The latest production from Madras Players, a sharp satire in the form of love letters, boldly takes on the literary world armed with humour.
The latest production from Madras Players, a sharp satire in the form of love letters, boldly takes on the literary world armed with humour.
Letters have always paved the way for good stories. But what is likely to be found in an exchange of letters between two authors, one amateur and one veteran? A two-person drama suggests.
The latest production of Madras Players, helmed by Nikhila Kesavan and brought out in association with Chennai Art Theatre, is titled Dear Omana: Notes on How to Be a Literary Sensation There is a satire asked for the stage.
Adapted from author and columnist Krishna Sastri Devulapalli’s letter drama and parts of his novel how to become a literary sensationThe play lives up to the earlier work, says Nikhila. Although Nikhila was familiar with his columns and novels, it was a Facebook friend suggestion that connected the two in the midst of the lockdown in 2020.
This is how Nakhila was introduced dear anita And how to become a literary sensation, Upon reading both, portions of the book seemed to fit perfectly into the play, and Nikhila reached out to the author for the green signal.
“I rewrote the play to accommodate certain passages and shared it with her, and she liked what she did,” says the director. The initial plan was to execute it during the lockdown. “But when you are doing something funny, you want to hear the audience laughing. Online is so one-sided. So we decided to wait,” she adds.
The play is a sharp satire based on the works of Krishna Sastri Devulapalli
“The dynamics of the play is different from what was written earlier, but it is still in the form of love letters. It is very interactive between the two characters,” says Nikhil. Omana and Krishna Sastry Devulapalli are the protagonists – “The whole play follows It is how Krishna takes tips and advice from Omna to survive and navigate the literary world,” says Nikhila.
Nikhila plays the role of Omana in the play, while the writer’s role is played by V Sarvesh Sridhar.
This was the first time for Nikhila to do such sarcasm. “It was a challenge, maybe more because I decided to play a character. I think once we started, it just swayed. We went with the script.” Although the two characters are “technically reading letters”, Nikhila promises that the stage will not be devoid of action. Nikhila says the key is to execute the letters and not just read them.
Nikhila says, the script gets a lot of inspiration. For example, one of the book’s essays talks about what it’s like to write about math. “The moment I chose the essay, automatically, the design for it unfolded. We immediately wondered how a writer does number-crunching.” Although the intervals between the music are part of the narrative, the choreography is something to look forward to.
The play confronts writers, publishers, editors, translators and others in the literary world armed with humor. Words just work, concluded Nikhila.
Dear Omana: Notes on How to Become a Literary Sensation will be done on 18th June at 7.15 pm and on 19th June at 4.15 pm and 7.15 pm at Alliance Française, Madras. Tickets on BookMyShow.