Olivile Ormakal set to return to stage
To mark the 75th anniversary of KPAC and the birth centenary year of Thoppil Bhasi, the troupe is set to stage the play with minor alterations to keep up with changing times
It was in the early 1990s that legendary playwright Thoppil Bhasi directed the stage play Olivile Ormakal (Memories in Hiding), the theatrical adaptation of his autobiography of the same name, under the banner of the Kerala People’s Arts Club (KPAC), the powerful drama troupe associated with the Communist movement in Kerala. Much to the elation of theatre lovers, the KPAC will stage a remake of the play to mark its 75th anniversary and the birth centenary year of Bhasi.
According to A. Shahjahan, secretary, KPAC, Olivile Ormakal will be staged after a gap of several years with slight modifications “to keep up with changing times.”
“Thoppil Bhasi’s association with the KPAC began with the historical play Ningalenne
Communistakki (You Made Me a Communist) in the early 1950s. Olivile Ormakal was his last play (1992) under the banner of the KPAC. We decided to remake it as a tribute to him on the occasion of his birth centenary,” says Shahjahan. Olivile Ormakal was first staged at Karthika Thirunal Theatre, in the capital city on August 23, 1992, less than four months before Bhasi died.
Manoj Narayanan will direct the remake of the play and the rehearsal has begun. With some changes in the style of narration, the play is expected to gift a new experience to the audience. Besides new actors, two members of the original cast, Pradeep Thoppil and Thamarakulam Mani, will appear in the remake.
Historical significance
“The intention of the play, when it was first adapted, was not to focus on the life of the individual but to narrate the story of that time. This approach made it more significant and interesting,” he says.
The play’s narrative is structured in such a way that Bhasi, despite the base text being his autobiography, does not prominently come to the stage as a character. “His presence is felt throughout the narrative, but it focusses more on conveying the sociocultural realities of the time,” says Mr. Narayanan.
As per the KPAC website, in 1950, N. Rajagopalan Nair, G. Janardhana Kurup and others decided to stage Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov in Malayalam. Ente Makananu Sari (My Son is Right), the first major play by the KPAC, was staged in 1951. Around the same time, Bhasi, who was hiding from the police, wrote the script for Ningalenne Communistakki under the pseudonym Soman. The drama made the call to “rise and fight oppression” and was first staged at Chavara in December 1952. Thus began the association between the KPAC and Bhasi.