When one of the world’s greatest literary works inspires artistes from different countries to collaborate for a performance, it is bound to be an unusual experience both for the performers and the audience. Dante Beyond Borders, an experimental theatre and dance performance, is inspired by Italian poet Dante Alighieri’s magnum opus Divine Comedy. It is a marriage of Dante’s ancient Italian vers-
es as chants, bharatanatyam mudras and contemporary electronic music that were originally composed by the Oscar-winning Italian musician Riccardo Nanni. The production is a collaboration between Mumbai-based Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Italy-based theatre company Instabili Vaganti, and Bengaluru-based Ahum Trust. Marking the poet’s 700th death anniversary, the show will premiere this
week in the city.
Into the light
Dante’s poem, Divine Comedy, written in Italian in the 14th century, looks at his journey from darkness to light through the three realms of hell, purgatory, and heaven. Artistes have dared to interpret this classic through their points of view and that’s what Dante Beyond Borders is about. “Divine Comedy is a masterpiece of Italian literature, probably the work that generated our language.
There comes a moment in every Italian artiste’s life when they need to confront this work, in search of their cultural background. On the other hand, it is a work that’s full of universal suggestions, with powerful images that will ferry you into the other-worldly dimension, ” explains Nicola Pianzola from the theatre company Instabili Vaganti. Dante Beyond Borders started as a collaborative experiment when the entire world was under lockdown in 2020. “When we started working on it, death, fear and absence were elements that had become part of our daily life. We felt the need to think seriously about these. The idea of the performance though is a direct consequence of a web series — Video Dante —that created the basis of work. The task is to bring the work from digital to the live stage,” Nicola says about the development of the performance.
India connect
Bengaluru-based bharatanatyam danseuse Anuradha Venkataraman has collaborated and choreographed the dance dialogues. What’s also interesting is the performance looks at the Indian connection to Divine Comedy, from a theological and philosophical point of view. Speaking about their collaboration with Anuradha, Nicola says, “We have been in touch with Anuradha for six years and were looking for an opportunity to work to g ether. This was the perfect chance. We had some verses of the Divine Comedy, as a reference and starting point and Anuradha relied on some themes coming from the Mahabharata. We explored themes like the entrance to the otherworld and tree of life.” Eventually, the performers hope they are able to make Dante’s masterpiece known and enjoyable to the Indian audience.
Rs 250. November 30 and December 1, 7 pm. At Ranga Shankara, JP Nagar
ayeshatabassum@newindianexpress.com
@aishatax