The artists
The artists

Roysten Abel brings together artistes like Resul Pookutty and Bombay Jayashri

The show will feature scenography by Amardeep Behl, visual design by K M Chaitanya and costumes by designer Sarah Eapen.

Roping in artistes like carnatic and Hindustani vocalist Bombay Jayashri, dhrupad exponent Uday Bhawalkar and playback singer MD Pallavi among others, celebrated playwright and theatre director, Roysten Abel is all set to premiere an amalgamation of music, drama, and visuals to commemorate a decade of Bhoomija — a trust that is known to host art and music shows with a focus on the folk tradition. Titled Weaving Voices, the sound design of the unique performance is by Oscar winner Resul Pookutty.

Roysten is known for his experimental productions that involve folk performers, and his latest combines several layers of voices into a single musical journey. “The show is an immersive theatre experience that was inspired by a conversation between Jayashri and me. She wanted to collaborate with me but I was hesitant as I didn’t know what to do. And then she uttered the word ‘voice.’ That ignited something inside of me and I immediately knew that this could be a concept because voice is synonymous with several social, political and artistic things,” the Kerala-based director reveals.

Roysten Abel
Roysten Abel

Hand in hand
The production will also feature Deu Khan Manganiyar, Indo-American flautist and singer Rasika Shekar, violinist and composer Apoorva Krishna, carnatic percussionist Sumesh Narayanan and tabla player and percussionist MT Aditya Srinivasan. “This show cannot be described in words, it has to be experienced in person,” the director adds.

Weaving together three narratives parallelly, the performance follows the structure of a Western orchestra. The event will feature the personal journeys of each artiste on an LED screen placed behind them, an on-stage ensemble combining multiple genres of music and an emotional narrative depicted through soundscaping. “Coming together does not mean we take the stage after a few rehearsals. We have spent the last four or five months with each other as a family, understanding each other’s music and appreciating each other’s form of art,” shares carnatic and Hindustani vocalist Jayashri.

Bombay Jayashri
Bombay Jayashri

The show will feature scenography by Amardeep Behl, visual design by K M Chaitanya and costumes by designer Sarah Eapen. “We have been working on this for a while now and we realised that all of us (artistes) were on different paths before but now that we unite, we are trying to create something new, sonically and visually,” she concludes before signing off. 

Weaving Voices will travel across the world post its premiere in Bengaluru.

Rs. 500 upwards. At Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Malleswaram

srushti@newindianexpress.com

Twitter: @Sru_Kulkarni
 

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