Lalit Gupta
JAMMU, Apr 6: Adding to the list of the performances of Greek plays in the winter capital, Kalkruti staged Greek playwright Euripides’ Hebuca, at the Abhinav Theatre here today.
Witten around 434 BC, the play opens when the Trojan war has ended after the sacking of the city, c. 1184BC. The plot revolves around Hecuba, Queen of the Trojans and mother of Hector who has been killed, and his widow, Andromache who is left to raise their son, Astyanax alone. Hecuba’s daughter, Cassandra fears being enslaved by her Greek masters, while Helen of Troy risks being executed. King Agamemnon and his brother Menelaus have decreed that Hector’s son Astyanax must die.
Staged under the banner of Rangshala, and directed by Neha Lahotra, a well-known theater actor, and director, today’s production came out to be an engrossing affair. The set on the stage by Shalini Sharma though marked with pronounced ‘arty’ treatment, comprised of a circle of bare branched trees girdling along the proscenium that gave the desired feel of an open space in front of the city walls. The abundant use of fallen leaves bestowed a kind of desolateness that portended the befallen tragedy. The costumes designed by Shalini Sharma also gave the feel of the period.
The six female actors, all of whom gave an impressive display of acting, can truly be considered as one of the high watermarks of today production. One hopes these actors who exhibited good voice control, fluent dialogue delivery, synchronized movements, will enrich Jammu theater by their performances in future. The cast included Diwankshi Sabiki as Hecuba, Shivani Wazir, Kanchi Khajuria and Rekha Sharma as Ilithiya, Edora, and Ambrosia in chorus, Samriti Dutta as Helen, Sandeep Sharma as Menelaus, Ayushi Khajuria in double role of Athena and Cassandra, Neeyati as Andromache, Sourav Kalyan as Telethybius and Manish Kapoor as God Poseidon.
Background score was designed by Anuroop Pathania, sound by Lokesh and Sachin, lights by Pankaj Sharma and Prabal, make-up by Seema Bhardwaj, props by Ankush and Aryan and play management by Anoop Goswami. Prominent among the audience were Binoo Joshi, senior journalist, and Prof Lalit Magotra.
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