SUDRAKA'S Mitti Ki Gadi (The Little Clay Cart), which dates from 600
AD, exemplifies Sanskrit dramaturgy by holding to the unity of ''Rasa'',
roughly translated as ''flavour, feeling, taste, atmosphere, mood''. It
is easy to comprehend the notion of Rasa in this work by Naya Theatre.
The play has a spirit all of its own, robust and energetic, a romance
with a wickedly satirical edge. This mood is exacerbated by various
devices; the smell of incense, the gaudy colours of the wonderful
costumes, the racous bursts of music, the sly humour of the acting. But
this ''mood'' soon loses its edge.
A synopsis gives us the bones of the action; the love story between
Charudatta, a once bounteous Brahmin, now on his uppers and Vasantasena,
a benevolent and rich courtesan.
While the essence of the play communicates itself well it is not
enough to hold your attention for the two hours plus that this
production demands. Without the aid of dialogue it founders somewhat on
a sea of good intentions. While the general gist could be followed,
scenes seemed to stretch interminably, labouring points endlessly;
perhaps more musical interjections would have helped?
Tanvir's appearances as the villain often seemed to save the story but
in general the standard of acting seemed well below par, not helped by
the haphazard pace, which veered between near hysteria and absolute
lethargy.
An interesting evening but ultimately a disappointing one; it would be
wrong -- and is usually unnecessary -- to demand subtitles of every
non-English play but it seems seriously misguided to present work such
as this which does not easily transfer from one continent to another.
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