El Ramayana brings unique fusion of Asian and contemporary theatre to Querétaro
The production demanded a talented and versatile cast, embodying the dancer-actor-musician tradition central to Asian theatre. Performers effortlessly shifted between various disciplines, integrating elements of Cambodian and Indonesian dance along with the Indian martial art Kalari Payatt from Kerala. Their expertise in these forms enabled them to portray a diverse range of characters, from gods and demons to men and women, resulting in a dynamic and immersive performance.
Hyderabad: The Indian Association of Querétaro staged El Ramayana in collaboration with En Boca de Lobos Producciones, the first ever theatrical adaptation of the Indian epic. The production came seamless in Asian traditional performance languages with a modern staging approach, creating a visual feast for the eyes.
The cast was highly versatile and required a great deal of training owing to the dancer-actor-musician tradition of Asian theatre. The performers but had to slip between different roles, interspersed with Cambodian and Indonesian dance along with Kalari Payatt, the Indian martial art from Kerala. The performers had a firm grasp of these forms and could handle characters from god to demon to men to women with deftness and sophistication.
The use of masks and puppetry was innovative, with a variety consisting of Goleg, Katputli, and, Wayang Kulit shadow puppets. Added to the extensive movement precision and voice modulation in physical theatre, these performance languages created a necessary ensemble.
The production has been judged one of the most beautiful performances to ever take place in the city, drawing compliments from the Director of the GTICC and the Secretary of Tourism of Querétaro. For the performance, El Ramayana had spurred a new audience into the realm of a legendary Asian epic and, apparently, has been a powerful manifestation of the intricate amalgamation of the myriad theatrical traditions to set a watershed for cross-cultural performance in Mexico.
