In a remote corner of the internet, there exists a review by blogger Vishidnight (from 2018) on WordPress, which calls Sujathavin Nadgangal, an 830-page collection of author Sujatha’s Tamil plays, absolutely incredible.

He summarizes all the things he enjoys and doesn’t in this detailed blogpost and in the first play he lists his favorite play, Adimagal (Slaves). He notes that Sujatha, who is best known for sci-fi novels, portrays an interesting perspective of her subjects despite choosing drama, a genre she is not always known for. Vishy comments, “This play is different, because it is complex, the characters are flawed, and it is impossible to do a good and bad binary thing here. Sujatha is clearly breaking new ground here, at least in the Tamil theater landscape.”

Interestingly, during a conversation at his Venus Colony apartment, director and singer PC Ramakrishna seemed to share similar views about the writer’s ability to write characters with gray shades. “It’s a story about a patriarchal tea estate owner who rules his nephews with an iron fist. I think it’s something people can really connect with because it talks about property disputes. What happens to the property when the patriarch falls in love? I enjoy it when people go back with strong opinions after watching a drama. I look forward to seeing that happen again on October 24,” she says in her latest. Announcing the production, Slaves says, it will be presented by the Madras Players at Narada Gana Sabha.

Rehearsals for Das are going on. | Photo Courtesy: Umesh Kumar V

The cast includes some familiar names who have repeatedly visited Chennai stages and also some newbies, including the likes of Balaji K Murthy, S Ram, Karthik Sundar, Prasanna Ramachandran and Anuradha Ramesh.

Ramakrishna says that continuous efforts have been made to create coordination on stage through rehearsals that have been going on for more than two months. The singer, whose deep baritone has captured the imagination of many Tamil people, has been in the theater field for 60 years now and says changes in rehearsals are central to making a good production. That’s why he invites friends and family to watch. He further said, “Feedback is important at this time.”

Ramakrishna states that the inspiration for translating and performing this play came from a conversation between a journalist who recommended Sujatha as his potential subject. “I knew him as a science fiction writer, but not as a playwright. When I was recommended to read Ademigal, I found the translation process easy because it was already written in the format. It is different from other plays I have dramatized like [writer] Chudamani’s work,” he says, was later rewritten to fit a drama format.

Slaves, a new play by the Madras Players. | Photo Courtesy: Umesh Kumar V

In his long career, PC Ramakrishna has also been responsible for much-awaited hit productions like Komal Swaminathan’s Thanneer Thanneer’s English drama Water. He has also directed Sujatha Vijayaraghavan’s Kamalakshi, the story of a Devadasi dancer and the oppressive system she is a part of. He says, “I’m attracted to dramas that have strong female characters. It’s probably because of the women in my life.” He said that his mother, wife and daughter play an important role in shaping his outlook towards life. “Even among slaves, the story takes a turn because of a woman,” he says.

Ramakrishna says that in order to write, one must constantly consume quality works. That’s why he reads a lot and that’s why he has been able to hold his own in his career by working with great people like Girish Karnad. He says that his ability to bring together interesting artists has also contributed to his success. “Whenever I read books (he reads several books at the same time), I’m always thinking about what would be a good play,” he says.

What will happen next? That work is in progress. However, there are slaves now.

Catch Das at Narada Gana Sabha on 24th October at 6.30 pm. Ticket prices start from ₹120. Book tickets on mdnd.in