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Rivets with raw power

KAUSALYA SANTHANAM

‘Woyzeck,’ ushers in the international flavour.



OFFBEAT: Koothu-p-Pattarai’s Tamil version of a German play.

‘Woyzeck,’ a German classic, is based on the true incident of a man who murdered the mistress who betrayed him. The work by Georg Buchner is considered to have ushered in the beginnings of modernism in drama and displays the genius of a man who felt passionately about the plight of the underprivileged. Koothu-p-Pattarai is presenting the play for ten days (up to September 23, 3.30 and 7.30 p.m.) at the Alliance Francaise to celebrate its 30th anniversary. Directed by Gil Alon from Israel, the play has been translated into Tamil by N. Muthuswamy, Vinodhini and Babu.

‘Woyzeck (Tale of a Soldier)’ was written by Buchner in 1837. He died a few months later, at the age of 23, of typhus fever. The play was first staged in 1913. It was also staged as an opera and made into a critically acclaimed film. In the play, Woyzeck is a 30-year old poor soldier who has had a child through his mistress Marie. The Captain, who engages him to do small personal tasks, moralises to him.

The military doctor driven by his obsession for experiments uses Woyzeck as a guinea pig. He instructs him to take to an exclusive diet of peas and the simple soldier follows his words to the letter. But he is subject to hallucinations. When Marie is attracted to a drum major, Woyzeck welters in a stew of jealousy and helpless rage. Luring her to a pond, he stabs her fatally and gets rid of the knife.
Set in the navy

Gil Alon with his experience in the theatre in various countries gave the production a raw power which kept the viewer totally absorbed and tried to root it in the Tamil milieu. This version was set in the navy and the uniforms of the men sparkled. The use of the visuals (video art: dhu raa ki films) amplified the effects but were they necessary at all?

The actors except for a few seemed to find it difficult to shake off their self- consciousness. The female supporting actors in their tight short dresses tried hard to get their act together. Indian costumes for the women here might have worked better. If there was one actor who was thoroughly unselfconscious in her sensuality, it was Aparna Gopinath. Aparna has the quality of incandescence and confidence that lights up any role.

Somasundaram as Woyzeck tried to match up to the demands of a role which is difficult to realise and succeeded to some extent. Anandsami, however, as the mad doctor managed to put the character across in all its eccentricity and self-centredness. The sermonising captain (Ramakrishnan) too came across well. Periyathambi as the landlord whose quelling glance made the unruly revellers disperse was effective.

The Western and Indian elements were in a medley. The sacred and the profane, the local and the alien jostled together and sometimes failed to cohere in an integrated vision. The effects could have been attained without the explicit scenes.

Despite the inability to connect fully, ‘Woyzeck,’ with its production values, the carefully chosen music (the interlude verses between the scenes was a debatable choice), the lighting design and the deliberately near-empty stage, marks yet another milestone in the growth of the group. Koothu-p-Pattarai through ‘Woyzeck’ once again succeeds in bringing international theatre in Tamil to Chennai.