Cleopatra in Kathakali avatar at Auroville show tomorrow
The Hindu
Performance will be different from a typical Kathakali act, says Prabal Gupta
Over several years of engaging with the bounded realm of cross-cultural theatre, as performer, choreographer and researcher, Kathakali exponent Prabal Gupta has evolved a repertoire of solo acts in the classical dance-drama form of Kerala.
On Saturday, Prabal’s ‘Cleopatra’, a Kathakali adaptation of William Shakespeare’s ‘Anthony and Cleopatra’, will be performed at the Sri Aurobindo auditorium in Auroville as part of the golden jubilee fete of the Bharat Nivas, the India Pavilion in the international township. The performance starts at 8 p.m.
While there have been quite a few successful Kathakali adaptations of Shakespeare in the past, from King Lear to Othello, Prabal Gupta is blazing a new trail with his Kathakali adaptations centred on solo female protagonists.