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PORANADI

The play is based on an age-old ritual which prevailed in Ambalapuzha (in Kerala), a seal of feudal aristocracy. 'Poranadi' meaning 'the outcaste' is a person selected from the village as a symbol of all sins of the land and its people and is sacrificed at the altar of the presiding deity. This myth is given a contemporary interpretation in which the Poranadi overcomes all the rigorous odds and tests and comes out glorious to demarcate the limits of those who made the norms of human justice and those who have violated them.

KARIMKUTTY

Karimkutty creates the emotional rhythm emanating from the five elements, the earth, the water, the air, the fire and the ether. You can see the character Karimkutty only through the sensation of an unknown touch. He is the leader of the downtrodden, the oppressed. Kondadimadan is the overlord who owns Karimkutty and his retinue whose total number is construed as four hundred minus ten (to spell it out as three hundred and ninety is inauspicious). Their relationship with Kondadimadan highlights the strength and weakness, the merits and demerits of the age-old feudal social fabric.

VIKRAMORVASIYAM

The theme of the play 'Vikramorvasiyam' by Mahakavi Kalidasa is conceived in this production as the growth of a man from the physical might to spiritual glory. The story depicts the love of Pururavas, the King for Urvasi, the celestial nymph. Pururava is already like fully grown Aswatha (banyan tree) reminding us of the verse in Bhagavad-Gita... "Urdha moolam adhah sakhan Aswatham Prahuravyayam"

SWAPNA VASAVADATTAM

A remarkable Indian concept of Dream, with its subtle and philosophic contours is unveiled in the play. This production uses the technique of "Kakshya Vibhaga" - a territorial division of the geographics of the acting area. This spatial dichotomy is also present in the forces that dominate the two worlds of the play namely dream and reality.

The journey of the play is from dream to reality from the indolence of the King to his responsibility when forced to confront the enemy. This production also gains contemporary significance because it deals with the great suffering and sacrifice of a woman (Vasavadatha) for the sake of her country.

DOOTHAVAKYAM

Mahakavi Bhasa in Doothavakyam, deals with the story of how Krishna visits Duryodhana as the messenger of peace and tries to avert the war. The wickedness of Duryodhana is emphasized in his total refusal to arrive at the compromise. Duryodhana makes Krishna a captive and the later reveals his true form.

THEYYA THEYYAM

'Theyyam' can roughly be treated as there-incarnation of a soul. In the folk rituals of North Malabar dead war heroes are sometimes raised to the status of Theyyam. Thus Theyya Theyyam is the double incarnation of a soul.When Theyyam is being performed, the dead hero is usually elevated to the status of a God in the eyes of the villagers.

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