Ravana has his day!
An alternate take on the Ramayan, the show ‘I Am Ravana’ engages the audience to consider the shades of good and evil, writes Subhadra Devan
AN epic Indian story of love, lust, kidnapping and death, I Am Ravana, offers an ideal intersection between something that is visually entertaining, featuring the beauty and colourful nature of the Ramayana and something that instigates a level of reflection and introspection.
Staged by The Temple of Fine Arts Perth arm, Saraswati Mahavidhyalaya, in collaboration with TFA’s performing arts wing, TFA Inner Space Dance, the performance will feature a 100-strong joint cast.
Says TFA Inner Space Dance artistic director Umesh Shetty: “The show is in line with the vision of the TFA performing wing — to push the boundaries of traditional norms of dance creation and presentation without losing sight of the unending source of inspiration that Indian culture holds.
“So, it is not just creating new works but exploring and innovating on well-loved themes and ideas in a totally original and contemporary manner that spills beyond traditional boundaries, breaking down habituated perceptions and notions of what dance is, so as to capture the attention and abiding interest of art lovers of all races for our unique genre of dance.”
The theatrical offering, which premiered in Australia last year, has live and pre-recorded music, while dances include folk and contemporary and those of various Indian classical styles.
“It takes an enormous amount of time planning, communicating and coordinating a production with performers in two different countries,” says Umesh.
“However, being sister organisations our training is similar and that helps. We have a few senior performers from KL who were part of the production last year, who at the moment are heading rehearsals.”
QUEST FOR MEANING
I Am Ravana is a reworking of a 1992 TFA production called Ramayana — An Asian
Confluence.
“This production was based on Valmiki’s text and featured the various Asian methods of presenting the Ramayana.
“Last year, TFA’s Australian sister organisation used the 1992 version as a basis to rework this production,” explains Umesh.
The epic Ramayana, dated variously from 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to Valmiki, based on the attribution in the text itself. The Ramayana tells the story of a prince, Rama of the city of Ayodhya in the Kingdom of Kosala, whose wife Sita is abducted by Ravana, the demonking of Lanka.
I Am Ravana begins at the time of the demon King of Lanka’s death, in that split second of losing his life, experiences an existential moment, questions humanity and his sense of self, and reflects upon his actions.
I Am Ravana is presented as an alternate take on the Ramayana. It engages the audience to consider the shades of good and evil in our everyday thinking. The production is framed by the last moments of Ravana’s life when he asks humanity, “why do you rejoice in my death?”
“The quest for meaning, purpose, and fulfilment is, therefore, something that is timeless and universal thus implying that Ravana’s hubris may be ours today — personally, politically and globally.
“Valmiki’s Ramayana is being thought of as a metaphor for man’s journey to transcendence.
“The production encourages the audience to consider the shades of good and evil within the context of our daily interactions with society, and avoid being judgmental when travelling through life, especially when we are impaired by our fragmented lens of perception.
“As a society, Malaysia is in a phase of transformation. In a mature society, the applicability of such stories becomes ever more relevant.
“Every day, people (via social media, for example) are empowered to socially establish between good and evil / right and wrong / black and white.
“Together with this empowerment, comes a responsibility to think about the outcomes of our actions.
“I Am Ravana provides the Malaysian audience with an opportunity to think about the applicability of the Ramayana at an individualistic level, within a changing sociopolitical climate.”