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 Rajiv Krishnan.
Theatre Director & Actor.
[English Theatre ]
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1. Which is the last best play you saw and why?
‘Cotton 56 Polyester 84’ for its simplicity, poignancy, music and wonderful acting by the lead characters.
2. Your favourite adda to see a play…
I am from Chennai, which is woefully lacking in good theatre spaces. Among the few that exist, my favourite places are the Museum Theatre (proscenium), and the YMCA Buck’s Theatre (open air amphitheatre)
3. Your favourite playwright…
I am not a great reader of plays. But of the little I have read, the playwright who impressed me most has been Eugene Ionesco.
4. Your favourite play-character…
‘The Maniac’ in Dario Fo’s ‘Accidental Death of an Anarchist’
5. A play you would like to see filmed. Why?
Ionesco’s ‘The Rhinoceros’. For it’s contemporary relevance, its riveting pace. I would actually like to see it as an animated film. Filmed like a graphic novel. In stark colours.
6. A novel/short story you would like to see on stage? Why?
‘The 13 ½ lives of Captain Bluebear’ by Walter Moers, for it transports you into fascinating worlds.
7. The most hilarious play you have seen…
‘Tartuffe’ by Moliere. Humour with many shades.
8. A play, which is over-hyped…
Any play based on Shakespeare’s work. Most of them take themselves too seriously, Something Shakespeare himself may have found unpalatable.
9. An important play (but ignored):
It would be presumptuous on my part to try and answer that.
10. A play character you would like to “dialogue” with…
I would actually like to dialogue more with playwrights to know what led them to such brilliant characters.
11. A passage from an important play that you can recite…
None unfortunately.
12. A classical play that you should have read…
Many probably. I get cold feet when I hear the term ‘Classical’.
13. A play that changed your perception about the theatre…
Pina Bausch’s ‘Carnations’(dance-theatre) and Arienne Mnoushkine’s ‘Le Dernier Caravanserai’.
14. How do you regard the Mumbai theatre scene?
I don’t know much about it, but really like the writing of Ramu Ramanathan and Manav Kaul (I have seen only one of his plays). And the energy of young theatre workers in Pune that I’ve recently interacted with.
15. Have you read any interesting books/articles concerning the theatre? Why did you find them interesting?
Well, I have been very influenced by Peter Brook’s ‘the Empty Space’. The title passage says it all, as it is the most accurate description of the ‘act’ of theatre.
16. If you have ever been a part of a theatre production/s, can you recall an event that was insightful, significant or simply humorous?
Every theatre production that I have been in has been insightful to say the least.
17. Can you think of a foreign production that you found remarkable? Why?
Peter Brook’s ‘The Costume’ for its simplicity and honesty, from a theatre director at the height of his craft.
18. Your favourite director/actor/music or set designer…
Peter Brook/M.Pasupathi (from Tamil theatre)/M. Natesh (again fromTamil theatre)
19. A significant Indian production that you may have witnessed…
Not strictly theatre but dancer Chandralekha’s work.
20. Life in the theatre without the humble batata-wada or the cutting chai or if you please brownies that are snuggling chocolate bits… or can you recall the best gastronomic experience you’ve had in the precincts of the theatre to date?
An Irish coffee on my one and only visit to the Prithvi theatre.
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