For an exploration of the body in pain through a re-visioning of Samuel Beckett’s play Act without Words I and Act Without Words II. An Argentinean story will be used to devise the plot and action, and introduce new meanings into Beckett’s plays. The production will also situate the experience of physical pain within the social context of the performers. A script in Malayalam will be developed and layered through games, and constant improvisations and experiments with actors.
For the transformation of the Humayuna-nama, a sixteenth century chronicle of the Mughal emperor Humayun’s life, into a performance called Gulbadan, which will combine shadow puppetry and live acting with cinematic techniques and other visual media. Among other things, Gulbadan will portray the rarely recounted lives of Mughal women, their role in the Mughal court and the politics of the harem, which the chronicle documents in great detail.
For the production of a new choreographic work titled Beautiful Thing 1. This performance will investigate the interplay of sound, word, movement and meaning, and attempt to bridge the gaps between our historical memories and contemporary selves.
For the development and staging of a performance by and for children in Bengali based on a story by Upendra Kishore Roychowdhury. The children will visualise the story and develop the script for the performance through constant improvisations and experiments with the patua community in West Bengal.
For the development and staging of an adaptation of Kuo Pao Kun’s play for children, Day I Met the Prince based on Antoine Saint Exupery’s classic Le Petit Prince. This interative performance, featuring dance, music and magic, will encourage the young to explore their own concerns and become more keenly aware of the world around them.
For the development and staging of an adaptation of Macbeth in Malayalam. Using mobile scenic designs, choreography, multimedia images, ritual and a chorus, the production will explore the psychological complexities of the central characters and attempt to lay bare the emotions and thoughts that work at the level of the subconscious.
For the creation of a performance based on the traditional Manipuri Meitei ballad Phou-Oibi. Telling a legendary story in a non-traditional, open-air setting, the performance will explore the musicality of the string instrument pena, as well as draw from the Manipuri performing forms of Moirang Sai, Moirang Parva, Sankirtana, Wari Liba and Lai Haraoba.
For preparatory research and documentation towards a dance production titled Dance and the City. Four dancers will share their personal experiences of Bangalore with one another, record interviews with other city residents, and undertake photo and video documentation. This material will be used to generate narratives and movement ideas that will form the basis of the proposed production.
For research into theatre censorship in Maharashtra. Using Vijay Tendulkar’s banned play, Sakharam Binder, as a point of reference, the study will investigate censorship in the larger context of the socio-cultural history of theatre, and look into authoritarian state censorship as well non-state agencies’ agenda of silencing and suppressing theatrical expression. The play “S*x, M*rality, Cenc*rship” is the outcome of the grant got nominated for META awards in 10 categories.
For the creation of a performance to be developed collaboratively by a dancer and light architect. The artists will explore and experiment with the movement principles of Bharatnatyam and aim to give a new dimension to its spatial and architectural forms through light and image installations.
