The old man and the sea get a Kathakali makeover

Kathakali adaptation of Ernest Hemingway the old Man and the Sea Kerala was held in Kalamandalam. , Photo Credit: SPPL

Kerala Kalamandalam recently saw a rare amalgamation of East and West Theater cultures. In a novel project, which completely reorganized centuries -old Kathakali grammar, a group of artists presented the Nobel Prize winning novel of Ernest Hemingway the old Man and the Sea Describing it as “grief of Kathakali”.

Kalamandalam Neeraj, who directed the performance, says: “We believe in creating an enthusiastic new generation of Kathakali audience. Currently, Kathakali is banned to select Afficionados. The biggest challenge was to balance the authenticity of Kathakali with modern dramatic elements – expanding the performance place and incorporating innovative light techniques to attach the audience. ,

Even the place of presentation was unique with a seating arrangement that included the audience in the performance. Instead of the normal processing, the audience was seated at two loops, connecting two acting as a platform with a huge route. Kathakali’s narrative techniques and dress were used to perform.

The effort was to adopt the dramatic and technical aspects of the modern theater, which was to enrich the performance while sticking to the basic principles of the traditional style of Kathakali.

Italian lead

Famous Italian Theatrician Mario Burjghi, who is also an expert Kathakali artist, played the lead role, Santiago. Mario is the director-cum-actress of the famous Italian Theater Group, ‘Titro del Albero’.

The striking theme and the background of the novel provided a completely new perspective that helped improve the stage strategies of Kathakali performance. The great theater possibilities were inspired by the novel and its extraordinary global reputation, the crew said.

20 artists

the old Man and the Sea There are only four major characters – Santiago old man, boy manoline, sea and marlin, huge fish. While Mario played the role of Santiago, Pesapili Rajeevan played the sea. Students of Kerala Kalamandalam played other supporting roles. Around 20 artists were involved in production, including vocals and collisions.