1.0 introduction 1.1.1 the evolution of modern malayalam theatre a proper evolutionary
TRANSCRIPT
1.0 I N T R O D U C T I O N
1.1.1 The Evolution of Modern Malayalam Theatre
A proper evolutionary history of modern Malayalam Theatre
begins with the publication of the translation of Sakuntalam by
Valiyakoi Thampuran in 1893. Its further development has been
independent of the indigenous tradition and culture, as seenin
its susceptibility to different theatre strains, native as
well as foreign. But most of the ritual performing arts of
Kerala, like Theyyam, Mudiyettu, Padayani, Koodiyattom etc.
with their own performing texts, audience and literature, have
a developmental history rooted in the indigenous traditions.
The first social play in Malayalam may be said to be
Mariamma (1903) by Kocheeppan Tharakan. Then there was the
beginning of Tamil Theatre- tradition which owes its origin to
the revival of Karnatic Music, by the then King of Travancore,
Swathy Thirunal. During this time the decorative elements of
Parsi Theatre also had been fairly pronounced on the Theatre of
Malayalam. Struck by the feeling that this imitative trend was
inferior to the native culture,some outstanding playwrights of
the time wrote some notable plays of the early period. Some of
the important plays are Sangeethanaishatham by T.C. Achutha-
menon, Sadarma by K.C. Kesava Pillai, Pakkanarcharitham by
Vidwan Kelunayar. It was at this time that the 'Chavuttunatakam'
(N-1) and 'Kalaripayattu' (N-2) elements found their way into
the theatre of Malayalarn. While opposing that the
origin of Malayalam Theatre can be traced in
Kathakali , 'Koothu or 'Sankakkali' , C.J. Thomas tries to
trace it in Sanskrit,Tamil and English traditions (1950:17-27).
He claims that a successful theatre form came into existence
only with the coming of the Portughese, in 'Jenova Natakam'
('Chavittunatakam'). A study of the plays of this period does
not reveal the theatrical functions of rituals being utilised.
Plays with Sanskrit or Tamil influence introduced 'Nandi',
'Rangapooja' and 'Vidushaka'. But in them the introduction of
rituals was only on the peripheral level. In Mariamma which is
considered to be one of the first accomplished play in Malayalam-
an exorcist ritual was introduced with the aim of giving an
insight in to the social vagaries of the time.(^-3) But the
theatre of the time did not expose any awareness of the ritual
functions in their deeper levels of actor, audience or other
elements.
The history of Malayalam Theatre from 1900 to 1930 shows
the new flourishing of '~an~eethanatakas' with the influence of
Sanskrit tradition that continued for sometime.(^-4) But
disgusted with this, playwrights like C.V. Raman Pillai and
E.V.Krishna Pillai began to write farces. No ritual influence on
the theatre of Malayalam is perceived here. The period from
1930-40 clearly shows a Western influence especially through the
translation of Shakesperean plays. Here also the importance of
the theatrical functions of rituals was unknown to it. It was in
this period that social reformative plays began to appear. Plays
like Adukkalayil Ninnu Arangathekku (1930) by V.T.Bhattathiripad,
Pattabakki (1937) by K. Damodharan, Rithumathi (1940) by
M.P.Bhattathirippadu belong to this period. In Rithumathi there
is an exorcist ritual scene introduced as part of the play. But
it is not for any theatre functions of the ritual, but only to
show the social relevance of it. In this realastic period,
rituals were perceived as primitive, defunct, pre-dramatic
performance that had no theatrical functions. No indigenous
traditions are visible either in the actor's or audience's
concept. But it should be commented that in this period, the
power of the theatre medium was seen in the involvement of the
audience.
The period from 1940-50 in Malayalam Theatreshows a revival.
The emergence of a new phase in Malayalam Theatre with a direct
influence of the Western tradition came in to existence. It was
then that N.Krishna Pillai with his visible influence of Ibsen
began to write plays,. centred on the psychological problems
of man and society, like Kanyaka (1944) Bhagnabhavanam (19491,
Balabalam (1946) etc. But no application of rituals or
theatrical functions of rituals is seen in his theatre-concept.
