For 25 years, the Keli Festival has been working hard to promote India's classical cultural heritage. This week, the Mumbai-based charitable organisation will stage three plays in Malayalam - Balcony, The Dumb Dancer and Old Man and The Sea
A scene from The Dumb Dancer
For 25 years, the Keli Festival has been working hard to promote India's classical cultural heritage. This week, the Mumbai-based charitable organisation will stage three plays in Malayalam - Balcony, The Dumb Dancer and Old Man and The Sea.
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Sasisdharan Naduvil
Keli Rural Theatre Festival is the third phase of a programme designed in four phases, spread over a period of three months (November 2016 to January 2017). Their mission in this project is an in-depth exploration of artistic traditions and cultural significance of the Peruvanam village in Kerala's Trichur district. It is known for its anthropological relevance of a unique art history. It is the land of an exclusive aural rhythm art tradition called Melam, which has a history of 1,434 years, and possesses the world's most ancient 1,800-year-old Sanskrit theatre tradition. It also boasts of a contemporary film and theatre scene.
A scene from Old Man and The Sea
The festival will showcase three plays directed by Sasisdharan Naduvil, a rural theatre activist from Peruvanam. "Naduvil's plays have a projection of the contemporary politics of the region. He has done over 400 productions and will show for the first time in Mumbai," says festival director, Ramachandran K. "Balcony teaches you to fight for a cause and never give up. Old Man and the Sea reveals how power is also manipulative while The Dumb Dancer addresses the post-emergency identity crisis.
This made us choose these particular plays to be showcased," he adds. According to Ramachandran, the rural audience is evolved and the best testing ground for plays like these. "They bear the brunt of most situations. If a play works with this audience it is likely to work anywhere," he shares.
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