Chennai-based theatre group Thespian En, founded by theatre actor-director Ajit Chitturi has been around for 25 years now. And what better way to ring in the group’s silver jubilee than to bring back on stage the various performances that they have staged over the years?
Story of our lives
Titled The Journey, the anniversary production, performed in continuation to the Nilgiris Theatre Initiative, is a compilation of mono-acts edited and adapted from the plays by various Western as well as Indian playwrights that the group has performed during the past years. Ahead of the show’s premiere at The Coonoor Club, Ajit, who will be performing the monologues says, “The Journey showcases some of the shows that we produced during our journey, spanning a quarter of a century. It is very exciting that we are able to present to the audience a performance that sums up 25 years of our work.”
In praise of theatre
Talking further about the ideation behind such a production, the 50-year-old thespian says, “The inspiration for this show is the goodwill, support and confidence that we have enjoyed from the contemporary playwrights whose works we have staged in the past. Writers such as Timeri Murari, Chetan Shah, Shreekumar Varma and Dr Vithal Raja are people I have worked with over the years. Then there are authors like Shakespeare, Camus, and Sartre who are long gone, but whose works will last forever. In a way, this performance is a tribute to all of them.”
Multiple personality
During the performance lasting an hour, Ajit will be seen portraying the roles of Macbeth in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a match-fixing don in Chetan Shah’s Belle Curve, a swindler in Jean-Paul Sartre’s Nekrassov, actor Edmund Kean in Sartre’s Kean, a politician in Shreekumar Varma’s Five, a prisoner in Timeri N Murari’s Hey, Hero!, and Caligula in Albert Camus’ Caligula. “The main task for me during the performance is to subtly change costumes on stage at the end of every act. While I appear in period costumes in Macbeth and Caligula, I wear a semi-modern costume in Nekrassov, a suit in Belle curve and a politician’s costume in Five,” shares Ajit while adding that technique used for costume change is a secret he can’t reveal.
Entry details: 98401-27103
On December 26.
At the Coonoor Club. 8 pm.
fathima@newindianexpress.com| @fathiimaashraf