Drama Under the Sea

The dark blue waters of the sea flow into the stage today as Italian theatre group Teatro Potlach recreates Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. The stage adaptation of Jules Verne’s well-known story is a part of the 14th Bharat Rang Mahotsav,National School of Drama’s ongoing theatre festival. “We are using high-tech digital scenography to create the effect of being deep in the heart of the sea. The lights,the projections and sound have been developed specially for this play,” says director Pino Di Buduo.

In the hour-long play,narrator Prof Pierre Aronnax,a French marine biologist,talks about his incredible adventure on board the Nautilus,a giant ship,and it’s menacing owner Captain Nemo. The submarine-like ship travels underwater through the world,creating a challenge for directors who bring this work to the stage.

Buduo says that while two screens and LED lights will “immerse the actors”,creating the impression of a sea on stage,it is the performances that will brings Verne’s classic alive. “We have been working on this play for more than a year. Captain Nemo is a complex character to recreate,a man who is on a self-imposed exile from civilisation and has created a massive ship that is a world in its own. Only a confident actor can inhabit this role,” he adds.

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea will be staged today at Kamani Auditorium. Contact: 23013647