Thoudam Victor Singh

This Foundation Project implemented by IFA under Productions will create a physical poetry performance that critiques the efficacy of six mega hydro projects in Manipur. Thoudam Victor Singh will be the Coordinator for this project.

Thoudam Victor Singh is a theatre practitioner based in Mantripukhri in Manipur. He has worked on several theatre productions and has also been a visiting faculty member to the centres of the National School of Drama in Sikkim and Tripura, and at the Manipur University of Culture. He has been the recipient of the Charles Wallace India Trust Scholarship, the Junior Fellowship of the Ministry of Culture and the Serendipity Arts Grant for Theatre. Given his experience he is best placed to be the Coordinator of this Foundation Project of IFA.

Contemporary Manipur has been in the midst of a plethora of issues including those that relate to political conflicts in the state and its relation to the government at the Centre. Over the last six decades, the state of Manipur has changed drastically. There is massive deforestation of many catchment areas due to which the rivers and streams have gone dry. Agricultural lands are fast depleting and many developmental projects have either been left incomplete or have failed to address the purpose for which they were intended. These realities have had serious consequences on the people of the state. 

This project will research into the futility, underperformance and ramifications of the six mega hydro projects in Manipur, namely Khuga dam, Khoupam dam, Singda dam, Thoubal dam, the 105 MW Loktak project and the recently inaugurated Dholaithabi barrage project. These were commissioned in the name of development and promised water for irrigation, drinking and power for the state, none of which have been effectively realised. On the other hand, these projects have displaced large groups of people in the upstream and downstream areas, putting an end to the close relationship between people and their land. Despite these failures, the government of Manipur has been aggressively pushing the construction of mega dams across the rivers in Manipur under the Manipur Hydro Power Policy 2012, even initiating global tenders inviting multinational stake holding.

This project is an attempt to artistically unpack the many stories around these issues that never get told. Creating a physical poetry performance of these stories is an alternative way of addressing a degenerate system and understanding the aggressive nature of Manipur’s development.  

As a performer, Victor has been interested in creating physical performances. He has been seeking an inclusive arts practice where the body becomes a medium that is capable of giving shape to sounds, visuals, textures, colours with the ability to create poetic space. In his practice, he is drawn towards the visceral aspects of physical performance. Along with training the body to respond spontaneously, Victor would also like to further his practice by working with objects and materials treating them as an extension or a part of the body. Likewise, he is also interested in developing two texts simultaneously – the text of the body and the spoken text.

The project will begin with a thorough research into the various administrative, political, social, economic, ecological tensions that surround the failure and the manifold ramifications of these mega projects. The material gathered from this research will form the conceptual dramaturgy for the performance. The physical poetry that will follow this dramaturgy will be inspired by Jacque Lecoq’s approach to ‘universal poetic sense’; the theatre company DV8’s approach to creating content based on socio-political issues; Anna Konjetzky’s ideas about body adapting to its surroundings; and the high-energy, non-violent, expressive contemporary street dance form of Krumping. Embodying the attributes of poetry and the physicality such as rhythm, tempo, suspension, weight and counter weight, action and gestures, movement and pauses, the performance seeks to create an internal dialogue with the spectators.  

The performance is scheduled to premiere in Imphal towards the end of 2022. The deliverables to IFA from this project will be still and video documentation of the process and the final production.

With the legendary theatre practice of Heisnam Kanhailal and Heisnam Sabitri, Manipur has had a history of artistic responses to its difficult, conflict-ridden socio-political contexts. Taking this further, in its ingenuity in blending physical poetry with a strong critique of a specific aspect of Manipur’s development agenda, we hope that this project will enable new imaginations in arts practice.

IFA will ensure that the implementation of this project happens in a timely manner and funds expended are accounted for. IFA will also review the progress of the project at midterm and document it through an Implementation Memorandum. After the project is finished and all deliverables are submitted, IFA will put together a Final Evaluation to share with Trustees.

This project is made possible with support from Sony Pictures Entertainment Fund.