Spell bound by The Curse of Urvashi

Continuing the trend of mythology-inspired plays being staged in the city, Theatre Nisha presents its 2004 production, The Curse of Urvashi, featuring a  reworked script. “The inspiration was a  play by the name of Brihanalla, written in 1995 by Anupam Kumar, where he presented a very powerful conflict in the form of Uttara falling in love with Arjuna, and the latter rejecting her, as he believes her to be in the position of his daughter. That conflict inspired me to blend it with the story of Urvashi’s Curse, and create a new script,” says city-based theatre artiste and director V Balakrishnan, who recently directed and acted in plays like Water Princess and Romeo and Jeannette.   

Borrowing from events in the Virata Parva, the fourth of the 18 books of the Mahabharata that describes the final year of their exile incognito, the play revolves around the grievances of two women who were rejected by Arjuna — Urvashi and Uttara. “Urvashi curses Arjuna with a life without virility and the Pandavas subsequently living incognito. The play pivots on the two women whom Arjuna rejected, one because he believed her to be in the position of his mother, and the other who he believed to be in the position of his daughter,” says the director, adding that the dialogues are in free verse and the music and dance reflect ritualistic traditions. The eight-member cast will next perform this play in Bengaluru, followed by other cities in the coming months. 

Open to ages 12 and above.  At Alliance Française. Today. 7 pm.