RAMANAYA

Sandbox Collective (India), Felix Mathias Ott (Germany), Tanzfabrik Berlin (Germany), Adishakti (India)

Two performers, through their playful banter find a small entry into the space occupied by the fundamental Indian epic-The Ramayana, only to get carried away by the force of what unfolds. Slowly the visual narrative expands, grows more complex and takes the two storytellers deeper into a surreal stream. As they journey in this stream, they find new and contemporary perspectives in the abstract world, and the epic reveals itself to them in many new and unexpected ways, making this journey a new Ramayana of sorts, but one with a playful wink. The audience is invited to join the performers on this roller coaster ride, and discover this new world with them. Perhaps even find their own answers to the questions they are confronted with along the way.
 
This performance explores the world of The Ramayana through live sound, video art, choreography and stage design.
 
Ramanaya is inspired by the fundamental Indian epic The Ramayana, its various retellings, and how it continues to occupy the imagination of millions of people in the Indian subcontinent and several other parts of Asia. This performance, however, is neither an adaptation, nor an interpretation. It seeks, at best, to enter a space occupied by the epic and to recreate elements from the Ramayana based on the interactions between the performers and the sound, video and stage designers.

Artistic Direction/Choreography: Felix Mathias Ott | Production: Sandbox Collective, Nimi Ravindran | Performance: Puja Sarup and Vinod Ravindran | Sound Design: Nikhil Nagaraj | Graphics: Jugal Mody | | Video: Benjamin Brix | Photography: Atul Kumar, Richa Bhavanam, Benjamin Brix | Management & Assistance: Bharavi, Deepankar Pai | Supported by: Goethe-Institut (International Coproduction Fund), Tanzfabrik Berlin, APAP, Creative Europe, BangaloREsidency programme of the Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhawan, Bangalore Shoonya, Center for Art and Somatic Practices, The Company Theatre Workspace, Kamshet Adishakti Laboratory for Theatre Art and Practice Pondicherry.