Short+Sweet South Theatre Festival celebrates its 10th edition with a vibrant mix of talent and creativity, highlighting the power of brevity

Ten is special. Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, Pele, Sachin Tendulkar, Shahid Afridi, the greatest of players around the world have donned and flaunted the No. 10 jersey with pride. Ten is special. On the one hand, it lends a feeling of completeness, of content, of achievement, of sweet conspiracies of the cosmos; while on the other hand, 10 feels like a nod in the correct direction and a push to set another rounded target, perhaps 20?

Ten is special. And the Short+Sweet South India Theatre Festival (S+S) in its 10th edition stands a testimony to the fact. As it marks a decade in the South, the festival has become a vital platform for powerful storytelling. With the first week concluded and three plays already advancing to the finals, the upcoming weeks and the finale in early October are set to be even more exciting. While some stories speak to you as if they were your own, others transport you to a world unknown, yet tug at your heartstrings, nudging an emotion hidden in the deepest corners, now finding a resonance.

The festival is “predominantly a theatre community building exercise,” as Harish Subramanian, festival manager, puts it. “More than the shows, the tickets and everything else, we look at a month-long space where all theatre practitioners come together, just to support one another, to hang out among like-minded people, to simply celebrate the stage. If you come to Alliance, you will see people rehearsing even in the car park; they bump into each other, discuss stories and are just happy to be a part of the theatre community. That’s the kind of spirit that exists. And that is our greatest achievement. There are no barriers of regional Tamil theatre and English theatre, and groups who do longer productions or others who are more into the short formats. People who do various forms of theatre — long, short, street (Theru koothu), conventional theatre like Koothu, or say, puppetry, do not usually get to interact much, and what S+S has been able to do is to bring them all together,” he adds.

Though S+S is a competition, the best part about it is that no participating team or individual comes with the motive of winning. Rather, they come to perform, and perform their best to connect with the audience. Like they say, if you aren’t able to get the audience to shed a tear, or laugh a little, what worth is a story! “There is no animosity. Instead, a lot of new collaborations happen at the festival. I’ve heard one of the participants actually say, ‘this (the festival) is one of our scouting round,’ because this is where new talents are found,” Harish says.

The first week showcased some extraordinary stories with Take 2, directed by Muruganantham; There is a Zombie in the Garden, Karthik! directed by Shubh Mukherjee; and Death of a Dictator, directed by Mrityunjay GN, making it to the finals.

Adapted from an Australian play by Greg Gould, There’s a Zombie in the Garden, Karthik! sees the same story but with localised names and places to curate a local flavour. “It’s slightly enhanced with two zombies in action on the stage. In the original text, the focus is on two central characters (Frank and Claire), who have their banter on while the zombie is lurking outside. In other productions of this play around the globe, you don’t get to see the zombie in action. In my play, I establish the zombie apocalypse and then shift the focus on Karthik and Jesse, before a final showdown with the zombie and a resurrection of the other zombie. I ensured to have a discussion with the playwright and make the changes with his agreement. The final product was fun and my actors (Gibran, Bhavya, Sai and Arshith) did an amazing job at it. People loved it! What more can I ask for?” says Shubh Mukherjee, who has directed the play.

Moving on from a zombie, Take 2 takes you to a conversation between a couple, who are also actors acting out a script, which a director is trying to pitch to a producer. But the actors get it all wrong the first time, hence, ‘Take 2’. As the couple plays their roles, they begin to see similarities in the script to what’s happening between them in real life. But the audience does not know that yet. They get to know it only when the couple is no longer acting and enter into a heated debate before everything is muted — all the noise and the cacophony. The climax of Take 2 has no dialogues, it captures you with movements.

Adapted from an Australian play, which had a different ending, Muruganantham, who has directed this play, tells us, “I wanted to do a play with no dialogues, but I didn’t know how to go about it. Then this script came to me and I saw that there was a room to play with my ideas and I jumped at the opportunity.”

That’s what S+S offers you. It brings you scripts if you have an idea; it gives you mentors if you have the hunger to learn.

