Dramatised reading by theatre Y
at the launch of the book
Ka, by Roberto Calasso
Book reading by theatre Y
of Serious Men, winner of
Hindu Short Fiction Award
Characters from 'Serious Men' come alive during book reading session
(From left) Asha Mathen, Vice President, Deutsche Bank, Yog Japee, Shurthi Gupta and Kalieaswari of Theatre Y at a book reading session in Chennai on Wednesday. Photo: R. Ragu
An avid crowd listened in rapt attention as members of the theatre group, Theatre Y, read out extracts from Manu Joseph's Serious Men at the Landmark bookstore here on Wednesday.
From laughing aloud to whispering to a neighbour, and pondering over some sketches of the characters, the readings were both funny and poignant for the audience of different age groups.
The event was held as a prelude to The Hindu Best Fiction Award 2010, which will be announced at a literary evening in the city on November 1.
Serious Men is among the 11 books shortlisted for the Best Fiction Award, 2010.
The book is a satire on class, love, relationship and veneration of science, essayed by the protagonist Ayyan Mani, a Dalit who lives in the chawls of Mumbai. Yog Japee, Kalieaswari Srinivasan and Shruti Gupta of Theatre Y donned the role of different characters with the little props around them and modulation in their voice to bring Ayyan Mani, Oja Mani (Mani's wife), Adi (Mani's partially deaf 10-year-old son), among others, before the audience. The conversation between Mani and Sister Chastity of St. Andrews School, where Adi studies; Mani's attempts to change the ‘Quote of the Day' at his office for some fun; office politics… all these were well received by the gathering.
Piroja Belgamvala, member of Madras Book Club, said, “The readings were very well enacted. The modulation in their voice and a few props that they used came out well as you could envisage the character.”
P.B. Padmanabhan, a retired employee, said “the readings came out more like a play, but I only wished the author too was present.”
Introducing the author, Asha Mathen, vice-president, Deutsche Bank, said Mr. Joseph spent 20 years in Chennai before moving to Mumbai. She said the book, which took the author three years to write, was unique as every character and situation was so startlingly realistic. The life of science was also beautifully portrayed, she said.
Keywords: Manu Joseph, Serious Men, The Hindu Best Fiction Award 2010
Screen Shot (couldn't find any reviews)...Performed extracts from Tulikas book, Mayil Will Not Be Quiet, At Landmark, Chennai.
A gripping evening on the cards
Yog Japee's team of Theatre Y. Yog Japee, Shruti Gupta and Kalieaswari Srinivasan. Photo: V. Ganesan
CHENNAI: Make sure you don't miss this literary evening. Extracts from journalist Manu Joseph's gripping debut novel Serious Men, which is among the 11 shortlisted books for the coveted The Hindu Best Fiction Award 2010, will be read at an event in Landmark, Apex Plaza, Nungambakkam on October 27 at 6.30 p.m.
The book has received rave reviews from critics and has been published simultaneously in the U.S., Britain and India and translated into a number of languages, including French, Danish, Serbian and German. Mr. Joseph was also listed among the top new novelists of 2010 by the British newspaper, The Daily Telegraph. The novel is based on race, caste, sex and power in India. Asha Mathen, Vice-President, Deutsche Bank, will introduce the author, while members of theatre group Theatre Y would read portions from the book. Ms. Mathen is a regular speaker at various management institutions and has won the Madras Management Association's ‘Outstanding Woman Manger of the Year 2009' award.
The reading is a prelude to The Hindu Best Fiction Award 2010, instituted by The Hindu Literary Review as a precursor to its 20th anniversary. The awards will be announced at a literary evening to be held in the city on November 1.
The other shortlisted books and their authors are: Eunuch Park, Palash Krishna Mehrotra; The Pleasure Seekers, Tishani Doshi; Venus Crossing, Kalpana Swaminathan; Come, Before Evening Falls, Manjul Bajaj; Saraswati Park, Anjali Joseph; If I Could Tell You, Soumya Bhattacharya; The Thing About Thugs, Tabish Khair; Way to Go, Upamanyu Chatterjee; Neti, Neti, Anjum Hasan; and The To-Let House, Daisy Hasan. The event is open to all.
Five voices
| Theatre Y’s ‘realitY’ is a hard-hitting look at life |
Thought provoking ‘realitY’
A man confesses that he has ‘stamped out’ countless ‘Hidden Fires’— human lives that are less than human to him, and then finds himself on the receiving end of the same ruthless treatment. A woman anchoring a television programme called ‘Know the Truth’ smiles her way dismissively through a stream of panic-stricken phone calls from viewers reporting violence in their neighbourhoods, refusing to admit that the Government can be wrong in its insistence that the situation is under control. The woman in ‘Points’ uses the fragile flame of a candle to make important points about nationalism, patriotism and more. In ‘Invocation’, the names of ordinary people are used to create a memorial to all those killed by violence for no fault of their own. ‘The Wish’ is chilling. On a relaxed Sunday morning, a couple at home have a supernatural visitor who offers a wish — to eliminate a substantial number of people in order to make our planet a safer and better place to live in.
