Bedtime Story

Bedtime Story
By Kiran Nagarkar. Nautanki Theatre. Lennox Auditorium, Riverside Parramatta. June 4 – 6, 2015

The ancient epic Sanskrit poem the Mahabharata, which tells of the Kurukshestra War and the fates of the Kaurava and Pandava princes, has been adapted for a contemporary audience by novelist and playwright Kiran Nagarkar. The title A Bedtime Story is slightly misleading in that, despite some humour, the play contains scenes that are a little violent and quite confronting. Nevertheless, the adaptation keeps alive one of the oldest and best known Indian legends and realises Nautanki Theatre’s aim of “cross cultural experience … the Indian way’.

Enthusiasm is at the heart of this production. Every performer shows the ‘buzz’ of being on the stage in a performance that is so essentially Indian. The story lends itself to some interesting staging ideas, some physicality, some dance, and more than a little philosophising, mostly from by a tall, prophet-like figure who introduces the play and emerges in a spotlight beside the audience with explanations and words of wisdom.

Props are minimal – two broken columns and some wooden boxes – and, in one scene, a large vase filled with hot ice. Here the Pandava princes enter a competition to win the hand of the princess Draupadi. Their task is to string a heavy steel bow and shoot the eye of a moving artificial fish while looking at its reflection in the pool below. The action is all done in mime, but the effect of the men staring into the swirling mist from the hot ice is quite effective.

With fifteen performers and many scenes, director Joyraj Bhattacharjee uses projections to introduce and sequence some of the scenes and explain how the playwright has linked them to more contemporary issues and conflicts. After all, the Mahabharata was one of the earliest pieces of writing that asked whether the suffering caused by war can ever be justified and advocated such things as fair treatment of captives and the wounded.

There are also some scenes that decry the treatment of women, and these are handled with clarity and strength by actor and dancer Avantika Tomar. Sure of her lines and confident in their delivery, Tomar is an asset to the production, lifting the pace and action whenever she is on the stage.

With a mixture of experience but a great deal of enthusiasm, the other performers tell this age-old Indian tale of families in conflict. The twelve men at times use physicality effectively as they portray the problems of inter-family conflict and the aftermath of war. There are also some moments of humour.

Suparna (Bobby) Mallick introduces the play as a mother with five year old Rhea Daithankar lying on her lap waiting for a bedtime story.  She begins by humming Where Have all the Flowers Gone before starting her tale. In a nice twist, she reprises the song at the end of the play – its circular message about the uselessness of war emphasising the theme of the original Sanskrit verses.

Carol Wimmer

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