Since its inception the Sangam has promoted the use of Kattaikkuttu for the communication of relevant social messages and has been engaged in the production of new repertoire. The objective of using Kattaikkuttu for development communication is a dual one: Firstly, it is believed that the effectiveness of extension activities can be improved as Kattaikkuttu performers are not only communication experts par excellence, but also command extensive networks of rural contacts. They share with their audiences oral communication strategies and familiarity with the local political and social context. Secondly, the development and production of new plays during the lean season generates additional performance requests and, consequently, additional income for the artists.
So far the following new plays have been produced:
-
We Also Live (Enkalukkum Uyir Untu) (1989, 1991 - 2 hours)
- Just play? Or are we getting serious? (Vilaiyatin Vilaivu) (1991, retake 2003 - 3 hours)
- The Five Elements (Pancha Bhutam) (1992, 1993, 1995 - all-night play and condensed version)
- Possession or the Gypsy's Ruse (Veriyattam allatu Tantira Kuratti) (1994, 1995, 1997, 2004 - all-night play & condensed version)
- The Bending of the Bow (Vilvalaippu) (1996, 2003 - all-night play)
- The Magic Horse (Mayakkutirai) (1997, 2003, 2005 - 90 minutes)
- The Mahabharata (Mahaparatam) (1998 - all-night)
- The Ramayana in Natakam style (1999 - all-night)
- The Incarnations of Jeya and Vijaya (Jeya Vijayan) (2001 - 2 hours)
- The Milky Ocean (Parkatal) (New production Winter 2002, 2005, 2006 - 60 minutes)
- 'Who's responsible?' (Yar poruppu), 30 minutes play on the issue of HIV/AIDS written by P. Rajagopal
- Bhima and the Mandara Flower, play for children and young people (2006 - 60 minutes)
- Dice and Disrobing (Pakatai Tukil) (all-night performance 2006)
The new productions feature original plays written by P. Rajagopal and plays using classical themes that have been reinterpreted or that are performed by "non-traditional" groups of players, such as a cast of women performers or a mixed cast of actors and actresses. The conceptualization, direction, costume design and production of the new plays are the joint effort of P. Rajagopal and Hanne M. de Bruin.
Just play? Or are we getting serious?,
The Bending of the Bow,
The Mahabharata,
The Ramayana and
The Incarnations of Jeya and Vijaya are based on mythological themes. In addition to developing original stories, the Sangam considers it important to devote equal attention to existing mythological narratives. These traditional narratives are very popular among local audiences and patrons. Their characters and themes often have exemplary value. Therefore, they are powerful instruments that are used to reflect on society affirmatively and subversively so as to confirm or disclaim conventional gender images, issues of caste, honour, morality, justice, devotion and power relationships.
We Also Live is a two-hour story in which trees tell in their own words about their importance to mankind. They ask the audience to protect them because, they say: "We also live. We have our own feelings and we deserve to be treated with respect". The play was originally written for students of the Perungattur Kattaikkuttu Training School. In 1995 a youth group of the Sangam performed the play for the pupils of primary schools in ten different villages.
Just play? Or are we getting serious? is a children's performance. The play is about the incipient feelings of jealousy that develop between the young Kauravas and the Pandavas during their collective training in the arts and weapons. This incipient jealousy is the seed for the future bloody war. The preferential treatment of the Pandava brothers by the teacher, the denial of access to the training to Eklavya and the exclusion of Karna from the final match because he is of unknown descent, form the highlights of the performance.
Pancha bhutam is a play with a didactic message. It tells the story of the five elements (water, fire, space, earth and wind), their role in the conservation of ecological harmony and the disastrous effects when the delicate ecological balance is disturbed through pollution, destruction of forests and the indiscriminate use of natural resources. The heroes of the story are
Bhagirathan, a local village lad, and his young wife,
Panchavarnam. The village leaders entrust them with a mission to find out why disease and misfortune have befallen the village. The efforts of Bhagirathan and Panchavarnam to unite the village in order to fulfill the Herculean task of planting ten million trees within a single night so as to restore the natural balance initially appear to fail until five domesticated animals come to their help. A youth theatre group of the Sangam performed a condensed version of the play for the students of primary and secondary schools in 1993.
Possession or the Gypsy's Ruse has as its theme the various aspects of
veri- "possession" or "madness", such as greed for money, position, power and religious fanaticism, or, more basically, food, drink and sex. These different forms of madness prevent an equal sharing of material goods and impede living in harmony with each other and with nature.