In the last edition, Muruganantham’s play Bus Stop had also gone into the finals, and he is happy that Take 2 has taken the same route. However, he is quick to add, “S+S is about coming together of a community. People are ready to help one another despite being competitors. For one of my plays in the previous year, I needed an antique radio, but didn’t have one. Another group actually offered me the one they were using for their play! So, yes, it is the only festival that can actually be called a ‘festival’. There are around 150 scripts that come in, out of which the organisers shortlist 50; and needless to say, the screening process is so good, it reflects in the quality. Moreover, the festival also provides mentors who are seasoned theatre practitioners, so imagine when a young theatre enthusiast gets to hone his or her talent by interacting with such stalwarts! Where else will you find this than at the S+S?” Muruganantham says, as he mentions that he received a lot of other projects because he got noticed at S+S.

While the first week brought stories from across genres on stage, the coming weeks will only take it further. Here, we must mention Sim City: Creation Event that caught our attention in the first week. Inspired by the story of Adam and Eve and the forbidden apple tree, this play is set in a sci-fi universe where while developing the new SimCity Game, Pat and Erica discover something unexpected. As they try to comprehend the weight of this discovery, they are left in an ethical conundrum.

Talk about unusual, imaginative subjects and Mrityunjay’s Death of a Dictator comes to the fore. This ‘absurdist play’ that made it to the finals, puts Hitler on a trial by Mother Teresa and Mahatma Gandhi! But as the plot unravels, the audience realises it’s all a figment of a writer’s imagination who thinks he knows it all. “Every year, we make sure to alternate the genres. Last year, we presented a serious play about a guy who faces death of his own identity; this year, we wanted to bring absurdist comedy, where the one who is trying to make a joke is actually the joke!” says Mrityunjay, who has been part of S+S for eight years now, and as such also shares with us about the evolution of stories that he has noticed. “The content has definitely evolved. Broadly, I see three kinds of stories that S+S showcases. One is comedy/humour that has really good value in a particular time, but don’t essentially stay on. For example, jokes on current topics will make sense and make one laugh only while the joke is still relevant, and not say, five years down the line. Then there are those that are out-of-the-box — like sci-fi. In fact, in the second week of the festival, audiences will get to watch a play titled 1 % Love, which is all about romance and AI; there are also historical and mythological plays and I think Theatre Nisha does a brilliant job at that. The third kind of stories is contemporary that put the spotlight on social issues. For example, This is ME! had S Sabarish, a crossdresser, recounting his life, and how society chooses to see him versus how he sees himself and who he actually is,” explains Mrityunjay.

As the festival enters Week 2, there is a lot to look forward to. Stories of deceit, love, greed; thrillers, dramas and comedies, all packed in with 10 wildcards as icing on the cake, it’s the best time for theatre enthusiasts in the city. And as Mrityunjay puts it, “No matter who wins, it feels like a personal win for each one of us.”

Festival director Meera Krishnan adds, “There are lots of new faces, new directors, new writers we have this time. Some who have acted in the previous editions, are now donning the director’s hat. Another big difference I see is how participants are adapting international scripts for local audiences. Earlier, they would just take the script as it is and that can make the audience feel very disconnected, but now I see an effort being made to add relevant changes to the stories.”

The festival does not end at Week 2, of course. As it advances to Week 3, and eventually to the finals, it unravels more exciting plots, that showcase extraordinary talent of telling stories in just 10 minutes. Like we said at the start, 10 is special.

Week 2 & wildcards

The Last Command

Synopsis: A war drama where a wounded British officer and a young German solider clash in a tunnel.

She/Her

Synopsis: How does a transgender person feel before and after surgery?

Sugar Daddy

Synopsis: A 65-year-old man faces a chance encounter that changes the life... of his son.

Drama Queens

Synopsis: Kavitha and Sudha, lost in their daydreams, face a tough choice that forces them to confront reality.

Anarkali

Synopsis: Secretly exiled by king Akbar, Anarkali lives in a place away from the tugs of her forbidden love.

1% love

Synopsis: Love, loss, and a glimpse into the future collide in a heart-wrenching tale of choices and destiny.

Back to Our Eventful Lives

Synopsis: A group of three men who are discussing to do a theatre play after a curfew has ended.

Ezhavu

Synopsis: An end paves the way for fresh beginnings in a married woman’s self-abnegating life.

Life Opener

Synopsis: Macrina recounts a fatal fight outside her office, confronting the chilling similarity between the murder weapon and her own letter opener.

