Bhoomi, a play, deals with tussle between myth and reality

Adishakti Laboratory For Theatre Art Research with multi-hyphenated Vinay Kumar as its artistic director and managing trustee brings Bhoomi, an English adaptation of Sara Joseph’s Malayalam play Bhoomirakshasam, to Hyderabad. Vinay Kumar directs the play that addresses physical aggression against women at multiple times in history and some of the patriarchal responses to it.

While it attempts a conversation between opposing worlds, the play shows two artistes – a director and an actor – located very differently in their journeys engaging with questions around gender, violence on gendered bodies, retribution and resolution. The play traces the journey of the theatre director who begins to question her value system and that of society through her characters. 

Director Vinay Kumar says the team is excited to be able to stage the play after four years of continually trying to bring the play to Hyderabad. Explaining it as a play that deals a lot with experimental ethical practices he says, “Myth and storytelling are interconnected. Indian philosophical arguments are connected with myths, which, in turn, have an uncanny knack for storytelling. When we decided on a layered oral narration, we chose to do it in a way that connects the present with the past.” 

He explains that the play looks at their dissonances-resonances with each other and independent trajectories. “What happens when the creative premise you are working on breaks out of the realm of art and play and stares you in the face as your reality? What do you do when your art starts speaking back to you, taking on a life of its own and stumping you with questions you are not equipped to respond to? When a resolution seems impossible, as the situation seems to be demanding it with a sense of urgency? How do you really respond to a severe absence of answers?” he wonders.. 

The play will be staged on August 26 at 8pm and August 28 at 7.30pm @Rangabhoomi Cultural spaces and events.