It was in this period that another land-mark in Malayalam
Theatre, Samatwavadi (1944) by Pulimana Parameswaran Pillai
appeared (N-5 ) During this time the theatre saw the emergence
of C.J. Thomas as one of its strongest exponents. He was also
influenced by the European traditions, especially of the Greek
Theatre. Ayyappappanikkar points out that (1978-79:25) in C.J.'s
play Avan-Veendum Varunnu (1948) the introduction of 'Upadesi'
(Preacher) marks a new beginning of the ritual influence in
Malayalam Theatre. The entrances and exists of this character,
his choric function in the theatre, revives ritual memories.
They provide the whole play with.a metaphysical atmosphere. His
Crime No:27, Amanukshan - Nee Thanne etc. are landmarks in
Malayalam Theatre.
The period of Malayalam Theatre from 1950-60 is very rich
in its output. The stress on the socio-political aspect by the
theatre, is the particular trend in this period. The emergence
of Thoppil Bhasi with the famous theatre t.roupe of K.P.A.C. is
the most important event of this period. But the uses and
functions of rituals as a theatre-device was not seen here. It
was in this period some notable dramatists like P.J. Antony,
S.L. Puram Sadanandan, N.N. Pillai, K.T. Muhammed etc. made
their debut in Malayalam Theatre. But no awareness of
indigenous culture is traceable in their Theatres. All of them
stressed on the realistic and commercial aspects of theatre.
But it is to be noted here that it was in the latter half of
this period serious discussions and symposiums were conducted on
Malayalam Theatre and the awareness was visible that Malayalam
Theatre was lacking something new and the spectators were fed up
with the prevailing trends. Consequently, a few dramatists like
C.N. Sreekantan Nair, G. Sankara Pillai, Kavalam Narayana
Panikkar etc. tried some innovate techniques in theatre. Thus
the experimental phase of Malayalam Theatre began.
It is seen in this period that a new approach to Malayalam
Theatre was taken. It was also as a part of the revival of the
indigenous tradition of the Country in all spheres including art
and literature. There arose also the feeling that the Western
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form was not sufficient to give full dramatic expression of the
indigenous themes. Theatre men like Mohan Rakesh of the Hindi
Theatre, Vijay Tendulkar of Marathi Theatre, Girish Karnad of
Kannada Theatre, C.N.Sreekantan Nair and G.Sankara Pillai of
Malayalam Theatre aspired for an indigenous form. Thus they
began to dream of a meaningful theatre with a new indigenous
culture. They began to be acquainted with the basic
changes of the theatre-concepts in the West especially of
Antonin Artaud of France, Perzy Grotowski of Poland and others.
Especially Artaud tried to go back to the ritual tradition of
man in Myths, exorcisms, 'mantravadas' etc. and to absorb their
inner spirit to reintroduce them in to theatre. "The call also
contained an urge for a more sacred performer- audience
relationship reminding one,of the spirit of participation of the
whole clan of very ancient rituals". (Nair, PKV, 1992:15). As
Malayalam Theatre has a great theatre-tradition based on
rituals arts, the ritual concepts of the actor and audience
began to tell upon it. During this time theatre workshops by
important theatre personalities like M.Govindan, G.Sankara
Pillai, C.N. Sreekantan Nair, Kavalam NarayanaPanikkaretc. were
conducted in different parts of Kerala, and this new aspect of
theatre was discussed in detail. The result was the call for an
indigenous theatre in Kerala which is being called 'Thanathu
Nataka Vedi'. Thus the theatre workers began to look to the
rich traditions of the ritual arts of Kerala for developing a
new trend in the Modern Malayalam Theatre, a new concept based
on the actor-audience relationship. The aesthetic concept of
the actor preparation, building up of an actor-audience
relationship and the stress on the cxternal bcoutics 01 thcsc
ritual arts fired their imagination, qiving inspiration for the
evolution of a new theatre-form. The first theatre genius who was
thrilled by this innovative idea was C.N. Sreekantan Nair (C.N)
who decided to orient his plays according to this new concept and
his Kali is considered to be the landmark in this direction. The - other two who responded to the urge was Kavalam Narayana Panikkar
(Kavalam) and G. Sankara Pillai (G.S),the ritual concepts in them
being discussed in the Thesis (Ch. V) .The culture was passed on
to some of the outstanding playwrights of the period,
R.Narendraprasad, Vayala ~asudevanPillai, P. Balachandran, K.J.
