Mellow Circle celebrates its 25th year with The Debt, a play that highlights the true meaning of Christmas

Mellow Circle celebrates its 25th year with The Debt, a play that highlights the true meaning of Christmas

A scene from last year’s Christmas play | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT Michael Muthu is peeved. Lately, with all the focus on gifts, snow, Santa Claus, the North Pole, pixies, and elves, he feels the real meaning of Christmas is getting lost. And through Mellow Circle’s annual Christmas play, he plans to shine light on […]

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Malayalam documentary ‘Thespians of Aattam’ is a fascinating look at the cast of Aattam film

Malayalam documentary ‘Thespians of Aattam’ is a fascinating look at the cast of Aattam film

A still from the documentary Thespians of Aattam. (from left, standing) Vinay Forrt, Madan Babu K, Sudheer Babu, Jolly Anthony and Sijin Sijeesh; (sitting, from left) Prasanth Madhavan, Sanosh Murali, Aji Thiruvamkulam, Nandan Unni, Anand Ekarshi and Santhosh Piravom. All of them are actors of Lokadharmi in Kochi. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement Malayalam film […]

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Summer theatre camps in Kochi offer enriching spaces for children to grow

Summer theatre camps in Kochi offer enriching spaces for children to grow

In the summer of 2000, at the end of a fun-filled four-day children’s theatre camp in Kochi organised by Lokadharmi Centre for Theatre, a participant asked its facilitator, Lokadharmi’s artistic director and eminent dramaturg Chandradasan why he could not make the camp a regular feature.  Taken by surprise, Chandradasan readily replied that he would be […]

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Six Kathakali veterans including three women reunite after 20 years for a performance in Kasaragod

Six Kathakali veterans including three women reunite after 20 years for a performance in Kasaragod

Hymavathi Raveendran, Baby Nair, K Kunhambu Nair, Karthiyani Muniyoor, Ramakrishna Nambiar and Raghunath Kanuthur practising for their performance on January 7. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT Twenty years after her last recital, 68-year-old Hymavathi Raveendran will apply chutti (facial make-up of Kathakali) to play Lord Krishna of Kuchelavritham Kathakali on January 7. “Happiness!” says Hymavathi […]

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Theatre Nisha to stage adaptation of Euripedes’ Medea in Chennai

Theatre Nisha to stage adaptation of Euripedes’ Medea in Chennai

Shakthi Ramani in Why she did, What she did Over the years, Euripedes’ famed Greek tragedy Medea, has been adapted and taken on a host of different avatars onstage. When actor Shakthi Ramani talks about Medea, it is hard to miss the awe in her voice — there is wonderment for the complex play and […]

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Chennai’s Mellow Circle stages its annual Christmas play this weekend

Chennai’s Mellow Circle stages its annual Christmas play this weekend

Every year, the biggest challenge that the organisers of Mellow Circle’s annual play face is that of finding a good Christmas story. It has to be secular enough, connect with the audience, and hold their attention from start to end, says Michael Muthu, play director. This year’s production, A Carol for Tiny Tim, written by John […]

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How theatre enables empowerment

How theatre enables empowerment

As the contemporary theatre scene in Kerala continues to evolve, learn and adapt, applied theatre is increasingly being used as a tool to speak for a community or for educational and therapeutic purposes. Theatre persons and collectives have been working with inmates of shelter homes, residents of coastal areas, students, teachers, mentally- and physically-challenged students, […]

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Plays from South Korea and Chennai feature in this international children’s theatre fest

Plays from South Korea and Chennai feature in this international children’s theatre fest

The cast of The Kooks: Sunny Side-Up | Photo Credit: special arrangement The clang of metal pots, ding of spatulas, and thrum of water canisters seamlessly give way to a foot-tapping rhythmic interlude that gains pace second by second. We are in the kitchen of chefs Sweet Pea, Souffle, Magic Macaroni, Jojo and Capsicum, a […]

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Mallika Sarabhai Chancellor of Kerala Kalamandalam  wants to erase gender caste barriers

Mallika Sarabhai Chancellor of Kerala Kalamandalam wants to erase gender caste barriers

“Why can’t we have Kathakali performances that speak about gender, employment, displacement…? Why shouldn’t performers of traditional arts join hands to work on new productions that are relevant and appeal to new audiences?” asks Mallika Sarabhai, Chancellor of Kerala Kalamandalam, a deemed university and performing arts centre. In addition to starting gender sensitisation classes for […]

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Theatre artiste from Kerala travels across India with his play, Ekatha

Theatre artiste from Kerala travels across India with his play, Ekatha

Vithura Sudhakaran | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Theatre practitioner Vithura Sudhakaran set off on a journey to Kashmir from Kerala on his motorcycle on March 27, World Theatre Day, with an aim to take his play Ekatha, across India. Today, he has covered six states — Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan — and […]

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