“The Hindu” Review on Shraddha’s latest Stage play

Highlighting human traits

V. BALASUBRAMANIAN

A scene from ‘Azhwar’, one of the three short plays, staged at Narada Gana Sabha.

Shraddha deserves applause for staging Era. Murukan’s plays that show how money and technology erode humane qualities.

Shraddha has raised the bar higher with three short plays written by Era. Murukan depicting the past, present and future. It is difficult to give shape to such abstract ideas for the stage, but the playwright has done it with aplomb. One needs to appreciate the spirit of Shivaji, T.D.Sundararajan and Prema Sadasivam of Shraddha because of their passion for the stage and the way they change its dimensions with every production.

As the curtains went up for ‘Azhwar’, the audience applauded the brilliantly designed set that showed an obscure lane in the city with a flour mill, saloon, an array of shops with cinema posters on their walls, and a mansion with an open terrace (set design by G. Krishnamurthy and execution by Mohan Babu). Aazhwaar sporting a tuft, a dhoti and a tirumann on his forehead, is searching for his nonexistent friend Sadagopan in the mansion. He meets young Adaickalaraj, who is also looking for some one. The young man is baffled by Aazhwaar’s unusual behaviour and talk. Aazhwaar persuades Adaickalaraj, to visit his house, in the belief that he is Sadagopan’s associate. As they walk along the foggy street, the shops in the background undergo a change drawing appreciation from the audience. Aazhwaar emotionally renders a pasuram ‘Unnum Soru’. He lives in poverty with hisdaughter Vaidehi, who supplements her father’s meagre pension by selling vadams and appalams. They have an imposing statue of Lord Hanuman for which Aazhwaar collects money from every one for nithya Aradhanai. Vaidehi explains to Adaickalaraj about her father’s absent mindedness and how he brings home strangers and apologises for her father’s action. Empathising with her predicament, Adaickalaraj offers to help by asking her to supply her products to the provision shop where he works and also contributes to the nithya aradhanai. Nelson Ilango as Adaickalaraj, Shalini Vijayakumar as Vaidehi and T.D.Sundararajan (TDS) as Aazhwaar all gave a splendid performance.

Of Sardine and more

Who said the pungent tang of mathi (sardine) is unpleasant? For Mathi Rafeeq and his friends belonging to a pastoral village of Kannur, the tangible odour of mathi is their daily dose of oxygen. No day passes by without a mathi story to recall. The limelight falls on mathi as the villagers yak a nineteen to a dozen about their favourite delicacy, at their theater gatherings to daily bantering.

Jino Joseph’s ‘Mathi’, staged at Vyloppilly Samskrithi Bhavan as part of Ajayan Memorial Theatre Festival 2013 on Thursday, visually and thematically stands out from the heap of plays that are churned out on a daily basis. The play produced by Kalanilayam, Koothuparambu, presented a fascinating Kannur slang in its authentic form before the Capital city. With its unique and exceptional treatment, this Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi award winning treat, makes the 1.5 hour long journey a super happy affair. From the impeccable art direction to the flawless performances, ‘Mathi’ is an experience one will never forget in his lifetime.

Theater and Technology

Taken from an Article in BBC an year back.

“Vidiots, they sometimes call us,” admits Timothy Bird.

Some people in the theatre industry don’t take kindly to the innovations that Mr Bird and his team at Knifedge are introducing to the stage. Innovations like a computer-generated avatar sword-fighting an actor live on stage in his most recent show Pippin, transporting the audience to the world of a computer game.

Or the sight of a Seurat painting gradually coming to life on stage in Sunday in the Park with George, the show which cemented Knifedge’s reputation with an Olivier award for Best Set Design in 2007.

Impressive feats like these by Mr Bird and others like him have meant that in the last five years the role of “video designer” has become increasingly common in theatrical programme credits – a term hardly known a decade ago.

Uyire Un Vilai Enna – An Unique Initiative by the AASI

One of Prayatna Entertainment Projects was released on November 11 2013 by The Automobile Association of Southern India (AASI). Here is a report from  The Indian Express.

The Automobile Association of Southern India (AASI) on Monday released a film on road safety with a view to creating a lasting impression on the minds of road users about the mental trauma of families who have lost their loved ones in accidents and the need to observe traffic laws.

Radio Dramas Make a Comeback in a New Avatar

If Trevor Horn of The Buggles, who worded the famous ‘video killed the radio star’ song, could meet Anooradha and her team of RJs from 92.7 Big FM, he would surely give them a pat on the back for finding new ways to prove him wrong. For starters, the radio drama that they are airing currently is a step in a direction that Horn would have approved. A first in Chennai (and perhaps in the country as well), for that matter, they are serialising a 24 episode audio drama based on Indra Soundar Rajan’s popular novel Shivam. It deals with spiritual mystery in a conservative village. The author’s other works have already been turned into soap operas like Marma Desam and its sequel, which were well received by the TV audience.