Baby, N.Pra@hakaran and others.
1.1.2 The Investigation-points.
The central point of investigation is the extent to which, and
the elements -bywhich the ritual arts influence Modern Malayalam
Theatre. The period selected is from 1967 to 1990 as the change
in this direction in the theatre of Malayalam is strongly visible
in this period. Two ritual performing arts Theyyam and Mudiyettu
are selected for detailed study to trace the theatrical elements
in them,like the actor-concepts, the audience-actor relationship
and the ideas behind the stress on the theatre-externals like
costume, stageprops and the use of music and light. Other ritual
performing arts like Padayani, Koodiyattom and Kathakali are
observed and studied, but only the references to them are made as
they are very vast to be included. The relevance of the study is
related to the innovative theories and experiments of Antonin
Artaud and Perzy Grotowsky the great theatre-exponents of the /
West, whose theatre-ideas, when analysed, are found to be on
ritual concepts.
How the actor-concept in its manifold dimension works in
the selected ritual performing arts, is a point of investigation.
In the preparing of the performer, physical as well as spiritual
training is vital. How this idea influences the indigenous
theatre and the theatres of Artaud and Grotowski is taken for
study. The experience of the performer in ritual arts during
performance and its connection to the actor in a theatre is a
resourceful area of study. The transformation occurring in the
performer of the ritual arts during performance is comparable to
the transformation of the actor in the theatre. What and how is
the limit is to be traced. The responsive degree of the audience
to the performance while witnessing a ritual art is to be
comparatively assessed with that of the audience in a theatre.
The open-air performance of the ritual arts impart into the
audience a different experience with that of the audience who
witness a play in a proscenium stage. Modern Malayalam Theatre
shows a direct influence of the ritual arts in the peripheral
level of costume adaptation, use of stage- props, lighting etc.
The extent to which this influence is working is also a subject
of enquiry. In order to trace this, the theatical functions
of these elements in the ritual arts are to be analysed.
The two ritual arts selected, Theyyam and Mudiyettu
are to be subjected t o detailed investigation
with the above perspective. To trace their influence on the
Modern Malayalam Theatre, seven representative plays of seven
.representative playwrights of the period are analysed in detail.
The scrutiny focuses on the extent to which the elements of the
theatre are influenced by the ritual arts. Myths and rituals are
invariably connected. The eternal force of the performance of
most of the ritual arts like Theyyam, Mudiyettu or Padayani is
the Myths upon which they are built. The inevitable connection
of myth andritual from the point of view of theatre is alsoan
area of study.
The main area of investigation, thus, is mainly the
internal levels of actor, audience and theatre external concepts
in the ritual arts and the extent to which they have their
telling upon the Modern Malayalarn Theatre. The relevance of
these to the Western Theatre concepts of Artaud and Grotowski
are also analysed in the broad frame work of the study. Their
theatres are to be studied deeply to draw the comparison with
the above purpose. It is pertinent because the essence of their
theories about the actor, actor-audience relationship and the
significance of the other theatre - externals have been
anticipated in the ritual arts of Kerala. The ways in which the
ritual artsoperate in the light of these theories have also to
be explored.
1.1.3:.~ustification ~. of the investigation.
There are several articles and speeches about the influence
of ritual arts on tho Modorn Malnynlaln ThcaLro. J.rl arl orLiclo
'Orunatakavedijanikkunnu' ( A new theatre is born') C.N.
Srookantan Nair, (1968r343-35G) drcallle oT an l~~dl~cr~ous LllcnLrc
of Kerala. In his famous article, 'Thanathunataka Vedi' hi983
(72) : 137-423 he tells about his ambition of building up a
theatre-tradition based on the indigenous ritual performing arts
of Kerala like Theyyam, Thira, Padayani, Kathakali etc. "I feel
that our theatre should as far as possible absorb in to it,
elements of Kathakali and Thirayattom. Let those who want to get
rid of the Keralite elements from Kathakali, take the
audiovisual elements from Padayani and Thira and create a new
theatre". (1972:49).
