Nine-hour overnight play returns to Bengaluru

Malegalalli Madumagalu (Bride in the Hills), based on a Kuvempu novel of the same name, is an epic production presented on four stages insidewooded Kalagrama

A nine-hour epic theatre production is drawing huge crowds in Bengaluru.

Malegalalli Madumagalu (Bride in the Hills) is based on Kuvempu’s novel of the same name. The play opens at 8 pm and ends at 6 am, and spans four stages at the wooded Kalagrama, near the Jnanabharathi University campus.

Director C Basavalingaiah, a National School of Drama alumnus, says people crave intense experiences such as this one. “We tend to underestimate the audience and what they can handle. As long as you give them a good production and create the right environment, they will flock to it,” he says.

The play is set in the Malnad, central Karnataka’s mountainous region, of the late 19th century. The production began its run in 2010 with 10 shows in Mysuru. All the shows ran full house, which prompted an additional five shows. With 36 songs (music by Hamsalekha), the play takes place in an open-air setting and the audience has to change their positions, from stage to stage, every two hours.

In 2013, for the second edition, the production moved to Bengaluru. Basavalingaiah, now director of National School of Drama Bengaluru, wasn’t expecting the same response in a big city, and was surprised when all 25 shows were well-received. “There was a night where it rained and people showed up armed with umbrellas and warm clothes,” he recalls.

Kalagrama, venue of the play, has a capacity of 1,000 and most weekend shows are fully booked. The weekday shows are understandably less well-attended, but about 500 still turn up.

The 100th show is slated for February 14 and the Rashtrakavi Kuvempu Pratishtana, a trust dedicated to the poet and author will officially release an English translation of the novel, which will help it reach even more people.

Basavalingaiah says the audience consists of everyone---“from farmers to IT professionals.”

“In fact, for our show on Monday, we had six people who came all the way from Kalaburagi,” he says.

In a city, the pleasures of a simple village life can only be experienced through events like this. The play provides an immersive experience that transports the audience to the Malnad of 200 years ago, he says.

The themes explored are as contemporary as ever. The story speaks of love, lust, exploitation and empowerment. The play encourages you to question society, Basavalingaiah says.

“We set out with the idea of popularising the ideas that Kuvempu talks about,” he says. The book, written in 1967, has sold 20,000-plus copies since the launch of the theatre production. The show is a unique success in modern Kannada theatre. “Not only have we had multiple full-house shows, but the audience also asks for more shows so they can bring their friends and relatives,” he says.

On till Feb 29

The fifth run of the production began on January 20 and will go on till February 29. The show is on every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 8 pm to 6 am at Kalagrama, NGEF Layout. Tickets are priced at Rs 249 and are available at the National School of Drama and on Bookmyshow.

Kuvempu: Writer of an epoch

Kuvempu (1904-94) is regarded by many as the greatest Kannada poet of the 20th century. Besides several books of poetry, he wrote two epic novels and 11 plays. He was the first Kannada writer to be honoured with the Jnanpith Award. Kuvempu wrote Malegalalli Madumagalu, a novel about life in the Western Ghats region, in 1967. Set in the late 19th century, and amid themes of love and desire, it describes the advent of modernity in the lush, mountainous regions of Karnataka.