Veriyattam is an attempt to restore humour (
hasya rasa) to the main plot. It features Kaliyugasuran, a by-greed-possessed demon and an exponent of the
kali yuga (the present degenerate era), his protagonist, a wise and experienced Kuratti or Lady of the Kuravar clan and three
kattiyakkarans (clowns) - two males and a female - who represent the voices of the common men and women. In 1994 a retake of
Veriyattam was produced and performed by the students of the Kattaikkuttu Youth Theatre School
The Magic Horse focuses on very young village audiences (four years and older) whose members find it difficult to relate to the complex epic and puranic stories of the traditional Kattaikkuttu repertoire. The story is about communication, different interpretations of power (
sakti) and self-confidence. It narrates the unexpected encounter between two school children and two aliens who have lost their "
sakti". In an attempt to recover their
sakti, the aliens and the children seek help from animals and men, but finally it is the clown who shows them - unknowingly - the way to regain their lost power. Designed as a children's play, the emphasis is on a visually attractive presentation, songs and a simple dialogue. Yet the different layers in the story offer a message also to grown-ups who may interpret it in their own way(s). The first production of the play in 1997 was by a mixed cast of child- and adult performers with the children in the leading roles.
The Magic Horse was produced again by different groups of students of the Kattaikkuttu Youth Theatre School in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. The play-script of The Magic Horse has been published in English as part of the
children's book Aiyappan & The Magic Horse, together with a Tamil version of the play-script.
The Bending of the Bow was the first all-night Kattaikkuttu performed exclusively by women performers. To the amazement of local audiences (who thought this an impossibility) the actresses acted all the roles, including those of the physically demanding
kattai veshams and the
kattiyakkaran. The students of the Kattaikkuttu Youth Theatre School staged their all-night version of
The Bending of the Bow in 2003.
The Mahabharata, a mega-event featuring sixty actors and actresses, was produced by the Sangam to celebrate India's fifty years of independence in March 1998.
On the invitation of the Sangam a group of Natakam or Drama performers, including actors, actresses and musicians, staged a reworked version of The Ramayana in Natakam style. Natakam is another popular theatre in the region that vies with Kattaikkuttu for the favours of the same village audiences. Through this production the Sangam aimed to initiate a discussion on professional and artistic issues and to stimulate representatives of both genres to exchange ideas and to work together in a professional way.
The History of Jeya and Vijaya features Jeya and Vijaya, the arrogant gate keepers of Vishnu. Misuse of their power earns them the curse of having to be reborn as the enemies of the god and to be slain by him trice, before being able to regain their original, privileged position. The play features the three subsequent episodes in which Jeya and Vijaya appear as Hiranya and his brother, Ravana and Kumbhakarna and, lastly, Kamsa and Sisupala. Vishnu kills them in his respective incarnations of Narasimha, Rama and Krishna.
The Milky Ocean was developed as the Sangam's contribution to "Culture Shock", an international youth theatre festival held prior to the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, U.K., in July 2002.
The repertory company of the Sangam performed
The Milky Ocean (
Parkatal) during the 2001-2002 winter season.
The Milky Ocean is a contemporary parody on an old creation myth featuring the churning of the ocean by the gods and the anti-gods.
The play was conceptualized by Hanne M. de Bruin and written by P. Rajagopal. A recurring theme is our frantic search for identity, which always is linked to that of others we love or hate. The play explores how these identities may be shaped by our thirst for power and our inability to share natural and material wealth equally. Through its combined use of a traditional and a novel medium, the play opens up suggestive layers of local and global concerns that threaten the existence of the earth and mankind. A group of students of the Kattaikkuttu Youth Theatre School produced their own version of The Milky Ocean in 2005. This version uses puppetry and costumes and props made by the students themselves. Work is in progress on yet another version using projected images and animation. The Milky Ocean, again in a different avatar using animated video-images, will be performed at the Prithvi Theatre Festival 2006.
Bhima and the Mandara Flower was developed as a 45-minutes performance with the aim to introduce Dutch school children (10-15 years) to a non-Western, traditional theatre such as Kattaikkuttu. The story is based on a traditional Kattaikkuttu episode and emphasizes the themes of exile (being alone and away from your own country), acting the tough guy and (hidden) love. It sought to link up to the interests of its adolescent (urban) spectators many of whom have come to The Netherlands as immigrants. Bhima and the Mandara Flower was performed by the Kattaikkuttu Sangam during its 2006 tour in The Netherlands.
The students of the Kattaikkuttu Youth Theatre School (Year 2005-2006) performed the all-night play Dice and Disrobing (Pakatai Tukil) on the occasion of the inauguration of the Centre for Performing Arts in March 2006. This play is the piece de resistance of the Kattaikkuttu repertoire and features the game of dice between Dharmaraja, the eldest of the Pandava-brothers, and Sakuni, playing on behalf of the Kauravas. Dharmaraja stakes and loses everything: his armies, his city, place, his four younger brothers land, finally, their common wife, Draupadi. His defeat is followed by Duryodhana's younger brother's attempt to disrobe Draupadi. Her honour is saved by the God Krishna who provides her with an endless series of saris.
