Dramanon presents

‘Akshayambara’ is an experimental Kannada play that uses both modern theatrical tools and the dance drama form of Yakshagana to create a contemporary narrative that raises questions on female representation and male ownership. The play was developed through the INLAKS Scholarship ’14, supported by the India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) and premiered at the Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival ’15. The play won the best original script and best actor (male) at the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META) '16.

The play explores the representation of the feminine within the male-dominated practice of Yakshagana. What happens when a woman enters the professional space of a form performed by men for the last 800 years? Drawing from research and personal experience, the performance imagines a reversal of roles in the popular Yakshagana plot of ‘Draupadi Vastrapaharana’. A male artist in streevesha plays the virtuous Draupadi and espouses the cause of a woman, while in a tradition defying move, a woman is cast as the Pradhana Purusha vesha of a Kaurava who is driven by lust and power. What happens to the interpretation of gender when a man plays the streevesha and the purusha vesha is played by a woman? Who is the real woman and who is the real man? When tradition can accept a man as a streevesha can that same tradition accept a woman as a purushavesha? 

This project is made possible by a grant from India Foundation for the Arts with part support from Voltas Limited.