In the article 'Natankalayude Vyaptiyum Praptiyum' (The
range and reach of indigenous arts) Kavalam Narayana Panikkar
(1975 July : 3-12) deals in detail with the theatrical elements
of ritual arts like Theyyam, Mudiyettu and Padayani and points
out that for the powerful development of Malayalam Theatre, it
should have its roots in the indigenous art-forms. Panikkar in
another article ('1978 May: 15-19) 'Thanathunadaka Vedi'
(Indigenous theatre) describes the background in which the new
trend in Malayalam Theatre developed. He compares it with the
influence in Artaud, of the ritual theatre of the East like the
Japanese Kabuki, Balinese dance-forms etc. "It is in ritual artsJ
in their performance power connected with 'geetha', 'nritya, 'vadya'
and other adaptable elements of theatre that we have to discover
our workshop of 'Thanathunadaka Vedi'. (1978 May:17). In an
article 'Anustanakalayum Malayala Nadakavediyuq' (Ritual arts
and the theatre of Malayalam) (1978 - 79 : 24 - 27) Ayyappa
Panikkar underlines the need for studying the influence of
ritual performing arts on Modern Malayalam Theatre. He
comments that only a detailed investigation would reveal the
extent to which the ritual arts have influenced it.
G. Sankara Pillai also visualised the realisation of an
indigenous theatre based on the ritual performing arts of
Kerala. In his innumerable articles like 'Adhunika Nadakathile
Reethikaranam' (Stylisation in Modern Theatre) (1990 : 144),
'Nadodi Samskaravum Nadakavum' (Indigenous culture and theatre)
(1990 : 2021, 'Arthapoornamaya Nadakavedi' (Meaningful theatre)
(1990 : 419),'KaEiyumKooliyum Adhunikanatakavum' (Kali, ~ooli
and the modern theatre) (1990:384) he airs his views about the
new theatre-culture of Kerala. In an article "The dramatic
elements in Theyyam" A.K. Nambiar (1979 : 17-20) describes the
theatre elements in Theyyam in different aspects of actor,
audience and spectacle and points towards a theatre-culture
based on this. Krishna Kaimal, Aiymanom (1989 : 188 - 9) also comments on the sustainment of ritual tradition in the Modern
Theatre of Kerala. Inspite of these, no concerted attempt has
been made to study, the extent to which the ritual concepts of
actor preparation, actor - audience relationship and the
functional levels of theatre externals like the costume, stage-
props, music and lighting, influence the Modern Malayalam
Theatre.
Here, the study concentrates first of all, on rituals and
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the connection of rituals with theatre, with special'"f~cus on
their theatrical functions. The concepts and culture behind the
actor- formation in ritual arts have their influence on the
theatre of the modern phase of Malayalam. There are comparisons
during performances of the performer's psyche in ritual arts and
that of the actor in the theatre. Also there are parallels in
the psychic transformations of the audience in ritual arts and
that in the Nodern Theatre. These are to be compared and
contrasted. Such an attempt is made.
The function of rituals in its original settings has been
lost in the modern context. They had their own theatrical roles.
But in the value-eroded life of today, they do not fulfil the
original function. The devotional or the sacrificial aspects in
the ritual arts of Theyyam, Mudiyettu, or Padayani are. lost
today, the economic or political aspects gained upperhand. The
essential values of the theatredits actor, audience and external
elements are affected. Our approach to the study is to
understand the variations affected in the value-system found in
the actor-concept, audience building up and in the designing of
the external and sensuous aspects. Drawing inspiration from
ritual arts, a new culture in the formulation of the actor,
actor-audience relationship and other aspects of theatre are
being evolved today. The experiments have proved that the
theatrical elements of ritual arts have decisive roles in
creating a new and powerful trend in Modern Malayalam Theatre.
It is also, therefore, important to know how far these
experiments have been successful.
