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3rd Janabheri National Theatre
Festival 2015 |
| The Janabheri National theatre festival in Thrissur, Kerala is exclusive to theatre directors who are under the age of 40. In 2006, a group of artistes steered by Abhimanyu Vinayakumar, and under the guidance of his father, started a group, mainly to promote the classical arts. Abhimanyu Vinayakumar, a trained Kathakali dancer worked with Kalamandalam in Kerala for 8 years. He became aware of the hardships faced by young directors to showcase their work. He felt that by the time they got recognition, their initial productions, which were of substantial quality, were erased from the memory of the audience, or they were not even fortunate enough to be staged!
When his group started doing productions, they made it a point to see to it that the play ran for at least a year and could reach out to as many people as possible. From 2009 to 2012 they continued to do so but it was no cakewalk and their plight was shared by several other young theatre people, struggling to foray into mainstream theatre. So Vinayakumar felt the need for a common platform on which the work of young theatre directors could be showcased. This was how the Janabheri (Voice of the people) National theatre festival came to be. The response to the festival has been overwhelming.
As Abhimanyu puts it, ''When we started off we were not sure what to expect, but we were firm that this exposure was the need of the hour. Many known names in theatre, who are well into their 40s, are getting their launch pads now. It took them years of hard work and frustration, to be seen. Though they may be doing good productions now, many of their earlier works were better, but now buried in oblivion. This was exactly what we wanted to overcome. The cutting edge of theatre is often reflected in the younger generations and this is what we aim to sustain and hold onto.''
He continues...''In the last 2 years we have brought in groups from Kashmir, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim, Delhi, and Hyderabad. These are young professionals, still finding their bearing. Many of them after our festival have been invited to perform at other places. The festival gave them the much needed break. Financial assistance has been a tough one to crack. The initial support from my father and the strong backing of veteran and established theatre people like Abhilash Pillai, Dr B. Ananthkrishnan, M.P. Surendran, V.S. Sasidharan and a host of others, gave us a boost to hold our ground and brave the perils. The Ministry of Culture and private advertisers are slowly opening their purses, seeing the seriousness of intent and the reach of this activity. Not that we are in a comfortable zone as yet, but we are breathing easier and are geared to face tough situations. We are more confident today than we were a couple of years ago. We decide a theme for the festival each year. Last year it was on ''Spaces'' and this year we explored changing performance languages.''
The line -up for this year''s edition was interesting with vibrancy in theme and presentation. Display of new interpretations of body language, use of space, texture and colour, multimedia, etc were on the anvil.
MAROON, a theatrical adaptation of the famous short story- ''The Trail of your Blood in the Snow'' by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, was a daring venture by Abhimanyu Vinaykumar, which explored multimedia to unravel the magical realism of the writer''s work. A daunting task, it had its moments as he priced open layers of the subconscious, in scintillating images. Though he largely succeeded in tacking this story, the enthusiasm created a cluster of visuals, which could be better received if spaced out. His competent actors and a brilliant technical support team, added to the magic created on stage.
CHILLARA SAMARAM presented by Little Earth School of theatre Mallapporam, Kerala, and directed by Arun Lala, was a delight to watch. A political theatre performance, it raises the protest of the common man against anti- human, town development plans, sketching the plight of the oppressed by corporate authorities. Using their own folk forms and dance and music patterns, the show was insightful not only because of the hard-hitting theme, but also because of the dexterity and finesse of the actors who brought the play to life.
THE TRANSPARENT TRAP, a production from ''Dhyass'', Pune, directed by Shrikant Bhide, zeros into the perils of the abuse of plastics. It is a fascinating play with textures, colours, movements and lights. Shrikant has managed to create a visual treat. However the content and music score if revisited and edited, could raise the production a notch up.
SHMASHROOSHMALAM by Kala Patasala Arangottukara, Kerala, directed by Aziz Peringode, plays on an interesting theme. The Moustache (Smashru) is taken as a sign of masculinity. Rather there is strength, love and beauty, in both feminity and masculinity, which fills the mind with energy and warmth. Delving on this theme, this slap-stick comedy, used folklore and music to create a riot on stage, which was delightful to watch.
Two productions from Adishakti, Pondicherry, left a mark at this festival.
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NIDRAVATHWAN, Director: Nimmy Raphel |
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NIDRAVATHWAN explores Khumbhakarna''s sleep and Lakshmana''s lack of it, performed to perfection by Nimmy Raphel. The other play, HANUMAN RAMAYANA by Suresh Kaliyath, used tradition- ritual body language. It is an attempt to expose the raw power of ritual and improvisation and link the modern audience to epics. Both these production were a result of long research carried out on the Ramayana. Watching them was a treat, spelling amply why Adishakti has been called a ''Theatre Laboratory''.
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NOTES ON CHAI, Director: Jyoti Dogra |
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NOTES ON CHAI, by Jyoti Dogra, was a last minute entry into the festival, to replace a group from Bihar, which couldn''t reach on time. In this devised piece, Jyoti explores mundane daily conversations, juxtaposed with abstract sounds based on Tibetan chantings, Western harmonics and extended vocal techniques. Adding an undercurrent of a strong realistic narrative, her performance was craftily executed and was quite an eye-opener. It was a delightful experience and it was very well received.
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CAUTION.... Director: Regi Prasad |
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The last playCAUTION...... by Reji Prasad, alumnus of the Central University, Hyderabad, was a fantastic exercise in multimedia, inspired by the works of Yoko Ono and John Lennon. This piece aimed at exploring the border s between what we think are are comfortable and uncomfortable zones. The production also explores the possibilities of the use of the actor''s body and space.
I was fascinated by this young generation of performers. They were daring to venture into the unknown and were in search of newer forms. They didn''t have any fear about ''acceptance''. The Janabheri festival is a step in the right direction for giving vital opportunity to these creative minds. With a dedicated team in place and increasing support from mentors, this is one festival to look forward to in times to come.
*Dr Ajay Joshi is a practicing dentist with an M.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication. He also holds a Ph.D. on the role of Critics and Criticism in Marathi theatre. Ajay has contributed to the Prithvi Theatre Newsletter (PT Notes) and writes on varied topics ranging from theatre to travel for newspapers like Indian Express, Maharashtra Times, Sakal, Mid-Day, etc. He is based in Pune.
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