A happy ending (IFS - 7)

Well sometimes you spend hours and hours looking for something and it is right under your nose. After driving myself up the wall trying to find a point of entry into the playtext, scribbling endlessly on scraps of paper and staring vacantly at the monitor – I realized that this was pretty much what I needed by way of a point of entry.

With all the inward looking on this text – I thought it only natural to write the play as a meta-narrative – with two writers engaged in the process of writing.

The text scrambled into existence fairly quickly and is being speedily eased into performance. I don't want to say too much at this point – since I'm in rehearsal and am discovering the text anew. Also, I really think a play should speak for itself!

What I will say is that I've managed a satisfying positioning of the Vikram and Betal idea that is immediate and relevant. I view these two characters as a single parasitic entity – one cannot exist without the other. This formlessness manifests dramatically as an inability to say for certain who is who, within the course of the play. Additionally the duo find themselves rooted in contemporary Bangalore – a city reeling under a period of rapid growth and development - a 'cosmopolitan city' that is clearly split down the middle – with a cultural rift that is steadily widening.

I've used a very simple linguistic approach to the play – that of counterpoint and contrast – positioning differing 'linguistic genres' to create tension and dramatic movement. The language of nostalgia slams into the lingo of online pornography – the description of an exorcism ritual, slams into the voice of the cyber stalker – orkut meets Amar Chitra Katha – a cold rational voice is set off against the obsessive-compulsive online addict.

I think what really crystallized this play for me was an incident on October 2nd. I was on my way to rehearsal and was caught up in traffic. I was on my Kinetic and realized the jam was caused by a fight that had broken out on Castle Street, diagonally opposite Brigade Towers and Globe Stores. A couple of guys were slugging it out – and the visual was immediately recognizable – a local South gang versus two Northy guys on two-wheelers. It was a pretty dumb fight – punches, scuffles, some filmi kicks and a helmet being swung into someones head. A cop was standing right opposite, very deliberately turning his back and suddenly very diligently directing traffic. And I really wasn't amused by this circus – with Kannada and Hindi expletives being flung at each other. And I took the typical apathetic middle class route – got past the jam and got the hell out of there and on my way.

I'm not an expert. I'm not one to pass quick judgment, but I think this incident pretty accurately describes what Bangalore is going through right now. And I think the text responds to this situation dialogically – placing a nostalgic 80s Bangalore voice against a rabid 21st century Bangalore voice.

I also hope that the play explores the futility of both positions – of retrogressive xenophobia and the other of glowing 'development propaganda'. The futility of saying – "Who are all these people screwing up my city?" – and "Welcome to Bangalore the world class global hub."

There's loads more – a mixture of two distinct dramaturgical styles that takes the technique of counterpoint up to the level of a formal experiment, the use of metaphor and symbolism – but I'll leave all this for the actual play to do, for poetry is that which escapes the paraphrase.

I do invite all of you in Bangalore to come see the show.

It's alive!!! - Creeper - a new play

Well guess what!
It's here - raw, corrosive and ready to bite - I am happy to announce:

Creeper

written and directed by Ram Ganesh Kamatham
Saturday 13th October 2007 (7:30pm) and
Sunday 14th October 2007 (3:30pm and 7:30pm)
at Ranga Shankara, 8th Cross, 2nd Phase, JP Nagar, Bangalore - 78
Tickets: Rs 100/- available at the venue
Contains explicit language - Not suitable for persons below the age of 18 - Late entry not permitted

Synopsis
This is a story about two people in this city.
She is writing an essay and trying to understand an ancient demon.
He is online all the time, exploring dark corners of the Internet.
She is the expert narrator, he is a mischievous sutradhar. These two story-tellers have amazing stories to share. Problem is they don't agree on how to tell the story!

Creeper is a modern re-imagination of the tale of Vikram and Betal. The play slams this ancient cycle of folk-tales into a contemporary urban setting – creating a shadowy world that is immediately recognizable, yet bizarre and entertaining.

Darkly funny yet poignant, the play freewheels between the old and the new – creating a landscape that happily contains – pornography, literary theory, orkut, Chandamaama comics, exorcism, blogging, a B-grade television serial, Bram Stoker, Silk Smitha, foul language, Kurt Cobain, a big tree with a Barbie doll nailed onto it and a magical box with something inside.

Currently in its experimental avatar, Creeper will open in a bare bones production in less than two weeks. Do come and see it... And please don't bring the kids!