Northeast Takes Centre Stage

Three plays from Assam and Manipur capture the charms and conflicts of the region.

I am 70 years old; I have very little time left to do theatre so I want to give a personal message to people through my play,” says Banikanta Singh, director and actor of Dreams from My Room, the only production from Manipur to be shortlisted for the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards. Only two other plays from the Northeast have made the cut this year, both from Assam. A glimpse at these:

Dhou… The Wave

Popular Assamese director Gunakar Dev Goswami specialises in adapting classics, epics and mythological stories into plays with strong philosophy. With Dhou…The Wave (pictured above and right), he takes up Ernest Hemingway’s Pulitzer-winning novel The Old Man and The Sea, and reworks it into a story of ambition set among the fishing community of eastern India. “The old man successfully catches the fish but, unlike the original, he grows fond of it. I feel that we should love our goals and only then can we achieve it. The fisherman doesn’t take the fish to the market because he says, ‘My goal is not for sale’,” says Goswami. Instead of the sea, the play is set in a confluence of rivers or mohona and people, as much by fishermen as by sharks. The ojha -pali music of Assam mixes with the sounds of waves and winds in the play, making Dhou one of the five contenders for sound design. The hour-and-a-half-long play has also been nominated for Best Production, Best Director, Best Costume Design, Best Choreography and Best Ensemble, among others.

At LTG auditorium on March 23

Fall of a King–Burha Manuhor Babe Desh Na

This is not a country for old people. I realised this when I watched my grandfather become lonelier by the day and decided to make this play for him,” says director Palash Protim Mech about his adaptation of King Lear into the Assamese production, Fall of a King–Burha Manuhor Babe Desh Na. The play scales away the political plotlines from William Shakespeare’s tragedy about an old king who divides his kingdom according to which daughter loves him the most. “The main theme of the Fall of a King is loneliness and we have highlighted the emotional content of the story,” says Mech. As the play explores ageism, Mech, who has been shortlisted for Best Director, Best Sound Design, Best Stage Design and Best Choreography, also draws upon stories of farm animals such as horses and dogs to illustrate the themes of discrimination, betrayal and neglect of the elderly by their children. The play is set in a village rather than a grand palace and Mech has used folk and tribal music from Assam to create his soundscape. “The village is quiet but we can hear somebody singing far away, people speaking at a distance,” says the director.

At LTG auditorium on March 25

Dreams from My Room

A play without a plot, Dreams from My Room revolves around an actor who is locked in his “dreaming room” as war and strife tear through the globe. He begins to talk about fragments of events, until, in the swirling images of global conflicts — ethnic, racist or religious — he spots a universal and tragic figure, the child soldier. These armed children are both victims and perpetrators of war and Chingtham Banikanta Singh’s heartfelt message to the audience as he plays the solo role is, “Our future depends on the children. If we cannot protect our children, civilisation will come to an end”. The idealistic theme of the play is given muscle by Singh as he sits on a minimal stage decorated with wooden skeletal window frames, red and white screens and a picture of a child soldier. “Manipur is a region of conflict and we have had cases of child soldiers. I wanted the props to reflect different tragedies in the lives of people,” he says. The hour-long Manipuri play has been nominated for Best Production and Best Director as well as for stage, light and sound designs.

At LTG auditorium on March 22

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Source:: Indian Express