Recognised by UNESCO as a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”, Koodiyattam is often described as India’s oldest surviving form of theatre. But beyond its grand lineage, the Sanskrit drama tradition is also a living record of social history. For centuries, Koodiyattam unfolded inside the dimly lit wooden theatres of Kerala’s temples, the koothambalams, where a single act could stretch across days and an entire play might take 40 days to complete. Audiences arrived knowing that they were entering a detailed narration. The form’s grammar was and remains nuanced. The flicker of an eyelid (neta abhinaya), a curl of the palm (hasta abhinaya), or the stillness of a face conveyed emotions.
When Japan’s Kabuki barred women, and many classical traditions confined them to the wings, Koodiyattam embedded a radical principle. Female roles must be performed by women. In Kerala’s temple theatres, long before modern reforms, women had a stage of their own. “It specifically is a rule that all the female roles be done only by women. That is the greatest thing,” says Koodiyattam artiste G Venu, who is bringing a new production of the Sanskrit classic Mrichchakatikam to Chennai.
But the stage was not always open to everyone. For most of its history, Koodiyattam was the domain of specific communities. Chakyars performed the male roles, Nangyars the female ones. Performances were confined to temple precincts. The art was often hereditary, and tightly guarded.
This custom cracked in the mid-20th century, when the legendary Guru Mani Madhava Chakyar took the form outside temple walls. He faced intense criticism, even social sanctions but his decision democratised Koodiyattam, paving the way for institutions like Kerala Kalamandalam to train students from any background. The form’s survival today owes much to this break with exclusivity.
Venu, who himself spent 15 years training as an “outsider”, embodies that shift. “The repertoire had become very static inside temples. There is so much more potential to this art form,” he says. His Chennai production of Mrichchakatikam reveals why he believes the form still has new stories to tell. The ancient Sanskrit play centres on a commoner, not a king or deity. There is a thief who is a polymath, trained in 64 traditional arts, a gambler who renounces vice to become a Buddhist monk, a heroine whose courage and moral clarity made her a symbol of resilience during India’s freedom struggle. Venu shares that one of Mahatma Gandhi’s close disciples staged Mrichchakatikam while mobilising political support in south India because she found the heroine “so different, bold, and kind.”
Its social momentum, Venu says, makes the play perfect for today. His version turns Mrichchakatikam into a meeting between eras. It leaves the temple, returns to the world, and in Chennai, audiences will see an ancient tradition pulsing with new life.
Book your seats
WHAT: Mrichchakatikam by G Venu presented by Chidagni Foundation
WHEN: November 16, 6 pm
WHERE: Bharata Kalakshetra Auditorium
TICKETS: BookMyShow