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Journalism of Courage
Impressions, an Euro-Indian puppetry festival, promises to present a fresh perspective to this ancient art, says Sanjukta Sharma
Nearly all of Mumbai8217;s culture brigade have come together for the very first time. The common ground: Impressions8217;. An Euro-Indian Puppetry Festival 8212; the first of its kind in the country. A collaboration among the Alliance Francais, Max Mueller Bhavan, British Council, Prithvi and the NCPA, the festival promises to leave behind a lasting impression. Specially since the timing could not have been better.
The restare as European as they can get, at least in theme. Theatre Du Petit Miroir, a popular French group, recreates Aladin, the mythical fairy tale from The Thousand and One Nights. These Chinese puppets, perfected and groomed by Catherine Larue and Jean-Luc Penso, appear, disappear, change, fly and fight to cast their spell on the audience. P Jacob, Director of the Alliance Francais, Mumbai, is as optimistic about Aladin as about the festival itself. quot;Puppetry as an art has been an integral part of the artistic traditions of both Europe and Asia. So we were only too open to the idea of Euro-Indian festival. I8217;m sure the festival will receive great response from the Indian audience,quot; says he. Dr Anna Winterberg, director of the Max Mueller Bhavan, adds, quot;It was an opportunity for all the cultural centres to collaborate for an art that all the countries share.quot;
The German Figurentheter Wilde amp; Vogel8217;s Exit, A Hamlet Fantasy, is an orchestration of music, movement, language and image. Grotesque figures dominatethis gloomy, yet amusing experimental piece, expressed in a gibberish version of Shakespearian text.
The British troupe of Stephen Mottram is an equally modernist concept. It relies on a theatre language created by Mottram that uses electro-acoustic music to the movements of marionettes. The most lyrical of the lot, Mottram8217;s creation, In Suspension, sounds more like a dramatised concert than plain drama.
All this and more promise a fresh theatrical experience for children and adults alike. In fact, the universal language of puppetry and its potential to offer different levels of interpretation 8212; from the simplest and the comic to the most complex 8212; is what this festival is likely to reaffirm. The history of puppetry is, in itself, an interesting artistic evolution.
The first puppets, as we know, were linked to religion. Which is why puppetry dates back to ancient Greece and Egypt, the cradles of civilisation. Thereafter, it turned more and more secular, adapting to different times in history,faithfully recounting lives of legendary heroes. The mute puppet has come a long way ever since, gradually transforming itself to a powerful dramatic tool.
In the festival, the two Indian troupes are closer to its ancient form in theme, if not in treatment. Gitanjali Kolanad, an expert on Bharata Natyam, bases her dance drama, Walking Naked, on the life and muse of the 12th century South Indian saint, Mahadevi. A poetic narration of Mahadevi8217;s encounter with her husband and two sages 8212; all three puppets made of ice-melts, paper and cloth 8212; burn to form a luminous sphere inside which, the performance takes place.
The Kumara Tirupal Company8217;s Lankadahanam and Viratapuarvam amp; Uttaragograhanam are classic dramatic episodes from The Ramayana and The Mahabharata 8212; Hanuman8217;s burning of Lanka and Arjun8217;s brilliant disguise as a eunuch to retrieve the cows of the Virata kingdom.
From a Hamlet fantasy to the burning of Lanka, the variety and scope of this festival is sure to leave the Mumbaitheatre-goer thirst for more.
