The Madras Players
Encyclopedia
The Madras Players is an Indian amateur theatre
group and is the oldest English
-language theatre
group in Chennai
, India
. The Madras Players have staged over 240 theatre productions over the span of more than fifty years.
first hosted Robert Newton
's Othello
which featured a mix of British and Indian actors. Shortly after, the Madras Dramatic Society closed down, and bequeathed most of their props and make-up equipment to The Madras Players founding members N. S. Yamuna and Gayathri (Grace) Krishnaswamy.
The group members in the early 1960s included Thambi Kadambavan, Ammu Mathew, Girish Karnad
and Stewart Melluish. In their early days, the group staged British works like Terence Rattigan
, Shakespeare, Ibsen, Osborne
with the help of directors like John Shepherd
and Peter Coe
and with constant support from the British Council. In the 1970s, they turned their attention to the newly available English translations of Indian-language plays, a venture which was well received by the audiences. Noted Kannada director Girish Karnad
translated his plays to English for the group, who also performed translated works of playwrights like Mohan Rakesh
, Vijay Tendulkar
and Gurucharan Das.
Noted performers for the Players in this period include comedian Naushir Ratnagar, back-stage artist Mithran Devanesan and voice-artist P. C. Ramakrishna
, who has been a member of the group since 1969.
, Shreekumar Varma
's Midnight Hotel and Girish Karnad
's Hayavadana. The group's longest running play was the 2007 adaptation of Chetan Bhagat
's novel Five Point Someone.
Amateur theatre
Amateur theatre is theatre performed by amateur actors. These actors are not typically members of Actors' Equity groups or Actors' Unions as these organizations exist to protect the professional industry and therefore discourage their members from appearing with companies which are not a signatory...
group and is the oldest English
Indian English
Indian English is an umbrella term used to describe dialects of the English language spoken primarily in the Republic of India.As a result of British colonial rule until Indian independence in 1947 English is an official language of India and is widely used in both spoken and literary contexts...
-language theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
group in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The Madras Players have staged over 240 theatre productions over the span of more than fifty years.
History
The Madras Players has its origins in the Madras Dramatic Society, a theatre group exclusively for expatriates, that mounted comedies and bedroom farces in the early 1950s. In 1955, the British CouncilBritish Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
first hosted Robert Newton
Robert Newton
Robert Newton was an English stage and film actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the most popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys...
's Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
which featured a mix of British and Indian actors. Shortly after, the Madras Dramatic Society closed down, and bequeathed most of their props and make-up equipment to The Madras Players founding members N. S. Yamuna and Gayathri (Grace) Krishnaswamy.
The group members in the early 1960s included Thambi Kadambavan, Ammu Mathew, Girish Karnad
Girish Karnad
Girish Raghunath Karnad is a contemporary writer, playwright, screenwriter, actor and movie director in Kannada language...
and Stewart Melluish. In their early days, the group staged British works like Terence Rattigan
Terence Rattigan
Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan CBE was one of England's most popular 20th-century dramatists. His plays are generally set in an upper-middle-class background...
, Shakespeare, Ibsen, Osborne
Osborne
- Places :Australia* Osborne, South Australia, an industrial suburb of Adelaide in South Australia* Osborne, New South Wales, a rural community in the Riverina regionCanada* Osborne Village, a neighbourhood in Winnipeg...
with the help of directors like John Shepherd
John Shepherd
John Shepherd may refer to:*John James Shepherd , British Olympic tug of war competitor*John Shepherd , English footballer*John Shepherd , West Indian cricketer...
and Peter Coe
Peter Coe
Percy Newbold "Peter" Coe was the father and athletics coach to Sebastian Coe.-Early life:Coe was born Percy Newbold Coe in Kingston, Surrey, the eldest child of Violet and Percy Coe Sr...
and with constant support from the British Council. In the 1970s, they turned their attention to the newly available English translations of Indian-language plays, a venture which was well received by the audiences. Noted Kannada director Girish Karnad
Girish Karnad
Girish Raghunath Karnad is a contemporary writer, playwright, screenwriter, actor and movie director in Kannada language...
translated his plays to English for the group, who also performed translated works of playwrights like Mohan Rakesh
Mohan Rakesh
Mohan Rakesh was one of the pioneers of the Nai Kahani literary movement of the Hindi literature in the 1950s. He wrote the first modern Hindi play, Ashadh Ka Ek Din , which won a competition organized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi...
, Vijay Tendulkar
Vijay Tendulkar
Vijay Tendulkar was a leading Indian playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist, and social commentator primarily in Marāthi...
and Gurucharan Das.
Noted performers for the Players in this period include comedian Naushir Ratnagar, back-stage artist Mithran Devanesan and voice-artist P. C. Ramakrishna
P. C. Ramakrishna
P. C. Ramakrishna is a veteran theatre actor and voice artist based in Chennai, India. He is renowned for his role in several plays, such as Anna Weiss, Dance Like A Man, The Good Doctor and has provided voice-overs to numerous advertisements, documentaries and corporate shows...
, who has been a member of the group since 1969.
Activities
The Players notable theatre productions include adaptations of Vijay Tendulkar's KanyadaanKanyadaan
Kanyadaan is an Assamese movie directed by Munin Baruah.-Story:The story is based on a joint family of a place called Bokulpur. The protagonist of the movie is the youngest son of the family who falls in love with a girl from a wealthy background of the town. He has three brothers and three...
, Shreekumar Varma
Shreekumar Varma
Shreekumar Varma is an Indian author, playwright, newspaper columnist and poet, known for the novels Lament of Mohini , Maria's Room , Devil's Garden: Tales Of Pappudom , The Magic Store of Nu-Cham-Vu and the historical book for children, Pazhassi Raja: The Royal Rebel...
's Midnight Hotel and Girish Karnad
Girish Karnad
Girish Raghunath Karnad is a contemporary writer, playwright, screenwriter, actor and movie director in Kannada language...
's Hayavadana. The group's longest running play was the 2007 adaptation of Chetan Bhagat
Chetan Bhagat
Chetan Bhagat , is an Indian author, columnist, and speaker. Bhagat is the author of five bestselling novels, Five Point Someone , One Night @ the Call Center , The 3 Mistakes of My Life , 2 States & Revolution 2020: Love, Corruption, Ambition...
's novel Five Point Someone.