Meera Sitaraman brings to life a math-a-magical tale through Devarattam, Kalaripayattu and contemporary movement

CHENNAI: Theatre artiste Meera Sitaraman sure has a lot of responsibility on her artistic shoulders, but it is not the first time that she has been entrusted with a solo act of this grandeur. She will take you back to Babylon 500 BC, which was the commercial centre of the ancient world.

Mathemagician is a play written by Gowri Ramnarayan, and designed and directed by V Balakrishnan, which is set in Babylon. It was an ancient city situated on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, which is about 85 kilometers south of modern day Baghdad.

Castrated and sold into slavery by his father, Nikor is apprenticed to Plautus, the chief economist of Babylon. With his brilliance in mathematics and statecraft, he attains incredible fame and wealth as the state’s chief mathematician, accountant general and keeper of the seals.

“The story then revolves around when he finds his childhood friend Salla again, now wife of a debauched prince, Nikor is haunted by questions about himself, and what Salla means to him,” explains Meera.

Gowri first wrote the play and directed its premiere with Balakrishnan in March of 2009.

“From there, it went on to do several shows in India, and was also staged in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which is the world’s largest performance arts festival. It was staged by Vasudev Menon, an actor in Chennai, who was in England and chose to do Mathemagician in Edinburg,” she adds.

Meera has been doing theatre for the past 11 years and has been working with Theatre Nisha, a Chennai-based theatre company. She adds, “I have been trained by V Balakrishnan, the founder and artistic director of Theatre Nisha. It’s been a wonderful journey of acting, teaching, writing, designing and directing for me.”

The monodrama interweaves dialogue, and poetry, with Meera as the solo actor weaving the written word and dramatic action, with Devarattam, Kalaripayattu, Silambam and contemporary movement.

“These are forms that we have been working with in our theatre company. Most of our actors train in Devarattam, Kalari and Silambam. So the form finds an organic presence in our productions,” says Meera.

This is going to be her second time performing in Mathemagician. She says, “But this time, the audiences will get to witness the play which will be supported by folk instrumentals by Sathya Sharath and Vishwa Bharath. This live percussion will surely add a new and wholesome dimension to the experience of the story.”

Mahesh Elkunchwar, an Indian playwright and screenplay writer had foreword Mathemagician to be a deeply unsettling play. He had also stated, “What ethical code can someone like him have, he who has been denied any? Gowri has written a frighteningly cruel play which haunts the readers and spectators by its excruciating beauty.”

Come and witness the life of Nikor unfolding in front of you through Meera’s act at 3 pm and 7 pm on July 13, and at 7 pm on July 14. This 1 hour 30 minutes long English play will take place in Medai - The Stage, at Alwarpet.