Bangalore's theatre enthusiasts were treated to a set of five plays at the Alliance Francaise recently. The plays were staged as part of the, 'Indo-French Theatre Festival', that was held in collaboration with the Bangalore Little Theatre.
The festival was the outcome of a three-month project, which had a director's training programme and a festival of Indian adaptations of French plays. These plays, written by French playwrights, were adapted to the Indian context.
The programme was spearheaded by Vijay Padaki. Vijay observed, "The adaptations of plays by some of the great French masters was built into the project and the festival has helped in discovering some new talent. I can't pick out a single play. They were all very good."
Shashank Purushotham of the Bangalore Little Theatre said, "There's a lot of talent around and we thought we must give these talents a chance to exhibit their skills. The directors have interpreted the plays in their own style. They were given a free hand at adapting the plays to an Indian social context."
The play 'Home Bound', based on 'Cross Purpose' by Albert Camus, is set in a village in Kerala, where the youth has migrated to the Middle East.
A young woman and her widowed mother, living in their ancestral home, rent rooms as home stay to travellers, and murder the rich ones for their sustenance. The only son of the family, who left home when he was very young, returns but chooses not to reveal his identity. He stays as a lodger and is killed by his mother and sister.
Akasath Arora, the director said, "It's a take on the struggle of existentialism. Whatever you believe will someday shatter and reduce to nothing. What do people do then? Do they take the extreme step or battle it out? That's the crux of the play."
The play 'Woman in Red' was staged after 'Home Bound'. Directed by Pragati Siddhanti and Abhishek Jain, the play is inspired by 'The Respectful Prostitute' by Jean-Paul Sartre.
It is the tale of a hit-and-run case, which is likely to be filed against a minister's nephew.
The minister uses all his influence and power to twist the case and blames the driver instead. But there is a catch — a call girl, who is the only witness.
Abhishek pointed out that the poor have always been falsely implicated. "Cases of false charges against the poor and the helpless are rampant in our country. Here, the prostitute plays a crucial role. Three or four men of different age groups try to seduce her and get her to change her mind. The original play had apartheid. We have changed that to a power struggle of a different kind here," he said.
The hall was packed for both the plays. Srikanth, a theatre lover, said, "both plays dealt with relevant issues in the Indian society."
Sheila Narayan, another member of the audience, said, "I liked the first play where the mother and daughter contemplate killing the rich. The predicament of the son was brought out well."
The festival was the outcome of a three-month project, which had a director's training programme and a festival of Indian adaptations of French plays. These plays, written by French playwrights, were adapted to the Indian context.
The programme was spearheaded by Vijay Padaki. Vijay observed, "The adaptations of plays by some of the great French masters was built into the project and the festival has helped in discovering some new talent. I can't pick out a single play. They were all very good."
Shashank Purushotham of the Bangalore Little Theatre said, "There's a lot of talent around and we thought we must give these talents a chance to exhibit their skills. The directors have interpreted the plays in their own style. They were given a free hand at adapting the plays to an Indian social context."
The play 'Home Bound', based on 'Cross Purpose' by Albert Camus, is set in a village in Kerala, where the youth has migrated to the Middle East.
A young woman and her widowed mother, living in their ancestral home, rent rooms as home stay to travellers, and murder the rich ones for their sustenance. The only son of the family, who left home when he was very young, returns but chooses not to reveal his identity. He stays as a lodger and is killed by his mother and sister.
Akasath Arora, the director said, "It's a take on the struggle of existentialism. Whatever you believe will someday shatter and reduce to nothing. What do people do then? Do they take the extreme step or battle it out? That's the crux of the play."
The play 'Woman in Red' was staged after 'Home Bound'. Directed by Pragati Siddhanti and Abhishek Jain, the play is inspired by 'The Respectful Prostitute' by Jean-Paul Sartre.
It is the tale of a hit-and-run case, which is likely to be filed against a minister's nephew.
The minister uses all his influence and power to twist the case and blames the driver instead. But there is a catch — a call girl, who is the only witness.
Abhishek pointed out that the poor have always been falsely implicated. "Cases of false charges against the poor and the helpless are rampant in our country. Here, the prostitute plays a crucial role. Three or four men of different age groups try to seduce her and get her to change her mind. The original play had apartheid. We have changed that to a power struggle of a different kind here," he said.
The hall was packed for both the plays. Srikanth, a theatre lover, said, "both plays dealt with relevant issues in the Indian society."
Sheila Narayan, another member of the audience, said, "I liked the first play where the mother and daughter contemplate killing the rich. The predicament of the son was brought out well."