KOCHI: Exploring the role of the family in post-independence India, 'An evening of poetry in theatre' brought to life three of the finest poems depicting life in contemporary India. The production, staged for three days at the CAC auditorium, was conceived and directed by Chandradasan of Lokadharmi theatre.
Initially adapted as part of the organisation's acting training programme, the idea gradually developed into a full-fledged production stretching to over an hour. As the veteran theatre artiste himself said, "My attempt was to crystallise and give form to poetry, which is otherwise a fluid art."
The adaptation of 'Saphalamee Yathra' by N N Kakkad, which dealt with the a couple introspecting on the meaning of life as they reach its twilight, was in every sense a mixed-media piece incorporating performance, music and images projected onto a screen. The verses were set to tune and rendered by Salim Nair. The attempt here, Chandradasan added, was to portray a married couple looking back at 30 years of union through a photo album and reliving the innumerable conflicts between them.
While the first production featured extensive lighting and theatrical design, the adaptation of Rosily by Ayyappa Panicker was presented in a pared-down set. For the poem, a satirical expose of the hypocrisies surrounding the institution of the family through the petty quarrels between a man and his father-in-law, both of them drunkards, Chandradasan sought to lay emphasis on rhythm and movement of actors. "We incorporated elements of the chavittunatakam into the poem, and the attempt was to convey the essence of the poem, which Panicker himself called 'cartoon poetry'," he adds.
The final performance, an adaptation of Nissim Ezekiel's 'Night of the Scorpion', was presented in near-total darkness, with only a kerosene lamp illuminating the stage. As the son recalled the night his mother was bitten by a scorpion, music composer Bijibal's sound engulfed the auditorium, and significantly blurred the lines that separated poetry from theatre and music.