Dharmmocracy - Performance

The Director Speaks:

The performance blends some important moments from the plays by the ancient Indian playwright Bhasa. The plays explored here are Balivadhanga from Abhishekanatakam and Urubhanga.When Duryodhana and Bali foresee death, they understand the futility of vengeance and war ...

Durjaya & Angada are enthroned to fulfill vested political interests...

Sibling rivalry…

War…

Death…

Treachery…

Death exposes the futility of War…

Dharma, an ideological apparatus for political invasion...

Description of the battle!

A fallen Bali questions Ram's actions...

An angry Balram with the fallen Duryodhana
Randanthyarangangal or Dharmocracy!

A play by Ramesh Varma

1st Performance - Kakkathuruthu Island, Eramalloor
2nd Performance - 28/Jul/09 @7 PM - Kashi Art Gallery, Mattanchery, Kochi.
3rd Performance - 29/Jul/09 @ 3 PM - School of Letters, MG University, Kottayam
4th Performance - 2/Aug/09, Kerala Kalamandalam, Shornur.

The First Meeting

As I was boarding the canoe, to cross the lagoon to reach the camp, my mind was filled with trepidation - one from the swaying of the canoe and more from the fact that I was re-entering a world I had left behind more than three years ago. A world of colours, lights, lithe performing bodies… and I was going to meet up with my friends from theatre school more than 8-9 years later. We have been in touch with each other over time, but we hadn't met up for a very long while.
While Devan and Sreejith had been working together in Hyderabad, Sujith was engaged in TV productions and Renjith in play direction and theatre research, I alone had gone on to become a corporate animal.
Our passion to do something different for art, not just for art's sake, but to make it profitable as well is what brought us together.
The first meeting was a reunion of sorts, with all of us seeing each other after such a long gap. It was a little difficult for me settling into the routine at the fag end of the rehearsal process. It became a bigger challenge, with the director Rameshettan, being hospitalized, and I had to help out with the rehearsal side as well. However, with their hardwork and God's grace the performance went well.
We had our group's first meeting on the 25^th of July 2009 at around 2 pm. We discussed our roadmap and calendar and have frozen on most of our activities. More of that will be published on our website later. We sorely missed Renjith at our first formal meeting, and we look forward to the day when we can have our first meeting in full quorum!
Will also update the Workshop diary and Performance reports later.

After 8 long years… With Devan
With Sujith…

Reminiscising about the old days…

Renjith (Seated Right) at the camp on Day 1

Natakam Labs first formal meeting

In attendance – L to R – Devan, Sreejith, Subru & Sujith

Finalising plans

About Natakam Lab

Christened Natakam International Theatre Research Lab, it was intially founded by Sreejith Remanan and Renjith Janardhanan. The core group widened further, with three more young theatre lovers and professionals joining hands - Devendranath A S (Devan), Sujith Vighneshwar & Subrahmanian Santakumar (Subru).

All five are alumuni of the School of Drama, University of Calicut, Trichur and it is their deep rooted love for theatre and performance studies that brought them together for the goal of establishing a space for performance and performance studies... a space that would cross all kinds of cultural, geographical and political barriers.

To elaborate the lab aims to promote and support specific practice based researches , artistic exchanges, productions associated with Ethnic, Intercultural and Interdisciplinary fields of Contemporary theatre & performances. Natakam Theatre Lab intends to open up , create and support the on-going and the new practice based researches in intercultural theatre and looks forward to the further developments to broaden the conversations between tradition and contemporary performance practices, exploring the synergies, interconnections, inter-relations between the theatre actor training systems, cultures and various schools/practices. In brief the Lab looks at creating new dialogues and contributing new vistas to an Intercultural theatre society in the fields of both performance and research.

While the formalities of the group are being firmed up, the group is taking its first baby steps - A production scheduled for the 26th of July 2009. The production is being directed by Ramesh Varma, another alumunus of School of Drama and currently the Theatre Dean at the Sri Sankara University, Kalady, is based on the final acts from two plays by Mahakavi Bhasa on the two epics - the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.