Summer Theatre Festival at National School of Drama has started on 25th May 2012 and it's first play was 'Old Town'. This is a new production by Roysten Abel and cast consists of brilliant actors of NSD Repretory. Let's check out this Photo Journey from 'Old Town' play...
'Old Town' by Roysten Abel is a new production which is first time presented in front of audience during Summer Theatre Festival 2012. For this play, a special place was prepared with a huge setup like a carnival.
'Old Town' is based on a carnival, in which a family struggles to
keep alive its 2000-year-old performing art tradition that has seen
several changes over the years. This play also presents some interesting facts about different activities happen in a carnival. There were some interesting stories behind invention of Lakshman-jhoola, we usually see in all fairs.
The carnival assimilates
Rajasthani puppetry, Kudiyattam (a form of Sanskrit theatre) and
nautanki of Uttar Pradesh along with elements of several Indian
performing art forms. Also see a few Sufi singers and acrobats perform.
Here is a photograph showing that people used to wear puppet-dresses for puppet shows. Over the time, puppets without life become popular is various parts... Actors, who were acting like puppets, were brilliant and every move was amazingly done. No one could have guessed that hug puppets in front of us were actors with masks.
This play starts with a warm welcome by two artists at entry gate, who introduce all the audience to a 2000 old story of a their mother. On entry, we meet their mother and then move towards Lakshman Jhoola...
Anyways, let me stop here and not share more details about the play. Just go and watch the play, to experience it...
Musical moments during Old Town Play in Summer Theatre Festival @ National School of Drama, Delhi (INDIA)
Here is a view of viewers sitting on ground and actors performing on stage created in the middle of carnival setup. This whole setup was build in one part of NSD lawns.
A photograph showing puppet shows. Can you imagine, how these standing puppets have been keeping their hands stiff for long time. The dancing puppet was brilliant with her moves.
Director of this play Roysten was born in Kerala, South India. He did his schooling in Good Shepherd International School, Ooty and it was here that he started writing and directing plays. Roy graduated from the national school of drama in 1994 and then went to apprentice with the Royal Shakespeare Company in the same year. He came back to India in 1995, founded the Indian Shakespeare Company and as the name suggests his initial work was lot of Straight Shakespeare. A major turning point in Roy’s life was in 1999 when he devised and directed Othello a play in black and white, which was his first original work. It went on to win the Scotsman fringe first award and since then has toured extensively around the world. This work got him national and international recognition and what followed was a spate of original works, which he conceived and directed. Some of these plays were produced in India and some in Europe. To know more about him, check out - http://www.roystenabel.com/roystenable.html
This whole play is full of expressions !!!
Another photograph showing puppet dance with brilliant moves to simulate puppet movements.
Sukumar Tudu and Ambrish Saxena is some intersting conversation, when King (Ambrish) wanted to go for a Swambar... It was more around his health and ambitions of getting married again :)
There are some spicy conversations during the play and some weird conversations as well. Some of the old people left the play after hearing a long conversation with abuses. So at times, play can embarrassing for folks who are visiting to watch this play with family members.
Old Town play ended when every artist created a balloon and flew them up in the air. All of these were looking beautiful in sky above Delhi !!
.jpg)