| theatre |
| Theatre has always sustained me, through the last twenty years of my life. It has been quite a rollercoaster journey, but one that I find impossible to put into words. The greatest joy, the greatest pleasure, and the greatest happiness I have found have always come from performance. Of course, motorcycles, love, and teaching have given me as much pleasure, if not in such a high dosage. Therefore, on this page I will put very little - some reviews of plays, some photographs, a list of all the work I have done, and some thoughts. For a clearer understanding of my visceral connection to theatre, theatrical art, and all related forms, please watch my work... |
| The List |
| March 2008 onwards
Executive produced the first Indo-German co-production for Project Indeact for the Metro plus Theatre festival 2008 � a play called �Electronic Cities� featuring Indian actors and a German director and Designer. December 2005 to Feb 2008 Acted as a gay vagabond environmentalist in Justus Repertory�s �Water Lilies� Directed two plays � �The Attempted Assassination of Salman Rushdie� & �Killing Time� written specially by Timeri N. Murari for the Hindu Metro Plus International Theatre Festival - 2007. Starred as the ill-fated 7th century Pallava King Mahendra Pallava in Justus Repertory�s �Flame of the Forest� � a play marrying acting, Carnatic Music and Bharatnatyam, written and directed by Gowri Ramnarayan. Worked for eight months on an open-air production of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, with an edit that ran for under two hours and played with only 7 characters, dispensing with Horatio, rosencrantz & Guildernstern, and even the players, lit by fire. Unfortunately, the show ran aground as a result of two rather sudden mishaps with the health of cast members and our open air space being rather suddenly turned into a landscaped garden! :-( Moved back to Madras to do Jean Anouilh's version of Sophocles' "Antigone" for Stella Maris College. Torturous and rewarding, 'cos one show went off beautifully, and though the others were mediocre, I think there were enough moments of magic in the rehearsal process to make it all worthwhile. Jumped back into the fray with a production for the Bangalore Habba called Espresso Theatre. This was a lot of fun, as I combined poetry, music, short stories, and short revue sketches into a production that did fourteen shows in 6 days at different Coffee Day locations around the city. Jan 2004 to November 2005 I was on some kind of sabbatical. I moved to Bangalore and didn't do much in the way of theatre since except act in a couple of plays, do a few readings and workshops. January 2003 to December 2003 Conducted workshops and sessions in Madras on voice, acting, Shakespeare, speaking, production skills, confidence and �Living in Balance� for Stella Maris college, the British Council, Loyola College, Sishya School, and the Goodbooks children�s resource centre, among others. Directed a production of TS Eliot�s �Old Possum�s book of Practical Cats� with 17 first time college students. Received rave reviews with headlines such as �Purrrfect�..� http://www.hindu.com/mp/2003/12/01/stories/2003120100100300.htm Starred in a production for the Sangeet Natak Academy�s theatre festival celebrating 50 years of Indian theatre � representing Tamil Nadu. Starred in the premiere of a new play �The Cockroach Collector� by Anushka Ravishankar. Directed a reading of John Ravenscroft's stories for the British Council, and got to work with one of the greatest actors in the country - Dhritiman Chatterjee! Launched initiative to teach Shakespeare/ classical theatre to students of city colleges and schools through intensive workshops and performances � for the British Council, Madras. Directed a reading by children of poems for Child Rights Day celebrations at the Birla Planetarium, Madras. Starred in �Closer Apart� by Anupama Chandrashekhar, directed by R. Balakrishnan. January to December 2002 Directed/performed Oscar Wilde�s �The Canterville Ghost� for the British Council Culture Caf�. http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2002120400240400.htm&date=2002/12/04/&prd=mp& Acted in a reading of �The Monkey�s Paw� and �Thread o� Scarlet.� One of only two actors lauded by the press during Stagerite � a festival of 7 Indian plays held in Bangalore during the first week of October � for playing a 50-year old politician in �Thicker than Blood�, a play from Sri Lanka Directed two one-act plays � �The Wedding� and �The Arrangement� for the Rotary Club, with sets designed by Thota Tharani. January � December 2001 Was one of nine directors from South Asia selected by the Royal Court theatre to work with new playwrights from the region in a residential workshop at Bangalore. Began the Shakespeare Society in association with Orient Longman, Chennai to spread understanding of Shakespeare among teachers and students in colleges. Conducted workshops and sessions in Madras on voice, acting, Shakespeare, speaking, production skills, confidence and �Living in Balance� for Stella Maris college, the British Council, Loyola College, Sishya School, and Orient Longman, among others. Presented and directed a reading of �New Writing� in English for the British Council. Stage, Light & Sound Design for Inmatch Westside Fashion Bash for 5000 people in August. Title Role in a production of �The Man who couldn�t dance� for Masquerade. Directed & performed �Bits & Pieces� by David Campton for the British Council � rave reviews. http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2001/07/05/stories/13050468.htm Actor in a production of Tanika Gupta�s �The Waiting Room� for The Madras Players. One-Man Show �Mr & Mrs. Fix-it� for the Madras Theatre Club 1999 - 2000: Directed & Performed: One-Man Show �A Portrait Of Paradise� for The Other Festival - received rave reviews. At the British Council in August, directed reading of �Only Women� by Shekinah Jebaraj At the Chola Sheraton in July, readings of �Sex! The most fun you can have without laughing...