Ruminating Ibsen's PEER GYNT: 'The Peer Gynt Cycle' at the Hyderabad University (12-16th February 2015)

Deepa Punjani

The PEER GYNT plays that were staged as part of the Hyderabad university conference were commissioned and had to follow a prescribed format of working with traditional folk forms of South India. The invited production from Norway was an exception.


	Tamil PEER GYNT (directed by S. Ramanujam)

All the Indian productions worked with the select folk forms and presented only sections of the play or focussed on particular aspects. Peer's journey was halted at different junctures in these productions. Like in most traditional folk and classical theatrical forms from India, there was a narrator.

Dr Aruna Bhikshu, an associate professor at the department of dance at the Sarojini Naidu School (SN school) of Performing Arts at Hyderabad University directed a Telugu adaptation using Chindu-Bhagawatam, a folk theatrical form of Telengana.


	Kannada PEER GYNT (directed by D. Prasanna)

Abhilash Pillai's production engaged with stage design and visual motifs to tell the story, exploring the classical form of Koodiyattam. The production had a modern, contemporary look.

The Tamil production, directed by Professor S Ramanujam was a study in form led by very good performances. It attempted to juxtapose Duryodhana's character from the Mahabharata with Peer Gynt's, concentrating on the aspect of the relationship and love shared between mother and son.

D Prasanna directed the Kannada production with the help of the adaptation by Shri Ragunanandan called 'Gundegowdana charite'. D Prasanna then enlisted the help of Prashant Madhayast, an Avadhani and Bhagwata to work on the poetic nature of the text.

Professor MV Narayanan had a cultural observation upon seeing the Kannada production at the festival. He said that Kannadigas have hardly ventured beyond their homes and have an almost non-existent concept of travel. In such a scenario, how does one mount a play which is all about travel- the journey one must do away from home even if one returns to it.


	The Norwegian production of PEER GYNT

It remains to be seen if these productions - more like work-in-progress - will mature into full productions that will convey resonant Indian adaptations of the original play.

The full-fledged Norwegian production, which was invited, was unique in its use of space and movement- Peer's journey becomes a metaphor of journeys outside and within. The group of actors acted as a single entity as well as individuals playing the different characters. Often huddled together, the actors conveyed a different experience of time and space in this ambitious, itinerant tale.

Adapting can be tricky business. For the Indian theatre practitioner, PEER GYNT is a challenging text, especially if it needs to be situated in particular localised contexts.

*Deepa Punjani is the Editor of this website.

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Ruminating Ibsen's PEER GYNT: 'The Peer Gynt Cycle' at the Hyderabad University (12-16th February 2015)

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