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Intense performance

An all-women cast presented a mythological — a male dominated genre in theatre — with much aplomb



DRAWING ADMIRATION Women artists performing the mythological Sri Krishna Sandhana in Chitradurga

Sporting thick dark beards, stiff moustaches and long curly hair, they were even trying to put on a thicker voice to match the male tone. With perfect make-up to boot, they delivered thundering dialogues.

The audience could not resist responding with a thundering applause.

This was the scene at the Ranga Mandira of Chitradurga when Bangalore-based theatre group, Sri Kabbalamma Kala Sangha presented a mythological “Sri Krishna Sandhana”.

The four-hour long play was presented by an all-women team, who skilfully played characters of the Mahabharata such as Duryodhan, Arjuna, Krishna, Shakuni, and Bhima. While the Sangha has been presenting plays for over a decade now, it was only last year that they decided to stage a mythological exclusively by women. “When we decided to adopt a mythological drama, we wanted to bring some uniqueness into it.

We decided to experiment with only women performers,” said B. Ramesh, general secretary of the Sangha. Starting out from Bangalore, they plan to present it in all districts of the State. This was the eighth show in Chitradurga; next is Davangere.

Mythological plays are not easy to stage because they require heavy financing for sets and costumes. “For every play, we have incurred expenses of nearly one lakh rupees. Meeting the expenses is a Herculean task; most of the time we do not find sponsors. Mere ticket sales does not provide enough to run the shows, especially when I have to manage expenses of 17 artists,” he laments.

Though he is facing financial constrains, his zeal and passion for theatre does not appear to have dampened. Giving him further strength, the performers are working hard. The artists feel earning money is not their sole motto; by performing with the Sangha, they are doing their bit to enrich the gradually-fading genre of mythological plays. Most of the artists are professionals. Some of them have even quit their studies to dedicate themselves to theatre.

Rupashree, a senior performer who plays Shakuni says she has been into theatre since childhood. Coming from a family of artists, she never thought of any other profession. “Earlier, men played of women on stage. Now, why can’t women showcase the character of men? After all, we are as equally talented.”

R. G. Meena, who plays Duryodhana, said artists earn a very meagre income through this profession. “We earn less, but money is not all. The satisfaction of being associated with a profession where you give pure entertainment to people cannot be weighed in money,” she said.