Five powerful, hard-hitting monologues in which the playwright tackles head-on issues of violence, intolerance of others, narrow concepts of community and nation, each with a twist that lifts it into the realm of real drama. Award-winning playwright Manjula Padmanabhan, in her attempt to come to grips with the violence of these times, excels in this suite of short one-handers that leaves the viewer both shaken and thoughtful.
The cast includes Aditi Gopinathan, Krishna, Shruti Gupta, Kanchi Kamatchi Thangadurai and Yog. The costumes are by Kaveri Lalchand and the music has been composed and arranged by Aditi Gopinathan. The direction is by Yog Japee.
On at Alliance de Française, College Road, Nungambakkam on October 17, 18 and 19. The timings are 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m., and 10 p.m. The night show is part of Theatre Y’s effort to popularise theatre and also benefit those who cannot make it for evening shows.
Tickets will be available at the venue from October 17, 10 a.m. For bookings, call 98410-70796 or 98840-70796.
Soulful Rendition | |||
| |||
Showing 1 of 2 
Potpourri of performances
REVIEW Theatre Y’s five monologues-filled ‘RealitY’ was good in parts. PRANSHU MAHESHWARI
3:59 p.m.: Once again in the hallowed halls of Alliance Française, and I still don’t know how to spell French words in MS Word. Thanks to Vijaykanth and his rally, I nearly missed the opening, but I’ve finally made it. 1000 names, 9 points, five voices and one pink button, said the press release. If only the audience could claim as much. Interesting enough… provided they don’t actually name all 1000.
4:15 p.m.: Fifteen minutes in, and we’ve just been treated to a talk show: “Know the truth”, where our charming host, played by Aditi Gopinathan, has decided to play vote bank politics despite not being a politician. Actually, who knows… she might go the Vijaykanth way. Pretty funny though…
4:30 p.m.: Woe is me, for “The Invocation” actually does involve reciting all thousand names. Shruti Gupta’s dialogue delivery is quite good, although she seems a tad stiff. The play’s opening was on a slightly lighter note… and the invocation has brought some sense to the dark and mysterious logo. It’s been a good first half hour, and it’s set the stage for what is to come.
4:50 p.m.: We’ve moved to a splendid piece of acting, courtesy Yog Japee, who’s doing a double role as a typical middle class Indian, and the play’s director. We’ve also been introduced to the pink button, which it seems holds the key to solving all of the world’s problems. This one’s called “The Wish”, and has been the best monologue so far. Time for a five minute interval, and for the first time in a while, I had no desire to go for a break
5:10 p.m.: I was right to not want an interval. The piece that followed is “Points”, and despite the brilliant dialogues, dealing with patriotism and nationalism, something in Kanchi Kamatchi Thangadurai’s acting lacks. It seems a bit put on for some reason. Until this monologue, the acting was very natural, and well staged. This one’s fallen off the mark.
5:25 p.m.: Between each monologue, we’ve been presented with the continuing adventures of “Know the Truth” and that opening jingle is really starting to get on my nerves. It was fine the first time, but four times is just too much. Sure, it gives you a picture of the world, and a talk show host who’s been paid to spread government propaganda, but there’s a limit to comic relief for a play like this.
5:30 p.m.: “Hidden Fires”, the fifth and last monologue, by Krishna, was beautiful. The acting was spot on, matching the wonderful script, while the melancholy music is music to my ears. It’s performances like this that make you wish for more.
5:45 p.m.: Turns out “Hidden Fires” wasn’t the last monologue, as “The Wish” has returned, as has the mystical pink button. The acting is intense, and now that I look at it, without the “Know the Truth” sessions, the intensity levels would spread into six digit numbers. The script is so true and that it strikes a cord with the audience.
6:01 p.m.: The play has ended, and as much as I wish that “The Wish” would go on forever, it had to end. Unfortunately, yet another “Know the truth” segment was shoved down our throats but, by this point, no one cared. The play was good in parts, and pretty ordinary in others. “The Wish” and “Hidden Fires” were really worth watching, while just one “Know the truth” segment would’ve been good enough for me.
Manjula Padmanabhan’s script has shaken me, but most of all, it was Yog Japee’s acting that shook the roots that I stand on. The verdict? One hour was worth watching, and the rest was… I think I’ll pass on that.
6:20 p.m.: Vijaykanth and his yellow-shirted hooters have barred me from moving an inch yet again. The RealitY of life, the RealitY of Chennai roads, and the RealitY of Vijaykanth. Sigh…
Pranshu is a Std X student at Sishya.
