Winter’s Not Over Yet

Your production of The Winter’s Tale unfolds in a garden or,to be specific,three gardens.

We did not want a proscenium setup. We wanted to explore spaces that have their natural character. The landscape at Zorba the Buddha evokes several images and we worked around it. The first scene,which depicts King Leontes plunging into paranoia,unfolds in a closed pagoda space. The audience sits in close proximity to the action so that they feel implicated in the intrigues of the court. There is no degree of separation between the court and the audience. The second part of the play,in Bohemia,is more pastoral and takes place in the sprawling outdoor. The actors had to push their vocals and work with the landscape.

The language of the play changes from Shakespearean English to Hindustani.

This play is not an adaptation,it is a translation. All names,for instance,remain the same. We wanted the translator to aspire to retain the poetry of Shakespeare in the Hindustani sections. We didn’t want the Hindustani bits to be colloquial because language is character in itself. After all,much of Shakespeare’s genius in plotting the drama lies in his language.

For the music score,actors will be singing live and you’ve used a range of instruments.

The actors dedicated the first week to practising their singing. The songs have been improvised and the melodies were composed by the actors and the musicians. We have a metallophone (a smaller version of a xylophone),djembe,daphli,guitar and ukulele to add to the background sounds.

Tadpole Repertory is well-known for its hard-hitting,devised productions. Why did you choose Shakespeare this time?

I have directed Julius Caesar and Midsummer Night’s Dream before,but this is the first time Tadpole is working on a Shakespeare play. Anirudh is largely responsible for pushing the idea of presenting Shakespeare as physical theatre and a textual study. We’ve been planning this for two years. I was also keen for the Tadpole actors to step out of the devised play format and undergo the rigorous process of developing specific ideas around a classic text.

The play will be staged at Zorba the Buddha,Ghitorni,from March 1-3,and from March 8-10,at 7pm. For passes,contact: 8826721770,7838960796