Ms Meena comes to town

Watch an interesting series of incidents unfurl on stage when an iconic filmstar goes back to her village

We don't expect more than a play a year from this rather dormant Chennai-based troupe that has been performing in Bangalore for the last six years.

But when a new play does come around, from those outbursts of creativity and more than rigorous rehearsals, it deserves a watch.



Perch, a Chennai-based performance collective is back with a brand new production, Ms Meena and this time in collaboration with city-based troupe Rafiki.

Inspired by a play titled The Visit by a Swiss-German playwright Freidrich Durrenmat, Ms Meena is an original script by Rashmi Ruth Devadasan, member, Perch and Partner, Blaft Publications.

"I was keen on doing this play four years ago as an adaptation. The script is rather absurd, a tragic comedy and lends itself easily to adaptation.
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It talks about a woman as the richest one in the world; I wanted that to be turned into an iconic film star.

This created a world of possibilities and twists, with cinema as a central theme and we ended up writing an original script," says Rajiv Krishnan, Director.

Identified by well-rehearsed plays, whacky costumes, and minimal yet intriguing sets, Perch has brought together an array of new elements for Ms Meena and dabbled in more than just one art form.
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"A cinematic background introduced scope for dance and music on-stage, something I haven't used much before," Rajiv tells us. "All the music will be live on stage.

We have used no recordings and the lyrics have been created by the actors themselves," he adds.

Also, the play has been produced over three sessions spanning 42 days of full-time rehearsals. Each of the sessions ended in a performance for an invited audience, followed by feedback sessions.

The sets are a mish mash of everyday objects, setting the stage for an abstract appeal that came into play as the production went through its many stages of evolution.

Ms Meena, formerly Asha, the iconic actress from Pichampura returns to her village to make a final film.
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The village in the meanwhile has descended into a state of utter poverty, and nurtures hope of improved circumstances with the help of Meena.

Her former lover, a shopkeeper, Ravi is given the daunting task of approaching her with the request, with hope that her feelings for him might have remained. Meena concedes and brings more than prosperity to the village but not without a price.

With five actors from Perch, and four from city-based Rafiki, the play is all set to be a visual delight, a tragedy and comedy rolled into one.

Ishwar Srikumar, Actor, Perch can hardly contain his excitement about the premier in the city. "It is one of the most interesting plays I have done so far and surely challenging," he admits.

At Ranga Shankara, JP Nagar
On July 28 to July 30, 7.30 pm and July 31 and Aug 1, 3.30 pm
Call 988863 70614
For Rs 100u00a0