Play Review : Kanchanaseetha
A play after a long,long time... That itself leaves me predisposed to review it well. But that would be unfair to the theatre group, so have tried to be as objective as possible.
Kanchana Seetha is a play originally written by Sreekantan Nair and translated into English. The core subject deals with the conflict Rama faces after he decides to leave Seetha behind in the forest, proclaiming her to be `unchaste'. The play portrays Rama conflicted between his position as a King (Caesar's wife must be above suspicion) and Rama, the man. However, it is not so straightforward. There are several subtle nuances which are thrown up which seem to suggest that the conflict is actually Rama's inability to believe in Seetha's chastity and how the state becomes an excuse for Rama to mask his own indecision. In between are also thrown in the issues of the class hierarchy and conflicts arising from that system and so on.
The script was really very good, building up pace very well to culminate in Seetha being ultimately swallowed by the Earth. And the performances were also very,very good - bringing up the nuances suggested by the script aptly. The players were all very natural, especially the children who played Lava and Kusha, and yet came across convincingly in their portrayals of their respective characters. The sets and props were minimally used, the entire play being dependent on the strength of the script and the performances and here the director came up trumps.
The one question that I had was that is such a play still relevant in today's contemporary world? But I think the answer is that we do still carry the baggage of our culture which believes in the `chastity' of Seetha. Even in today's world where women are supposedly better off than before, we still do grapple with issues of societal expectations and so on. And therein lies the relevance of the play. As a friend pointed out, Shakespeare is still relevant because the interpretation is with respect to contemporary society. I agree with her and kudos to the Tejaswi Theatre group for their excellent performance.
Kanchana Seetha is a play originally written by Sreekantan Nair and translated into English. The core subject deals with the conflict Rama faces after he decides to leave Seetha behind in the forest, proclaiming her to be `unchaste'. The play portrays Rama conflicted between his position as a King (Caesar's wife must be above suspicion) and Rama, the man. However, it is not so straightforward. There are several subtle nuances which are thrown up which seem to suggest that the conflict is actually Rama's inability to believe in Seetha's chastity and how the state becomes an excuse for Rama to mask his own indecision. In between are also thrown in the issues of the class hierarchy and conflicts arising from that system and so on.
The script was really very good, building up pace very well to culminate in Seetha being ultimately swallowed by the Earth. And the performances were also very,very good - bringing up the nuances suggested by the script aptly. The players were all very natural, especially the children who played Lava and Kusha, and yet came across convincingly in their portrayals of their respective characters. The sets and props were minimally used, the entire play being dependent on the strength of the script and the performances and here the director came up trumps.
The one question that I had was that is such a play still relevant in today's contemporary world? But I think the answer is that we do still carry the baggage of our culture which believes in the `chastity' of Seetha. Even in today's world where women are supposedly better off than before, we still do grapple with issues of societal expectations and so on. And therein lies the relevance of the play. As a friend pointed out, Shakespeare is still relevant because the interpretation is with respect to contemporary society. I agree with her and kudos to the Tejaswi Theatre group for their excellent performance.
posted by penuryof thought @ 11:10 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Not relevant
Glad you enjoyed the play. But you find that it is not entirely relevant to the contemporary ?
consider my dear :
the many very successful "warriors" in the corporate and business worlds who are failures in their personal relationships eg this Lakshmana.
The hundreds of unsung Urmilas and Kausalyas. Not to speak of the Vasishtas and the Ramas through the length and breadth of the world who are so taken up with the cause of society that they are blind to the individuals who make up that society. And what about the judge who, a year or two ago, told a woman who had the courage to go to court after she was raped, that he couldn't believe she didn't enjoy it atleast a little bit?
Wow, is this the same Yamuna, the director of the play? Well, I am honoured that you posted your comments.
Actually the point that I thought was the least contemporary was the `welfare of state' vs the individual life. In a capitalist society, there is very little room for social good. The basic tenet is that individual prosperity leads to social prosperity. So when that conflict is ruled out, the remaining part is individual vs self i.e personal achievement vs relationships.
I do believe it is contemporary, as you point out, that the perception of the role of women still continues to be along the lines of her servility to man. I am completely one with you in that argument.
But in the overall context of the play, that position of women in society took a secondary role to the conflict of state vs individual. At least, that is my personal takeaway from the play.
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