Bommanahalliyile Kinnara yogi at Swaralaya Festival Palakkadu.

The play BOMMANAHALLIYILE KINNARA YOGI performed by Mazhavilu/Lokadharmi is invited to perform in the Swaralaya festival Palakkadu. The show is on the eve of 25th of November.

This play is enacted by Children of Mazhavillu- the children’s theatre group of Lokadharmi Kochi, written designed and directed by Chandradasan, based on the beautiful and imaginative adaptation of Browning’s Pied Piper, by the Kannada poet Kuvempu. 32 children perform in this musical spectacle with their energetic movements enjoying every moment on stage, singing, dancing, enacting with lot of fun, wit, satire, humour, histrionics and mischief.

The narrative of the play is straight, simple, and transparent that is relating to the hilarity and humor of the narration. The performance language is designed so as to give the space for creativity and the histrionic talent of the children, the whole process of rehearsal was exhilarating to the little actors; a scheme of rehearsal and play making that was more process oriented than the product, still resulting in a performance that was highly rewarding to all who participated, that includes the audience.

The story of the pied piper is narrated direct and simple in this transparent and candid presentation; it is attempted to create a cosmos of the exuberance, earthiness, and hurdles of the rural life where various ecosystems co-exist. The people, Gowda and his men, artist/singers, Bhattas, cat, dog, rats, river and hills coexist to form a complete and balanced universe, mutually complimenting and completing.

The play is basically designed for a proscenium, but extends beyond even to the outside of the theatre in the finale scene. The actors assemble around the installation of a Yogi effigy pronouncing that the story of Yogi happened many years before. As a tribute the Yogi story is performed every year and to end the performance they set fire to the Yogi effigy, as reminiscent in Ramleela and many other ritual performances.

The performance structure design and form is derived from many narrative forms from various living traditions. The first part is more hilarious, humorous, and slapstick; the entry of Yogi shifts into a musical narrative where the actors, sing, dance and perform the characters. Use of imaginative sets, properties and music suggest the space, characters, time, as well as the cultural/ political implications of the play.

The cast include Jeyabhami-Gowri Murali-Inkitha Inesh-Gouri Krishna, Varada, Sreenandini, K. N Meenakshi, K.Devasree Mohan, Unnimaya, Aishwariya.M., Amal, Unnimadhav, Jeya Sooriya M.A, Jayasuriya J, Arun A , Aravid Ajay, Sabareesh M.A, Ramakrishnan, Rithul, Rohin K , Diljaz, Nikhil Vishwam, , K.N. Dhruvakumar,  Alex.J.Puimood, Aravind.R, Kiran Xavier, Amar Mohan, Govind Nambiar, Vijayakrishnan, Ganesh, Mahadevan, and Malavika Murali

The Credits are; Manosh (Art & Properties), Jolly Antony (Set), Kishore.M (Live Percussion), Reju Gregory & Adrian R Gregory( Harmonium, Key Board, & Guitar), -Aarsha Chandanavattam , & Apoorva (Vocal Support), Shirly Somasundaram (Costumes), Rema.K Nair, (Make Up & Costume), Sarath R Nadh (Direction Assistance), Gireesh Menon (Music & Lighting) and Charu Narayanan (Stage In Charge). The Play Is Produced By Mazhavillu, the Children’s Theatre Of Lokadharmi, Scripted, Designed and Directed by Chandradasan

This is the 4th show of this production.