A twist in the tale

Why did the jackal turn blue? Why did some humans come into a forest? What is the meaning of friendship? Questions like these will be addressed in a performance of Panchatantra Retold, directed by Rebecca Spurgeon. The production is a retelling of three stories in the Panchatantra: The Blue Jackal, The Monkey and the Crocodile, and The Monkey and the Wedge. “We have taken some liberties in the retelling of the stories,” says Rebecca. “In The Blue Jackal, even though the original has a reason why the jackal turned blue, we go deeper to figure other reasons why it could have turned blue. In The Monkey and the Crocodile, we wonder if people different from each other can be friends? In Monkey and the Wedge a group of humans come to the forest to build a temple. A monkey is intrigued seeing them, however, the story has a tragic twist. In this story, we have played with the idea of human beings encroaching on the forest,” says Rebecca.

A lot of thought has gone into the production, including the sets and costumes so as to fire up a child’s imagination. “We want kids to discover what it is like to re-imagine everyday objects. For example, we have taken a blue cloth and depicted it as water and a tree is made out of a completely different object, this will make the children think of how, for example, a stick can be used as some other object.”

The play, though, is for both children and adults. The all-adult cast comprises Ameet Bhuvan, Bhavana Rajendran, Shlok Menon, and Spatica Ramanujam. “The main challenge was to make the play appealing to a mixed audience. Panchatantra Retold has something for everyone, whether in terms of text, performance, or music.”

The performance is a combination of shadow play, music, storytelling, mime, and physical theatre. “We do not tell the audience what is right or wrong, black or white. We want them to ponder over questions of their own after watching the show,” says Rebecca, who says they have received good responses from audiences in their 28-odd shows so far.

Panchatantra Retold will be staged from May 25 to May 27. Friday at 6.30 pm and Saturday and Sunday at 3 pm and 6.30 pm, at Jagriti Theatre, Whitefield. Tickets are available at the venue and on bookmyshow.com.