� Performed readings at the �Coffee?� in Madras from November 1999 to February 2000 included T S Eliots �Old Possums Book of Practical Cats� Lanford Wilsons �A Poster of the Cosmos� Vikram Seths �Beastly Tales from here and there� J R R Tolkiens �Farmer Giles of Ham� David Camptons �The Boys and the Girls� Poetry by David Waggoner Poetry by Leonard Cohen Founded �The Grossly Commercial Theatre Company� in Chennai. 1988 - 1999 Actor in Film - �Deviri� - Kannada art film that has gone on to win several awards. Conducted an intensive Theatre Workshop at the Stella Maris College, Madras. 1997 - 1998 Lighting Design and implementation for �In Search of Moner Manush� - to inaugurate Mahesh�s Studio - Mahesh Dattani�s new theatre space in Bangalore. Clowning performances and Tomfoolery at various villages in Karnataka State. Became part of the �Theatre Trust� - an international theatre company with eclectic theatrical influences, operating out of India, influenced by Grotowski�s work and Indian traditional forms - as Technical everything-dogsbody, actor, and playwright. 1996 - 1997: �Get off my back� Writ. & Dir. by Sylvester Da Cunha (played a caricature gay fashion designer - rave swansong on the Bombay Stage!). �The Tiger� by Murray Schisgal (Director/Designer) - won over 15 awards in three years. Conducted intensive workshops for Sydenham College and directed their college performances. 1995 - 1996: �The Mistake� by Vaclav Havel, Dir. by R.Ramanathan (played a goon and strongarm man). �The Merchant of Venice� Dir. by Toni Patel. (played the Prince of Arragon) �Romeo & Juliet� Dir. by Vikram Kapadia (played Romeo in India�s longest running Shakespeare) �Hamlet� Dir. by Hima Devi (played Laertes) 1994 -1995: Technical Supervision for the Prithvi Theatre Festival - 1995. �The Importance of being Earnest� - 100th Anniversary Performance with an international cast directed by Issy Sanderson (played Algernon Moncrieff). Film - �Bombay� - Dir. by Mani Rathnam (played Rafi - a young Muslim newspaperman who goes on rampage, looting and killing during the riots) 1993 - 1994: �The Gin Game� (Associate Director/Stage manager/Music/Lights/Sound) �Vikram Seth - A selection� - Dir. by Ranvir Shah (Played a 14-year-old and a closeted gay man, among others). �The Bow of Rama� by Srikumar Varma, Dir. by Noshir Ratnagar for the Hindu-Madras Players festival - 1993 (won Ist prize). (played a local thug who commits murder during an election) �The Pied Piper� for the Boardwalkers (played a jackal). �Aladdin� - A pantomime written and directed by Issy Sanderson for the British Council Players (played the Dame). �Making a play for you� - written and performed as a special event at the IIT Madras Mardi Gras Festival - 1994 (part of ensemble cast - among others, played a mad old Jewish doctor and a "Devil Woman" transvestite). 1992 - 1993: �Nagamandala� by Girish Karnad - Directed by Pauline Hahn (who was in the original Broadway cast of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof!"); Choreographed by Barbara Cortez-Greig. (Assistant Director/part of ensemble cast). 1990 - 1991: �Brahma�s Hair� - Five stories of trees by Maneka Gandhi - Adapted & Directed by Mithran Devanesen for the Madras Players (part of ensemble cast - among others, played a horse, a king, a ghoul, choreographed and led stickfighting and Tai Chi sequences during play{and almost killed a spectator with flying shards of wood!}). 1988 - 1989: �The Tiger� & �Fragments� - two plays by Murray Schisgal; directed by Mithran Devanesen for Stage-I (Stage manager). 1987 - 1988: �The Mikado� (played Pish-Tush); �Pirates of Penzance�; �Trial by Jury� (acted & sang in all - ensemble) - Three musicals by Gilbert & Sullivan, directed by Handel Manuel & Mithran Devanesen for the Madras Players & the MPCS. 1986 - 1987: �Oedipus� by Seneca (Ted Hughes translation) - directed by Alan Maley for the British Council Players (part of ensemble cast). 1985 - 1986 When the bug bit - directed, acted, wrote, and produced "Doctor's Blues" for a competition at school, and won all the awards! Also fell in love for the first tme with the girl who won Best Actress! And the stage was set.... 1977 (or something like that) The first time: Sleeping Beauty, played the Prince's Horse! I would have made a better prince! LEARNED FROM (in workshop situations and otherwise) Patsy Rodenberg (Voice), Anita Khanzadian Dipankar Mukherjee Alberto del Saz (Movement) Pauline Hahn Betty Bernhard Andju Ormeloh (Masks, Commedia Dell�Arte) Khalid Tyabji (Movement & Mime) Northern Broadsides (Shakespeare) Andrew Wade(Voice) The Royal Shakespeare Company (Shakespeare) The �Theatre Trust� - an international theatre company with eclectic theatrical influences, operating out of India, influenced by Grotowski�s work and Indian traditional forms - as Technical geek-in-charge, actor, performer, clown and playwright. |
| The director is simply the audience. So the terrible burden of the director is to take the place of that yawning vacuum, to be the audience and to select from what happens during the day which movement shall be a disaster and which a gala night. His job is to preside over accidents. Orson Welles |
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