Head out for a classic Spanish play by Federico Garciu00c2u00ada Lorca

Could a woman be so singularly focussed on begetting a male child that the lines between social conditioning and innate desires blur? A question that iconic Spanish playwright Federico García Lorca explored in his 1934 play, Yerma, is perhaps more relevant today in this part of the world. And it was this resonance that led noted playwright and director Mahesh Dattani to helm an Indian adaptation of Yerma for the annual production by the students of The Drama School, Mumbai (DSM).

Mahesh Dattani

After touring Bengaluru, rural Karnataka and Pune, the play, Maati, will make its Mumbai debut across venues, starting this Saturday. "Both Jehan [Manekshaw, DSM co-founder] and I were keen on doing a classic play, and I had wanted to do a Lorca piece for years. When I revisited his writings, I felt Yerma lends itself beautifully to an Indian setting, even though Blood Wedding and The House of Bernarda Alba are plays you instantly associate with Lorca," shares Dattani.

Jehan Manekshaw

Though it is not spelt out, he informs that the adaptation is situated in the rural Haryana-Rajasthan belt, where the protagonist Maati is married to a farmer who owns a very fertile piece of land. It is her quest to be as complete as the bountiful earth that forms the premise of the play. With the desire for a male child being treated as the social norm, Dattani sees this more as a psychological exploration, for which the male, female and transgender shades of Maati are played by three actors.

"Yerma in Spanish translates to barren woman, but we decided to call the play Maati, as it is closer to Lorca's poetry. After all, earth could be dry or fertile depending on what it receives," says Dattani. Much of the research came from the students themselves, and revealed facts such as lullabies in Haryana and other regions of India are addressed only to the male child. Or, though Haryana is a patriarchal society, the concept of femininity in the body language is very different there, with a surprising degree of openness.

What does it mean for the students to stage a play under professional direction? "Dattani has lent his expertise to the school in multiple capacities. He has deep knowledge of storytelling and stagecraft. His way of running a production demands students to be professional, and yet in the back of his head, he is still somewhere a teacher. And that is the combination [we were looking for], where a professional theatre director could take students on a learning journey," says Manekshaw.

The idea of taking the play to various venues within and outside the city is also part of the pedagogical process, Ragini Singh Khushwaha, programme head, DSM, explains. "Once you have created a play for a certain space, you should know how to perform it in other venues as well. Each venue offers a different experience and has its own audience," she says. The audience of Ninasam, for instance, in rural Karnataka is not familiar with Hindi or its dialects, in which the play is performed. Yet, it had its viewers there, too. Manekshaw continues, "We treat our audience as our faculty members. Which is why, at the end of every staging of our productions, the students thank the audience specifically for their time, and providing them an opportunity to learn."

On March 31, 7 pm (The Drama School Mumbai, Mumbai Marathi Sahitya Sangha, Girgaum); April 6 (G5A, Mahalaxmi); April 18 (Experimental Theatre, NCPA)
Call 9619336336
Entry Rs 100 (NCPA and G5A; free entry at the DSM)

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