6:30 to 7:30 pm Requiem for a theatre | நாடகம் - இரங்கல் இசை

By Indianostrum, Pondicherry | இந்தியனோஸ்டரம், பாண்டிச்சேரி

Play in memory of the theatre space which Indianostrum recently has had to vacate.

Performers: Performers: Saranjith NK, Cormoreche Marine, Srijita, Shafali, Nikita Thube, Arjun Chandran, Heenu Khanna, Kalpesh D Samel, Harshwardhan Nagendra Manekari, Manvita Joshi, Shivesh Kumar, Tishar Narayan Kakad, Avanti Latankar, Valavane Koumarane (director).

7:30 to 8:30 pm P Rajagopal’s Veriyattam | வெறியாட்டம்

By P Rajagopal and Kattaikkuttu Sangam members, Punjarasantankal | P.  ராஜகோபால் மற்றும் கட்டைக்கூத்து சங்க உறுப்பினர்கள், புஞ்சரசந்தாங்கல்

Veriyattam or The Gypsy’s Ruse (1994) features the greedy demon Kaliyugasuran and his four rogue ministers. Kaliyugasuran’s protagonist is the young queen Vempuli who receives unsolicited advice from a wise Kuratti, Sinki. Three Kattiyakkarans or Clowns provide a running commentary on the behaviour and actions of the principal characters and guarantee a good laugh.

The central theme of this shortened version of the all-night play is veri or the possession that overtakes people in power expressing itself in self-aggrandizement, misuse of power and political or religious fanaticism. Such excessive desire destroys critical thinking and empathy, sharing of material goods and living in harmony with each other and with nature. Veriyattam features a traditional Terukkuttu scene which is Rajagopal’s artistic answer to a debate about the naming of his theatre.

Performers: J Loganathan, A Selvarasu, P Sasikumar, T Veluchami, A Bharathi, P Moorthy, M Doraisami, A Kandipan, A Dillibabu, Satish, S Srimathy, S Gobinath, P Thilagavathy, S Tamilarasi, P Rajagopal (director).