Abhinaya, one of the most active theatre groups in the city, is set to celebrate its thirtieth anniversary with the staging of two plays in tribute to playwright G.Sankara Pillai, who was instrumental in the formation of the group.
It would also be a return to action for the theatre scene in the city, which has remained inactive just like every other sector since the COVID-19 outbreak last year.
The group is planning to launch its initiative called 'Theatre Lab', to promote new experimental work.
Kingdom Animalia: The Dance of Death directed by Vishnu Hari, will be its first production.
According to Vishnu, the play is conceived as the happenings within the field of view of a CCTV camera, over several generations.
“We are looking at a particular space through the CCTVs, where several generations are born and die. Imagine the happenings in a space over a long period of time caught in a video footage and history is recorded as mere movements in this space.
For us, the starting point was George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ as well as the work of 16th century Dutch painter Pieter Bruegel.
He had made a painting called ‘The Triumph of Death,’ which we also connected with the dancing mania in Europe during that period, wherein large numbers of people would mysteriously dance until they collapsed.
All the characters in our play are animals, and hence the language too is that of animals. The play will be in five acts,” says Vishnu.
The second play to be staged as part of the Sankara Pillai commemoration will be Priyappetta Avivaahita written by P.M.Taj.
Shahul Hameed Maraikkar is directing the play which will be performed by Theatre Collective, the alumni association of the School of Drama.
COVID protocols
Abhinaya will be hosting the performances at VismayaMax Delphe de Courtyards located opposite Raj Bhavan from 6 p.m on January 6. The plays will be staged by following all COVID-19 protocols.
