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Just Us Repetory in association with The Madras Players presents
Deesh Mariwala, V Balakrishnan, Priyadarsini Govind and Mythili
Prakash in the play 'Flame of the Forest', written and directed
by Gowri Ramnarayan. Synopsis of the play:
Playwright, musician, artist and philosopher
king Mahendra Pallava (700 AD) lives for and with the arts,
trying to create heaven on earth with exquisite works of
sculpture and architecture in rock-cut temples as at
Mamallapuram. When war comes to his kingdom, Mahendra wonders if
he has failed in his duties as king. Unprepraed for combat as he
is, can he save his people?
Young general Paranjoti, filled with
bloodlust, wins a war but finds the taste bitter. He resigns
from the army to become a wandering healer.
Captured by the enemy and imprisoned in an
alien land, the Pallava court dancer Sivakami thirsts for
revenge. But nine years of solitary confinement transforms her
into a seeker of other goals.
After defeating the mighty Harshavardhana of
north India in battle, the Chalukya Emperor Pulikesin II is
determined to possess Kanchi in south India, the resplendent
capital of the Pallavas. His rage explodes when his ambition is
thwarted.
Inspired by Kalki Krishnamurti's epic novel 'Sivakamiyin
Sabatham', the sculptures of Mamallapuram and Mahendra Pallava's
'Mattavilasa', 'Flame of the Forest' is an original play that
tells the story of different journeys by different characters,
with dilemmas, traumas, struggles and feelings that are
frighteningly those of our own times.
The backdrop:
'Flame of the Forest' is set in 700 AD in
Kanchi and Mamallapuram, the capital and the port city of the
Pallava kings. Both are marvels of sculpture and architecture.
The time is rife with religious discord, and
the political machinations it engenders. The rise of the Bhakti
movement (non-ritualistic, caste- and gender-transcending path
of devotion) is imaged by Saint Appar. A Jain who converted to
Saivism, he influenced King Mahendra Pallava to do the same. The
iconoclastic, personalised force of Bhakti unsettles the
established creeds.
Cast: Deesh Mariwala, V Balakrishnan,
Mythili Prakash, Priyadarsini Govind, Krithika Ravi, Srinidhi
Sundar, Abhinav Ramnarayan, Siddarth Dayala, Hariher
Dance choreography: Manjari, Priyardarsini Govind
Music: Gowri Ramnarayan
Vocals: Savita Narasimhan, Akhila Ramnarayan
Light and Sound: R Sunder
Costumes: Neela Subramanian
Production: V Ramnarayan, Gopi Nair
Backstage: Varsha, Sunandha.
The show will be on at Museum Theatre, Egmore,
Chennai, at the following times:
7.15 p.m. June 29, 30, 2007
3.30 p.m. June 30, 2007
7.15 p.m., July 1, 2007.
Donor passes of Rs 100/Rs 200 are available
at Landmark (Nungambakkam).
For reservations call: 98400 20602/93819
11977 |
