June 29, Jun 30 and July 1,07, Gowri Ramnarayan's Flame of the forest, Museum Theater, Egmore, Chennai
English play on Kalki work Just Us Repetory in association with The Madras Players presents Deesh Mariwala, V Balakrishnan, Priyadarsini Govind and Mythili Prakash in the play 'Flame of the Forest', written and directed by Gowri Ramnarayan. Priyadarsini Govind plays the role of the older Sivakami in Flame of the Forest, Mythili Prakash acts as the younger Sivakami when the scene shifts 20 years back.
Inspired by Kalki Krishnamurthy's epic novel Sivakamiyin Sapatham, the story of Chalukya violence and Pallava vengeance is seen through the eyes of Sivakami, a dancer in the court of King Mahendra Pallava, in Flame of the Forest being directed by Gowri Ramnarayan and staged by Just Us Repertory in association with The Madras Players this month-end.
Synopsis of the play:
Playwright, musician, artist and philosopher king Mahendra Pallava (700 AD) lives for and with the arts, trying to create heaven on earth with exquisite works of sculpture and architecture in rock-cut temples as at Mamallapuram. When war comes to his kingdom, Mahendra wonders if he has failed in his duties as king. Unprepraed for combat as he is, can he save his people?