical take on how to make your play popular without spending a single paisa – well, make it controversial of course!
With plans for next year’s edition of Kichadi Theatre already underway, the 2014 edition just about stopped short of rallying for Evam’s cause. But for the audience, it was well worth the money spent.