Short but sweet twist in the tale

Starting from July 6, the fifth edition of this popular 10-minute theatre festival, organised by Prakriti Foundation, will see a healthy display of Tamil theatre. “The increasing number of entries in Tamil only shows that directors and playwrights think this is a good platform to experiment. While the festival was never about English theatre alone, we never set out to revive Tamil theatre or create an audience. We merely provide a platform and we are happy to see the result it has created. There have been instances in the past where a 10-minute Tamil play was recommended for other festivals, which saw it expand to a 2-hour production followed by a tour across the country,” explained Meera Krishnan, Festival Coordinator. 

Rajiv Rajaram, Creative Director for Put Chutney, who has written and directed Yours Urgently in Tamil and English, said, “Comfort does account for using a particular language. The play we put up in 2014 called A Typist with Des tiny was 60% in Tamil and 40% in English.” 

Filmmaker Ramakrishnan Dhanasekaran, who will be directing the Tamil version of The Goon written by Pete Malicki, said, “When it comes to translations, these plays in Tamil work well in our urban milieu because they are so relatable to us – like the play I am directing has superheroes – a concept we are familiar with.” 

Lalitha Dharini, daughter of noted Tamil theatre personality Komal Swaminathan, said that while the audience has changed overtime, there are not many youngsters watching these plays. “It is rare to see people below 30. So I am curious to see if Tamil plays in a festival like this will lead to more young people eventually going on to watch longer Tamil productions,” said Lalitha, who is a part of the Tamil theatre circuit.