Project Darling: Experimental Kannada play on Dec 24

Bengaluru: A Kannada play ‘Project Darling’ will be staged at Ranga Shankara on December 24, (3.30 and 7.30 pm).

The play is directed by Sharanya Ramprakash and produced by Prakash Raj (Nirdigantha). 
 

The play is an experimental Kannada play that traces the journey of a group of performers who set out on a search for their ancestry - women performers on whose shoulders their
work stands.

In this search, they stumble upon an iconic character called Khanavali Chenni who ruled the stage with her hilarious double-meaning dialogues and sexual innuendo. While trying to find the actress who played Chenni, they meet several other actresses who have their own stories to share.

Will this group of performers eventually meet Chenni? How will their search end? What will they discover? Project Darling is a humorous and incisive examination of female sexuality at the crossroads of censorship and culture.

Based on research

The play is based on a two-year research project where the director, Sharanya Ramprakash.

The play juxtaposes video testimonials, photo essays and soundscapes from this research with song, dance, puppetry and clowning as it seeks to rewrite Kannada Rangabhoomi’s women performers back into Kannada’s own cultural history. 

The play is supported by the India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) Research grant, reFrame Genderalities Fellowship and developed at Nirdigantha – an incubation centre for theatre by national award-winning actor
Prakash Raj.