How Peter Brook’s ‘Mahabharata’ influenced creative minds across the globe
The Hindu
Dancer-choreographer Akram Khan recalls the experience of being a part of Peter Brook’s ‘Mahabharata’ ensemble
Akram Khan was 14 when he joined Peter Brook’s grand nine-hour seminal theatre production of the Mahabharata presented by a unique multi-cultural crew of 21 actors from 16 countries.
For a generation that saw B.R. Chopra’s hugely popular tele-series as the most authentic representation of the Indian epic, both the West and the East were initially intrigued when Peter, who passed away on July 3 in Paris, staged his adaptation in French with an English version. The celebrated theatre director found that the Mahabharata strongly resonated with his oeuvre and aesthetics. His interpretation, essentially Shakespearean in spirit, offered a stunning contrast between human foibles and fantasies, intrigue and emotion, war and peace. Any other director would have been intimated by its scale and complexity, but not Peter, who earned himself a place in history by undertaking such theatrical challenges.
For Akram, a second generation Bangladeshi immigrant in London, who was fighting to find his identity, the Mahabharata came as a great opportunity to boldly embrace his Asian roots. He was then training in Kathak at the insistence of his mother, though he was keener on perfecting his Michael Jackson moves.
For two years, he travelled with Peter Brook as part of the ensemble, closely observing the master and learning. Simultaneously, he internalised the ancient text. “When I left the troupe, I realised what a great influence Peter was on me and how I had been impacted by the Mahabharata,” said Akram, explaining why he keeps revisiting the epic in his productions, during an interview with The Hindu in 2018 when he toured with his final solo, ‘Xenos’.
Peter Brook focussed as much on the women in the epic as the many male characters. Not satisfied with merely bringing them under the spotlight, the genius storyteller actually recognised their power and role in the Kaurava-Pandava feud. And this reflected in Akram’s own early work, ‘Gnosis’, based on Gandhari’s story and how her maternal instinct overshadowed her primary role as a Kaurava queen.
When Akram’s ‘Until the Lions’ premiered in 2016, it felt like the dancer-choreographer just needed another excuse to showcase what he drew from his association with the inimitable Peter. This piece too was based on the Mahabharata, particularly on another strong woman, Amba (taken from Karthika Nair’s book of poetry by the same name).
Though Akram’s narrative and technique intricately blend the essence of Kathak and contemporary vocabulary, the core is defined by the vibrant but effortless style that marked Peter’s approach. On Peter’s passing, Akram states “I loved how he saw his art in the world he lived in.” In an email interview in-between a hectic performance schedule in Paris, he continues: “Being in his presence I began to look at the world as a massive stage, where stories reveal and hide, teach and help us reflect on the narratives we create from within us. It was one of those productions that changed my journey ahead as an artiste. It opened my eyes to what theatre actually is and what it can be.” Incidentally, London-born Peter relocated to Paris in the early 1970s while making a crucial mid-career move. There he founded the International Centre of Theatre Research, to develop his kind of work, which included both classics and experimental.