Auroville Theatre Group to premiere its new play, Shakespeare's Sons; here are the deets

Jill Navare, artistic director of The Auroville Theatre Group, is back with her next play, Shakespeare's Sons, a one-man show, which will be performed by actor and playwright Umair Ahrar. The show is all set to premiere this weekend at Auroville. Shakespeare's Sons will delve into how the bard has written so eloquently and movingly about the relationship between sons and fathers in his works, including Hamlet, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, and what could have been his relationship with his own father.

Talking about her fascination for Shakespeare, Jill tells us, "My first Shakespeare production was The Tempest, and since then, I have directed eight more plays. I noticed that there were certain themes that recurred in his plays. One of them was the conflict between fathers and sons, involving questions of succession, love, power, jealousy, devotion, frustration, and disappointment. I began doing research on the same. Did Shakespeare have a son? Yes, and he only lived until 11 years of age. What about his relationship with his own father? I was surprised that there was information about this on the internet. That was the beginning of my journey with Shakespeare's Sons."

Jill says that the play will touch upon the bard's legendary works, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, King Lear, The Winter's Tale, and King John. "The deeper you dive into the stories, the stronger are the emotions. Perhaps what we will reveal about King Lear will be particularly dramatic." She adds that since it is a one-act play, the set design and costumes are simple. "I will be in charge of the sound, and Maitreyee Kuhu will be on projections. Sugumar Shanmugam will be designing the lights."

And why Umair? "Umair and I have worked together for six years, and he has appeared in a number of our productions, including A Midsummer Night's Dream, A Streetcar Named Desire, A Place Called Home, The Elephant Man, Red Bike, The 25th ATG Anniversary, and Equus. He is skilled in comedy, drama, and tragedy and is all set to direct a play of his own."

Entry free. September 13 to 15, 7.30 pm onwards. At Auroville.

sangeetha.p@newindianexpress.com

@psangeetha2112