A performance where the lines are written in muscle, memory and air

A devised, non-verbal performance by Our Theatre Collective, IT IS YOU,  dares to find out a question rarely pondered. What happens when language is stripped away and all that remains is the body, the breath, and the space between two people?

Directed and performed by Vivek Vijayakumaran and Pangambam Tyson Meitei, the work resists easy definitions

Rooted in Kudiyattam,  Kalakshetra and beyond, it carries within it the weight of tradition, resulting in a deeply physical, almost ritualistic performance exploring themes of interdependence, resistance to systems, and the quiet devastation of the climate crisis.

“This is a story we wanted to tell without spoken language, so it doesn’t point to very clear identity markings or cultural locations,” says Vivek, who also conceptualised and wrote the piece. “We believe it’s a universal story. A participatory performance that allows the audience to interpret and feel their subjectivities run through the play.”

The play is the product of a two-and-a-half-year journey. It began with a cast of eight and a scripted approach, before being distilled down to two performers and reimagined entirely. “Tyson and I developed this version together. It was received extremely well in Kalakshetra, Bangalore and now we’re bringing it to Chennai,” Vivek adds.

For Tyson, a long-time performer with the legendary Kalakshetra Manipur, this collaboration has been both personal and expansive. “There are no words in the performance, but there are multiple lines in the mind,” he explains. His movements are shaped by an embodied masculinity, grounded in the rigour of his training. “There is a particular quality of movement that we arrived at for my character, which largely leans on a very rigid and masculine way of moving. This quality is what helped anchor my role.”

When asked how does one navigate emotional shifts without the crutch of dialogue, he says,“I rely more on instinct and sensation within the bounds of the set narrative. It’s not about listening. It’s about feeling.”

This somatic focus infuses the entire performance. Vivek describes it as “a piece which can be read as a very age-old story and at the same time as something that’s happening to us right now, Aetificial Intelligent included.” Despite its universal themes, the performance is deeply rooted in the bodies that carry it. Vivek trained extensively in Kudiyattam, while Tyson carries the physical vocabulary of Manipuri theatre traditions. Yet the intention is not to showcase forms but to allow something new to emerge from their convergence.

“We resisted each other’s forms during the making,” Vivek says. “We wanted something that didn’t feel dominated by a particular tradition, even though those forms are deeply present in our bodies.”

The play unfolds against the backdrop of a planet in crisis, inhabited by two archetypal characters forced to confront their interdependence. “We wanted to craft a narrative that is accessible to someone from a rural background as much as to someone from an urban context,” Vivek adds. “The performance can be interpreted differently by each audience member. That was always the ambition.”

Does the body speak more truthfully than words? “I think it’s very difficult—almost impossible—to lie with your body,” Vivek reflects. “If you are lying, it shows.”

What IT IS YOU demands is a different kind of attentiveness, both from performer and viewer. One that moves beyond logic, language, or linearity. “I often sense a moment has landed emotionally by the quality of silence that follows,” says Tyson. “That something has transpired between us and the audience.”

Rs 300 onwards. At 7 pm on 9 and 10 August. At  Spaces, Besant Nagar.

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