The revival of theatre by returning to the past tradition
of performance culture, is not only a phenomena of Malayalam
Theatre. In its wider perspective, it is one of the strongest
Eastern and Western theatrical experiments today. Antonin Artaud
attempted to revive the French theatre by his innovative ideas
of returning to oriental culture, rejecting the cxistiny
Occidental forms in art and literature. His main inspiration was
the ritual ~erforming art-form of the Balinese. One of the most
influential theatre-figures of the 20th century is Jerzy
Grotowski, the polish director. His poor theatre-concepts of
the actor and the actor-audience relationship come very near to
those in ritual arts. The vital parallels in the ideas of Artaud
and Grotowski on the actor, audience and other theatre-concepts
with those in the ritual arts of Kerala open up new avenues for
research. The modern theatre man of Malayalam;.irrespective Of
the play-wright, director or the actor is aware of these
parallels in the above modern Western Theatre ideas and their
own indigenous art-forms. Therefore, there is justification for
the investigation of how these parallels form the basis of the
formulation of their theatre-concepts.
1.2.0. Methodology.
1.2.1 Structural analysis.
A structural as well as comparative study is made by the
analysis of the various theatrical experiments . of Artaud
and Grotowski to facilitate their relevance to the modern
Malayalam Theatre. The analysis concentrates on Artaud's
inspiration of the Eastern Theatre in the concept of the actor
preparation, actor-auddience relation and other external theatre-
elements. Grotowski's world famous experiments on actor
formation, forging of a new dimension in actor-audience
relationship,are analysed to trace the ritual concepts in them.
The applications of these elements in some of his practical
works. like the presentation of the plays, are studied. In the
same perspective the two ritual arts Theyyam and Mudiyettu are
analysed. Then their common ground is searched out.
The critical studies of seven representative plays in the
above angle, are made. The production as well as the publication
of these plays fall under the period selected. The plays
selected are - Kali by C.N.Sreekantan Nair, Avanavankadampa by
Kavalam Narayanan Panikkar, Mudevi Theyyam by G.Sankara Pillai,
Agni by Vayala Vasudevan Pillai, Sauparnika by R.Narendra Prasad,
Nadugaddhika by K.J.Baby and Pulijanmam by N.PRabhakaran. The
plays are closely analysed to trace the ritual influence on
three levels, actor, spectator and theatre-externals. Some times
suggestions in this respect are made by the playwriyht himself
of the ritual influence,on the movements of the characters,
dialogue presentation, use of costumes, stage props, music and
lighting. The ritual concepts of Artaud and Grotowski are
studied likewise by going through the new trends in Western
Theatre in general and their theatres in particular. The
playwrights' or directors' ritual influence may be available
from other sourcec of their writings, books and articles which
are made extensive use for gathering the data.
All the playwrights selected are trend-setters in their
own ways in the modern Malayalam Theatre with their new
innovative works inspired by the indigenous theatre-culture.
The plays selected are widely recognized. Being an indirect
exprimental attempt in reviving the indigenous culture of
Kerala, Kali is regarded as a land-mark in the Modern Malayalam Theatre. In its deep as well as peripheral structures,
Avanavankadampa shows a direct influence of the ritual arts of
Padayani, and Theyyam. How a playwright can create play with
ritual influence is illustrated in Mudevi Theyyam. Agni which
won the Kerala Sangeetha Natak Akademy Award in 1983 is an
example of a play with ritual qualities in its deeper layers
than in the peripheral. The whole atmosphere of Sauparnika is
ritualistic as the very theme of it demands it. It won the
Kerala Sangeetha Natak Akademy Award in 1985. Nadugaddhika is '
taken for analysis, as it is an epoch-making play in the
whole history of Malayalam Theatre. Making use of the
Gaddhika tribal- ritual of Adivasis in Vayanad, the play
becomes a perfect model of how the modern life of man can be
interpreted through the theatre-medium, making use of rituals.
The last play selected is Pulijanmam. It is a theatrical
recreation of a well-known Theyyam-performance 'Pulimaranja
Thondachan'. It is an example of how ritual arts like-t hey yam
can be directly taken to theatre demolishing the outerstructure,
and preserving the theatre-elements in it. The play also won the
Sangeetha Nataka A,kademy Award in 1988. After analysing these
plays structurally, a generalisation is made. A comparative
study is made in the sense that, after finding out the ritual
elements in the plays, they are compared to the ritual concepts
in the theatres of Artaud and Grotowski to draw their relevance.
