The Illusion Of Duality

By Namya Sinha *Some more drama* - Hindustan Times - New Delhi, India; Tuesday, January 11, 2011

It’s the sixth day of the 13th Bharat Rang Mahotsav, which is being held by the National School of Drama (NSD). There are still 10 days and 61 plays to go. Here’s a guide to a few of the many plays, still to be performed. Forest and He who Burns, two plays from United States of
America. This is for the first time that United States of America is participating in Bharat Rang Mahotsav.

“I have been coming to India for the past 15 years. The play He who Burns premiered here at NSD in 2006 and I choreographed it,” says Wendy Jehlen, choreographer and director of the play. The play has text in Urdu, English and Korean and is a melange of dance, text, video, music together through which they explore the figure of Iblis (Satan), as understood in Sufi traditions. The texts have been taken through Sufi poetry.

It talks about the nature of humanity's relationship with the divine, the eternal quest for unity and the illusion of duality in the human experience.

The group is also presenting a non-verbal production called Forest. The play is dedicated to Brother Blue, an Afro-American storyteller and it explores... well, the forest.

When: Jan 14; Where: Abhimanch; Time: 9.30pm

Bisarjan, from Kolkata Based on Rabindranath Tagore’s novel, Rajarshi, this Bengali play is directed by Suman Mukhopadhyay. “Many directors have tried it. The play shows the conflict between a priest and a king that leads to tragedy,” says Mukhopadhyay.

When: Jan 12; Where: Kamani Auditorium; Time: 7pm

Khwabon Ke Musafir, from PakistanDirected by Zia Mohyeddin and based on story by Urdu writer Intizar Hussain, the story revolves around a middle class Muslim family. It deals with clashes between different cultural lineages that migrants from different regions brought with them to Pakistan. The play is in Urdu.

When: Jan 14; Where: Kamani Auditorium; Time: 7pm

Brecht — The Hardcore Machine, from SerbiaBased on German playwright and theatre director Bertolt Brecht’s famous poem Buckower Elegies, the play tells the story of a young working girl who enters the wonderful world of ideology and corporeality. In the play, the body acts while physical action evokes dramatic and historic contents. The play that will be in Hungarian language, will have english subtitles.

When: Jan 19; Where: LTG; Auditorium Time: 5.30pm

All about Love, from Ukraine A first time participant, the team from Ukraine’s production — presented through animation, puppet show and plastic drama — will use classic literature to understand the values of human life. The play is in Ukrainian language.

When: Jan 20 Where: Abhimanch Time: 9.30 pm

[Picture: The Forest. Photo: NSD Theater Festival]