Sixty years in theatre: P.C. Ramakrishna looks back at life on stage

P.C. Ramakrishna’s engagement with theatre began 60 years ago, erstwhile helium acted successful assemblage plays. In 1969, helium directed Willis Hall’s play The Long, The Short and The Tall,’ for Loyola College. “This was the archetypal Loyola play to beryllium staged successful Museum Theatre,” says Ramakrishna. The aforesaid twelvemonth Ammu Mathew, president of Madras Players, offered him a accidental to enactment successful Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, which was astir the 17th-century Massachusetts witch trials. “Girish Karnad played the hero, and I was Reverend Paris,” says Ramakrishna, who has acted successful much than 100 plays of Madras Players. After 2000, helium turned to direction.

In 2012, Water, an English dramatisation of Komal Swaminathan’s Thanneer Thanneer, directed by Ramakrishna, took the signifier by storm. “I had watched the Tamil play astatine Mylapore Fine Arts Club successful 1980, and had recovered it riveting. In 2011, I recovered an English translation of the play, by Dr. Shankar, a prof successful Hawaii. After Water, I felt we should proceed to contiguous determination lit successful English.”

Ramakrishna learnt mridangam for 12 years from 2 disciples of Palghat Mani Iyer, and past learnt from Mani Iyer himself for six years. “My archetypal performance was successful 1964, astatine the Music Academy, for T.K. Govinda Rao. But I ne'er played aft that. I took up a firm career, and theatre occupied each my spare time.” Because of his involvement successful music, helium was gladsome to dramatise Sita Ravi’s abbreviated stories connected the Carnatic euphony Trinity, translated by Prabha Sridevan. “Trinity brought unneurotic euphony rasikas and theatre lovers. It premiered successful 2018, and successful 2020 it was staged successful Toronto, followed by houseful shows successful different cities.” Ramakrishna besides directed Sujatha Vijayaraghavan’s Kamalakshi, a communicative astir a dancer.

Ramakrishna was portion of Lalgudi Jayaraman’s operatic ballet ‘Jaya Jaya Devi’. “As Nandi, I played the mridangam and linked each the stories done my narration, which I scripted. The violin maestro took conscionable a period to constitute the lyrics and constitute the euphony for them. He would constitute and grounds a portion each night. The adjacent morning, I would cod the cassette and instrumentality it to Bharatanatyam artiste Rhadha for the choreography. He didn’t springiness the pieces successful the bid successful which they appeared. For instance, helium gave a Keeravani varnam last, and gave a thillana earlier. He utilized a discordant raga Sucharitra for discordant moments successful the play. We had nary clip for rehearsals here. We rehearsed successful a temple successful Cleveland. The amusement was presented successful 23 cities crossed the U.S. ‘Jaya Jaya Devi’ was a success.”

On the petition of the Madras High Court, Madras Players dramatised the Lakshmikanthan execution proceedings of 1945, successful which actors Thyagaraja Bhagavatar and N.S. Krishnan were the accused. “I wrote the publication aft speechmaking each the tribunal transcripts. I ran it by lawyer N.L. Rajah, who played the relation of defence counsel K.M. Munshi. Our props had the cleanable play look, due to the fact that our acceptable decorator copied the designs of the aged tribunal furnishings present displayed successful the High Court museum.”

How did you find idiosyncratic speaking English with a British accent to play Judge Mockett? “There was a technologist called Michael Caves, who happened to beryllium successful Chennai, and helium played Mockett.”

Talking astir choosing stories, Ramakrishna says, “They indispensable person the 3 ‘C’s — content, characters and conflict. Without conflict, determination is nary drama. I besides similar beardown women characters, which was wherefore I dramatised Choodamani’s stories.”

As for casting, helium feels, The actors indispensable beryllium property compatible with the characters. “My imaginativeness of the quality indispensable acceptable that person. For instance, 4 women who unrecorded successful the aforesaid flat analyzable that I do, person been formed successful immoderate plays, due to the fact that they are cleanable fits for the characters. They’d ne'er been connected signifier before.”

How is it similar moving with newcomers? “I similar it, due to the fact that they travel without immoderate baggage, and they sorb everything I thatch them.”

Does helium enactment now? “Rarely. I consciousness I indispensable stock my cognition of theatre with youngsters, and absorption helps maine bash that.”