Revel in a nostalgic reverie, as we journey back to the days when we snuggled into our beds and whisked us away to different worlds inhabited by valiant warriors, princesses, ethereal creatures, fauna and flora. These were the tales that shaped our youth, endowing us with invaluable life lessons. Fast forward to the present, where a constant rush engulfs us all to follow a routine and in this whirlwind, we now tend to find our solace in devices and most of all, social media. Unfortunately, the current generation remains oblivious to the treasures of great literary works beyond the likes of Harry Potter and Manga comics and to remind them of the same, Prakasam (Performing Arts Institute) is set to stage a theatre production that brings the stories of world’s greatest authors from across the globe together.
Opening this magical doorway to the world of literature is KathaKanda, “we have selected six stories from six continents, given them a theatre form and have brought them to life in our native language Kannada. We aim to perform this production across schools and colleges all over Karnataka and to engage the youth in tales that talk about qualities like kindness, gratitude, honesty and friendship,” shares PD Satish Chandra, design and director, KathaKanda.
Beginning with Asia, Ivan the Fool — a Tolstoyan tale — follows a naive peasant’s attempts to outwit the Old Devil and his three brothers by using his magical gifts to help others and live happily. From Australia, Elizabeth Jolley’s A Gentleman’s Agreement — a cunning and impoverished single mother tricks a wealthy, naive doctor into signing a contract that allows her and her children to live on his land for free, turning his peaceful property into a chaotic mess. Representing Africa is Chinua Achebe’s The Sacrificial Egg follows Julius, a western-educated Igbo man who unwittingly breaks a sacrificial egg and becomes infected with a deadly epidemic that ravages his town and his fiancée. Then there’s European author Roald Dahl’s famous The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar follows a gambler’s transformative journey of using his newfound power to win money to change his ways and help the poor. There’s also The Jaguar and the Little Skunk a Mayan Folktale from South America, which revolves around a cunning and brave skunk who goes hunting with the jaguar and learns how to outsmart the bigger and stronger animals. The play concludes with Tom Sawyer, Whitewashing the Fence by Mark Twain for North America. This is a tale of a clever and mischievous boy, Tom, who turns his punishment of painting a fence into a profitable and fun game.
Lasting about an hour and 15 minutes, each short story will be performed in about 13 minutes. Taking the shortage of time into account, cinematographer Chandan Shankar wrote the script for KathaKanda infusing local flavour. The play, co-directed by Srihari Kashyap, also boasts a song, which has been specially written and composed for this show. “We had to pick out six from a bundle of 32 tales that were suggested we take up. But we took quite some time finalising on what story for South America but luckily, we stumbled upon a Mayan Folktale, which is very similar to our Panchatantra and we were all set,” Satish reveals.
₹100. January 6, 7 pm. At Ravindra Kalakshetra, besides Town Hall.
srushti@newindianexpress.com
@Sru_Kulkarni