Wildcards

Wheels of Fortune Reversed

Synopsis: Vairava challenges death to a game of chess.

How to live your life like a Bomb Disposal Expen

Synopsis: An experienced hand leads a new recruit into diffusing a ticking time bomb. Will they pull it off?

Grimm and Bear It

Synopsis: Wronged for centuries by the Brothers Grimm and Walt Disney, a stepmother reveals her true story.

Solladhey Yaarum Kettaal

Synopsis: Raja, a thief escapes from the cops, hides in a hospital, and is forced to pretend to be a doctor.

Brain Freeze

Synopsis: Emma Irudhayaraj reclaims her deceased father’s head from a lab, only to discover he isn’t dead.

One Rose and a Hundred More

Synopsis: A Navy admiral bearing a grave news accidently meets with the wife of his martyred Commander.

On the American Roads

Synopsis: When an Indian pregnant woman unexpectedly goes into labor on an American road...

White Noise

Synopsis: Catch Ananya Vishwanathan, smack in the middle of a quarter-life crisis.

Break-Up

Synopsis: Two young lovers in a live-in relationship, decide to break up. But is there a better way out?

When Killer Animals go Nuts

Synopsis: Life is not always about impressing people, it requires a moment to attract and begin life.

Week 2: September 19-22, 7 pm.

Wildcards: September 21-22, 2 pm.

Week 3 & wildcards

Lets Talk Sex

Synopsis: Two Bowerbirds build very different nests to attract a female. Which one does she choose?

Venum Ponnu

Synopsis: Two elderly women come back to their native village after their father’s death. It's not just the house covered in dust but their family history too.

Kadhai thirakadhai vasanam ku muyarchi

Synopsis: Struggle of the 90’s director to convince the 70’s producer for his 20’s son.

A Writer’s Vow

Synopsis: . A tale of love 10 minutes before a wedding and just how easy it is to write a wedding vow when you are a writer.

A Good Person - I fgiurrdsdgiusâr

Synopsis: Do you help the needy because you want to help them or do you do it to make yourself feel better?

Palliya?Paadama?

Synopsis: A metaphoric school that questions lot of sociopolitical conflict works against liberal society.

Enge en Marilyn

Synopsis: The scene starts in a police station where the SI and the head constable are trying to solve a case of Marilyn Monroe Statue Case.

Madhilgal

Synopsis: A widow, swelling in size from bottled-up emotions, has no one to confide in. Will she find someone to help her return to normal?

Mirror Mirror Director:

Sweet Child of Wine

Synopsis: A kidnapping gone so wrong, it’s probably right.

Wildcards

Karu

Synopsis: A journey through the eyes of a new born baby that questions everything she comes across — life, death and everything in between.

Ganapathy Galatta

Synopsis: Two Royals, endless rivalry, one shot at glory. Let the bidding wars begin!

Oh My Baby

Synopsis: A newly engaged couple faces a whirlwind of confusion and tension as they grapple with a possible pregnancy and the mystery of the pregnancy test result.

Woman 101

Synopsis: In a ‘before’ life, where souls are assigned their genders, a rebellious soul insists on being born a woman, believing it’s easier in today’s world. But is that true, or is it just an illusion?

The Pickup

Synopsis: Two strangers meet by chance on Valentine’s, and the encounter takes a turn neither of them saw coming.

Thiruvilaiyadal

Synopsis: The lord of death isn’t happy with the Supreme. What unfolds is a series of events that humble him.

Kurinji

Synopsis: The story follows a couple from the Kuravar community in Tamil Nadu’s hills, shedding light on the threats they face from development as their natural habitat and indigenous rights are gradually stripped away.

Paazl Packet

Synopsis: Kamesh, a college student, and Ganesh, a provisional store employee, gets into a quarrel over a packet of milk where both of them are ethically correct . So they seek help from police.

Fairy Tale Session

Director: Abrina G ; Writer: Abrina G

Synopsis: Julie and Cindy reflect on their failed relationships and the complexities of love, reminding us that pain doesn’t define us; it’s our capacity to love and grow that truly matters.

Week 3: September 26-29, 7 pm.

Wildcards: September 28-29, 2 pm.

Tickets at INR 250.

Available online & at the venue.

At Alliance Française of Madras, Nungambakkam.

rupam@newindianexpress.com

@rupsjain