Shraddha’s “Idiyudan koodiya anbu mazhai” Hindu review

Romance in the air

V. BALASUBRAMANIAN

Idiyudan Koodiya Anbu Mazhai

K. Balachander’s love for the stage was reiterated with ‘Idiyudan Koodiya Anbu Mazhai,’ a Shraddha production

Age has neither slowed his thought process nor diminished his penchant for the stage. It was close to 10 p.m. and the curtains had already come down. And there was K. Balachander or ‘KB sir’ analysing the play scene by scene, its plusses and minuses, with all the actors around him, listening intently. It only showed his insatiable appetite for the stage. His plays ‘Major Chandrakanth,’ ‘Server Sundaram,’ ‘Edhir Neechchal’ and ‘Navagraham’ took Tamil theatre to the next level many years ago. It was his concept and story that was enacted as a play titled ‘Idiyudan Koodiya Anbu Mazhai’ at the Narada Gana Sabha this past Monday.

It was Shraddha’s 11th production with Shivaji Chaturvedi and his sister Prema Sadasivam as producers. Their close friend and a veteran of several stage plays, T.D. Sunderarajan, made his debut as director with this play.

The writer in KB remains contemporary in his thoughts and ideas. Here, he took up the problems of peer pressure and loneliness that today’s youth face, particularly a motherless girl.

Sandhya (Shalini Vijayakumar), often left to fend to herself by her ever-busy father, has only the TV for company. This monotony is otherwise broken either by her college mates visiting her or her going out to party with them. Every time they meet, her friends discuss their boyfriends and this gets on Sandhya’s nerves. So Sandhya decides to out-beat them by proving that she too is capable of having a boy friend.

A chance meeting with Santhosh (Rohan Iyer) triggers the story. Impressed by his integrity, she asks him bluntly whether he can act as her boyfriend. She even promises him a salary when she learns of his abject poverty. Santhosh accepts her offer, as his goal in life is to educate himself. He also has to earn to run the house and satisfy his father’s drinking needs.

Shraddha’s new play “idiyudan koodiya anbu mazhai” by K. Balachander

Shraddha’s new play

Director K. Balachander and the cast and crew at rehearsals.

Theatre group Shraddha will be staging its 11th venture, ‘Idiyudan Koodiya Anbu Mazhai’ on August 23, 24, 25 and 26 at Narada Gana Sabha hall. The Tamil play will be staged under the auspices of Kartik Fine Arts, Narada Gana Sabha, Sri Parthasarathy Swamy Sabha and Brahma Gana Sabha, respectively.

The story and concept are by director K. Balachander, while T D Sundararajan has directed it. Vivek Rajagopal has written the dialogue.

The play, a comedy laced with emotions, tracks a turbulent yet beautiful relationship between two youngsters, Sandhya and Santhosh.

Both of them carry their own emotional baggage and battle their disappointments in life. An accidental meeting between the two leads to a relationship through which they attempt to find ‘happiness.’

Shraddha is introducing new talents in this play. The cast includes Kathadi Ramamurthy, ‘SBI’ Murali, Rohan Iyer, Arun, Karthik Bhatt, Shalini, Archana, Akshaya and Hemalatha Swaminathan. The executive producers are Shivaji Chathurvedi and Prema Sadasivam.

For details, contact Shivaji Chathurvedi at 98402 08583.

Prayatna in Australia – Hindu report

Prayatna in Sydney

 

 

The Prayatna theatre troupe was in Sydney, Australia, to present two of their comedies, ‘Kaasu Vanda Kadhavai Saathu’ and ‘Maathi Yosi..(Ye)Maathi Yosi,’ written and directed by K. Vivekshankar.

The group was invited by the Australian Tamil Broadcasting Corporation as part of its anniversary.

The venue was the University of New South Wales auditorium, which was packed to capacity and the plays were well received by the audience.

The cast included Kathadi Ramamurthy, T.D. Sundararajan, Kaushik, Girish, Kaavya, Ramachandran and Yuvasri. Music was by L.V. Ganesh.

Prayatna’s Two Comedy Tamil Stage Plays Well Received in Australia

Australian Tamil Broadcasting Corporation celebrated its Anniversary on 14th July 2013 at UNSW Science Theatre, Sydney, Australia. As part of their celebrations, Prayatna was invited to stage two comedy plays – Kaasu Vandhaa.. Kadhavai Saaththu and Maathi Yosi Yemaathi Yosi written and directed by K.Vivekshankar.

The event was successful and the plays were well received by the audience. We are sharing a few pictures taken during the event.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation extended a hearty welcome and made our week long stay a  pleasurable one to cherish. This event strengthened the bond between the Prayatna family and the ATBC family. This also helped us to understand Australian Tamil Community’s  love for Fine Arts and especially Tamil Theatre.

ATBC’s radio station personnel were kind enough to introduce us to the Tamil community in Sydney.  ATBC Radio connects the Tamil population spread across the world and their sincere efforts in this regard as a Non-profit organization is exemplary and certainly worth a mention.

Click on the Image to View the Pictures in Enlarged Mode

Australian Tamil Broadcasting Corporation felicitates Kathadi Ramamurthy

Australian Broadcasting Corporation Felicitates K.Vivekshankar

Music and Sets

Music and Sets getting ready for the plays

Theatre Lovers at the Play

Theatre Lovers at the venue and enjoying the play

Australian Tamil Plays Promo

We are presenting our promo shot for the plays being staged in Australia. If you are in Australia, you might have had a chance to view them. For those of you interested in getting the tickets,  information is available in the promos as well as in our previous post, Prayatna in Australia