1.2.2. Observation.
A basic explanatoryand comparativeenquiryrcquirasin depth , treatment of the variables, and accordingly observation is
chosen as one of the methods of data collection. The
observations of Theyyam, Mudiyettu and Padayani are made
closely. Every year,the festival season' of these ritual arts
generally starts from January to April. What is observed mainly
is the celebration of important Theyyam3 in Northern Kerala,
Kannur District. The Kolam Thullal of '~allikkodu ~ha~avathi'
temple and Padayani performance in '~adamrnanitta Bhadrakali
temple were closely observed and studied from the theatrical and
performance-point of view. Mudiyettu which is usually performed
in 'Bhadrakali temples of central Kerala has been subjected to
constant observation. The resplendent theatrical elements in it
are made in to close scrutiny to draw their parallels in the
modern Malayalam Theatre. By and large, the author used
ethnographic field strategies especially participat-observation
of these ritual arts. At varied intervals of time in the past,
the presentations of the plays selected were witnessed by the
author. The observer also had the opportunity of participating
in a Drama Workshop in the school of Drama Thrissur in the early
eighties, for about two months organised under the auspices of
U G C for college teachers. This enabled him to have a direct
experience of the presentation of many plays with ritual
influence. This also provided him the opportunity of associating
with renowned theatre personalities like G. Sankara Pillai,
S.Ramanujam, P.K.Venukuttan Nair, M.Govindan etc. The researcher
also attended a Koodiyattom festival for five days in the
Grurukulam, Iringalakkuda during the second year of the
research, to have a close observation of the theatre-elements in
this ritual art-form. Frequent witnessing of the performing
ritual art Kathakali enabled the reseacher to collect the ritual
elements in their varied theatrical aspects.
During December '92, the researcher participated ina national
workshop in Theatre sponsored by the UGC in Dwanyalok, Mysore
where he presented a paper on the ritual theatre of Kerala.
During December '93 he spent a week with the famous South India
Director, S. Ramanujam, in the school of Drama, Thrissur and
directly experienced the creation of ritual sequences during
rehearsals. He spent so many days in the rehearsal camps of the
'Sopanam' theatre of Kavalam, the outstanding indigenous theatre
of Kerala and closely observed how rituals are recreated during
rehearsals. Also, he was a participant in the ten-day workshop
conducted by 'Bhasaberi', Tripunithura (a prominent amateur
theatre-troupe of Kerala) where a play with the influences of
Theyyam, Theyya Theyyam was produced through improvisation by
Kavalam. He also spent about a week with the tribals of Vayanadu
to study the tribal ritual Gaddhika so as to study the theatre
in it. Also, the observer witnessed the final drama competitions
conducted by Kerala Sangeetha Nataka ~kademy for the last three
years to study the cross section of the present day Malayalam
Theatre. The majority of the plays showed a trend . to go back
to the indigenous theatre-culture of Kerala.
1.2.3 Interview
The researcher depended very much on interviews for data
collectio~. The outstanding authorities of the ritual arts of
Theyyam (A.K. Narnbiar), Padayani (Kadammanitta Vasudevan Pillai)
Mudiyettu (Pazhoor Damodhara Marar) are interviewed at length
and data on authority are collected. Many performers in these
ritual arts are interviewed to get primary information . Living authors and directors of the plays selected, are interviewed
exhaustively to collect data, about their concepts of ritual
arts from the theatrical point of view, and their bearings on
them. (Appendix I) All the information was recorded then and
there. Similarly many of the outstanding amateur theatres of
Kerala which are actively engaged in to discover an in digenous
theatre culture, like 'Sopanam', 'Rasika', Abhinaya',
'Natakayogam', 'Bhasaberi', lvaikom Thirunal', 'Thrissur Roots'
etc. are contacted and interviewed. All of the informants
selected are directly associated with the ritual arts and modern
Malayalam Theatre. They are very prominent in their .respective
fields and most of them are award winners in the Kerala
Sangeetha Nataka Akademy level. Also, the young< and the.old
generations of the artists are selected for interview with the
purpose of comparative study in the changing circumstances of
ritual arts and theatre.
