Ms. Meena at Jagriti Theatre
Dates: (9/27/2013 - 10/6/2013 )
Jagriti Theatre |
Ramagondanahalli, Varthur Road, Whitefield
Bangalore,Karnataka
Phone: +91 80 41248298
Tickets: Rs. 300.00
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Perch (Chennai) presents 'Ms. Meena' by Rashmi Ruth Devadasan Ms. Meena, formerly Asha, returns to her native village Pichampuram after two decades to make her final film. She is now an iconic film star. In the intervening years, Pichampuram has descended into a state of dire poverty. With news of Ms. Meena's arrival there is a new burst of energy and hope in the village and she is hailed as their saviour, while Ravi, her former lover, now a prominent shopkeeper, is pushed to appeal to her on the village's behalf. After all, the villagers reason, Ms. Meena must still harbour some 'feelings' for Ravi mustn't she? Ms. Meena arrives in state and pronounces her verdict. She make the villagers prosperous beyond their wildest dreams. In return, she demands a terrible price. Ms. Meena is based on an original story written by Rashmi Ruth Devadasan, inspired by the classic play The Visit (1956) by the Swiss-German Playwright, Friedrich Durrenmatt. In their story, Perch has introduced an important element namely cinema, which was absent in the original. The essential lure of cinema and its promise of untold prosperity exerts a fatal attraction on an entire village and leads them into moral and ethical compromise. They play is not entirely serious however, but uses a combination of laughter and pathos to seduce the viewer much as cinema does. In the process, the distinction between the real and the reel becomes tenuous and both serve to lead the story to its inevitable end. In association with Rafiki, Bangalore. The Play: Ms. Meena was originally commissioned for The Hindu Metroplus Theatre Festival (MPTF), 2010 by The Hindu Metroplus, Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan, Chennai and prohelvetia, The Swiss Arts Council. It was performed for the first time at this Festival in Chennai on August 7, 2010 to a packed hall and much acclaim. As part of MPTF 2010, Ms. Meena was also staged in Coimbatore and Hyderabad as well. The play has toured extensively, starting with performances at Rangashankara in Bengaluru and Ninasam - a renowned theatre school in Heggodu - Karnataka. It was also selected to be part of the Bharat Rang Mahotsav, an annual theatre festival conducted by the National School of Drama, New Delhi, in 2011 where it was staged at the prestigious Kamani auditorium to a full house and received a standing ovation. It has since then been staged at The National Theatre Festival, Kerala, held in Kozhikode (2011), The Hindu Metroplus Theatre Festival, Kochi (2011) and other venues. We have done 36 shows of Ms. Meena till date in 9 cities. The Cast and Crew: Karuna Amarnath, Anish Victor, Anand Sami, Iswar Srikumar, Sachin Gurjale, Anushka Meenakshi, Ravindra Vijay, Ashiqa Selvan and Anitha Santhanam Music/Sound: The Cast Choreography: Aparna Gopinath Costumes: Kaveri Lalchand Props and Lighting: Kalpana Balaji and John V. Mathew Direction: Rajiv Krishnan The Company Perch is an active theatre group based in Chennai. The idea of Perch came into being in 2006 when it organised a fortnight long festival called 'Angloscapes' that focused on the Anglo-Indian community and included a play, a food festival, film screenings, a photo exhibition and a music concert. Perch was formally registered as a society in 2008. Perch's plays include ...And Sunshine Follows The Rain (adapted from The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams), Sangathi Arinhya! and Moonshine and Skytoffee, both created from the short stories of the Malayalam writer Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, Kira Kozhambu' (created from Folk Tales of Tamilnadu by Ki. Rajanarayanan'), Jujubee, a play for children, and Vyabaramayanam, a play on ideas in Tamil, most of which have been staged widely both at festivals and other venues. Perch has staged about 200 shows of their plays in more than 25 venues in 12 cities and have been invited to 15 festivals in the last five years. Visit www.perch.co.in The Director Rajiv Krishnan is a theatre director and actor based in Chennai. He started his foray into theatre with the contemporary Tamil theatre group Magic Lantern in 1991 as an actor. A defining role was that of Alwarkadiyan Nambi in Magic Lantern's production of Kalki's magnum opus Ponniyin Selvan in 1999. His first play as a director was the comic satire Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo in 2000. In 2004, he formed his own group, Moonoverstillwater Productions. In 2004, he organised a fortnight-long festival Angloscapes, focused on the Anglo-Indian community for which he co-adapted and directed a play inspired by Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie in English. It was with this festival that the theatre collective Perch informally came into being. The Playwright Rashmi Ruth Devadasan began her career working for Tamil film director Gautham Vasudev Menon. She helped start an independent publishing company, Blaft Publications in 2007. Writing for performance, to tell stories through the medium of film, theatre and song is what she will continue to do. Ms. Meena is her first play script.
Cast and Creative team for Ms. Meena at Jagriti Theatre
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