Sahamata group to experiment on 'Intimate Theatre' today

Theatre person and Sahamata Film Society Coordinator Ivan D’Silva  said ‘Intimate Theatre’, a concept where the audience feel more proximity to the artistes of a play as it is being performed amid crowd unlike on the stage in the normal theatrical performances, is less experimented in the city.

He said ‘Intimate Theatre’ is not new in the field of theatre. A theatre person, is keen on experimenting new things, he added.

DH spoke to Ivan on the eve of the staging play ‘Godegalu’ (Walls), a theatre adaptation of Malayalam writer Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, translated into Kannada by S Gangadharaiah and directed  by Sathish Tiptur. The play will be performed at School of Social Work, Roshni Nilaya in Valencia, at 7 pm on March 14.

The play is organised by Sahamata Film Society in association with School of Social Work, Roshni Nilaya. The duration of the play is one hour. “Organisations like Karavali Lekhakiyara Mattu Vachakiyara Sangha has extended support to Sahamata by providing hall for practice, free of cost. Sahamata has tied up with such organisations from the past so that we could bring more and more theatrical performances for the people of Mangaluru. We are also expecting education institutions to come forward and support the cause. We are ready to perform at their places, on a nominal fee,” Ivan said.

The story is based on Vaikom’s own life experience when he was jailed during anti-government agitations in Kerala. National-award winning Malayalam film ‘Mathilukal’, starring Mammutti in the lead role, and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan is based on
the same story.

Another unique experiment in the play is that the lead character of Basheer is enacted by four persons in the play.

Most of the actors are amateur and are from various backgrounds. Some are government employees while some are students.

Sunila Jarandagudde, Harish Kanekodi, Kittu Bambila, Srinivas Kuppila, Rajesh K, Mohan M Gandhinagar, Anita Bhat are in the technical crew. 

There are eight artistes in the cast, including Ivan. The lead roles are played by Nada Maninalkur and Prathibha Kudtadka. The others are Mayuri Bolar, Srinivasa Kuppila, Rajesh K, Rakshith Bangera, Kittu Bambila and Nagesh M.