By: Ramesh Kallidai
The Reduced Indian Film Company staged Bollywood – Yet Another Love Story at The Riverside Studios in Hammersmith. It featured love, music, tragedy, dances, fights and disco – all the trappings of a typical masala movie with a rehash of old themes.
Sock ‘Em with Honey by the Kali Theatre Company at the Cockpit Theatre resonated to the sound of clashing cultures, triggered when the daughter of a traditional Parsi family decided to marry her Jewish boyfriend. Written by award winning novelist Bapsi Sidwah, it explores the issues of cultural identity, family loyalty and the nature of love.
My personal favourite was a spectacular farce, The Drunken Monks, adapted from a 7th century play written by King Mahendra Varma. This production is an unusual blend of farce, social commentary and theatrical display. Inspired by forms of South Indian theatre, it combines words, movement, costume, makeup and design into a delightful experience.
Rita Wolf, the Artistic Director of Kali Theatre Company said, “In 1990 I read in a local newspaper of the horrific death of Balwant Kaur, a Sikh woman murdered by her husband, in front of their children, for running away to a women’s refuge. I felt outraged…I heard on the grapevine about a writer who had been moved to turn Balwant’s story into a drama and sought her out. The writer was Rukhsana Ahmad, and the play became Song for a Sanctuary, Kali Theatre Company’s inaugural production. The production was very raw and real. Our audiences were consistently moved. We were on our way.”
Eleven years on, Kali’s contribution to developing the work of Asian women writers remains vital. They are unique within the theatre establishment for championing and supporting new work by talented women.
To encourage Asian women with a creative streak and an eye for the stage, Kali is looking for short new plays of no longer than 15 minutes for rehearsed readings this summer.
I am informed that selected writers will receive support from a dramaturg and director.
Er… a dramaturg, some of you may be asking. What on earth is that??
I had no clue either.
With a sudden brainwave, I searched the internet and found that a Dramaturg reads and assesses new plays, revises and edits scripts, adapts non-theatrical text into a script, translates scripts from other languages, advises playwrights on writing new scripts, and acts as a liaison between the playwright and the director.
For a person whose name sounds like an entity from the Jurassic age, a Dramaturg does much more than I ever imagined (not that I ever knew they existed).
Of course, if any of you want a career change and are toying with the idea of becoming a Dramaturg, I have a single word of caution.
Just imagine being introduced in a party to a room full of unknown faces by an over-exuberant and chirpy host: ‘Hullo everyone, please meet Ramesh. He is a Dramaturg of the finest picking.’
That would definitely dissuade me, if nothing else would.
For more information visit www.kalitheatre.co.uk or phone 020 7387 7949.
Funny thing from Mumbai
Speaking of plays, I forgot to mention a charming performance by Director Ashwin Gidwani from Clowns R Us at the Bridgepark Leisure Centre on 21 April.
The play, A Funny Thing Called Love, was staged by a cast imported entirely from India and had the audience hysterical with laughter.
The Hindu Council of Brent and the Lions Club had sponsored the show in partnership with Brent Council, which had given free use of the Function Hall Theatre.
Ashwin Gidwani informed me that they had staged fifteen performances to packed houses all over UK. “This is the first time that an entire cast has been flown in from India. This play was very successful on the Bombay stage,” he said.
Gidwani plans to hold major events in the UK, including musicals, fashion shows and theatre, aimed at bringing Indian culture to the youth.
After I was roped in at the eleventh hour to make some announcements on stage, a beaming Gidwani came up and said, “Ramesh, you have a voice that is perfect for Radio. We must figure out how you can lead a weekly Radio show from a Hindu view point.”
I smiled faintly.