1.3>0 Analysis of data
The data are analysed under three aspects actor, audience
and external aspects of performance in ritual arts and in
theatre. Each of these elements are subjected to three different
types of critical treatments keeping ritual elements that
thread them allc together. The ritual is analysed, through
authoritive definitions given by and also its connection with
theatre is studied exhaustively with the support of great
masters like Artaud, Grotowskg, Peter Brook and Richard
Schechner. Artaudian and Grotowskian ritual concepts of theatre
are analysed on three levels, the actor-preparation, audience
concept and their ideas on theatre -externals. This is done
through data collected from authentic books written by them and
written on them. The data collected by witnessing the
performance of Theyyam, Padayani and Mudiyettu are analysed to I trace the theatrical elements in them. Similarly, data
collected from witnessing the performance of the selected plays
and also through interviews of actors, directors and playwrights I
are analysed in the above perspective. I
1.3.1 Reporting.
The ritual arts selected for study are very ancient with
well-established sub-culture and local specialised art-forms.
There was one difficulty in reporting, ie to find English
equivalent for many of the vernacular terms. The Malayalam
terms are so numerous in the reporting that a glossary at the
end of the Thesis is added. As the study tends to be very vast,
the volume of materials is to be condensed in the Thesis. For
the sake of brevity, many details have to be deleted. Lengthy
interviews given by the authorities on ritual arts, by the
playwrights on the concepts of rituals and their application in
their plays, by performers and actors about their experiences,
are to be edited to the point.
1.4 Organisation of the Thesis.
Chapter - I This introductory chapter mainly consists of four
parts, a very brief history of the Malayalam Theatre up to the
period of study, the formulation and justification of the
investigation, the Methodology adopted for the research and an
epitome of the organisation of the Thesis.
Chapter - I1 It is a study of rituals, their definitions, origin and functions. The connection of rituals with theatre, how
theatre originates from ritual and rituals originatefrom theatre
are studied. The actor, audience and other theatre- concepts in
the ritual performing arts and theatre are analysed.
Chapter 111- It is a study on the ritual concepts in the
theatres of Artaud and Grotowski. It is to trace how these
concepts originate from their theatres. This analysis is done
on three levels, on the actor., audience relationship and other
theatre -externals.
Chapter IV- The ritual arts Theyyam and Mudiyettu are
selected and studied in detail to trace the theatre-elements in
them. This is to show the tendency of ritual arts to move
towards theatre and how their theatre-culture influencesmodern
Malayalam Theatre.
Chapter V- The first phase of the modern Malayalam Theatre with
ritual influence is taken for study. For this, representative
three plays, C.N.'s - Kali, G.S. 's Mudevi Theyyam, Kavalam's
Avanavan Kadampa are selected. Their different ritual concepts
on actor, audience and other theatre-externals are evaluated.
ChapterVF The second phase of the modern Malayalam Theatre
with ritual influence is studied. For this, four younger
playwrights' viz, Vayala Vasudevan Pillai's Agni, Narendra
Prasad ' s Sauparnika, K.J. Baby ' s Naduqaddhika and
N.Prabhakaranls Pulijanmam are selected. An attempt to trace
the extent to which the ritual concepts of the actor, audience
and other theatre externals like costume, stage - props, application of music and light influence them is made here.
Chapter VII
It is the concluding Chapter. Assessment of the
research and its findings are summarised here. It is traced
that in so many respects, the modern Malayalam Theatre draws
its sustenance from the indigenous performing ritual arts of
Kerala.
Appendix- -- I
Excerpts from the interviews with authorities on ritual
arts, ritual performers, select playwrights, directors and
actors.
Appendix - I1 - -
A Chart showing select plays with ritual influence in
the modern Malayalam Theatre of the period of study.
Appendix - I11 - -- An edited list of authorities/performers/playwrights/
directors/actors contacted and interviewed.
Appendix- - -- IV
A Glossary of Malayalam Terms
Foot Notes.
Books cited and References