A tale of betrayal, tiger and forest

JustUs Repertory, a Chennai-based theatre group, launched in 2005, will be staging a play, Night’s End- a story of betrayal, abandonment and loss set in a forest.

Set in a tiger reserve in Rajasthan, Night’s End follows the journey of Krishnan Nair, who runs away from his village in Kerala and works as a forest guard in a tiger sanctuary.

Trained in Kathakali, Krishnan is revered by the local Mogiya Tribe for bringing alive the sights and sounds of the forest through his dance. Krishnan raises an abandoned tiger cub, resolving to return her to the wild with the help of his drumming partner Billu Mogiya. Night’s End is a tale of betrayal, abandonment, loss in which the actions of humans – indigenous peoples, settlers, tourists, the state, and the media- powerfully affect the fragile eco-system we inhabit.

The play is presented by SS International and supported by Kalakshetra. Written and directed by Gowri Ramnarayan, the play features Sheejith Krishna and Akhila Ramnarayan.

Gowri Ramnarayan is a veteran writer and journalist with a lifetime’s contribution to the Indian performing arts. She has also served as vocal accompanist to legendary Carnatic vocalist MS Subbulakshmi during 1982-97. Dr Ramnarayan has a PhD in comparative aesthetics from the University of Madras and has translated plays by eminent Marathi dramatist Vijay Tendulkar.

She has been a member of the Fipresci Jury of critics at international film festivals (London, Venice, Valladolid, Oslo, Mumbai).

Dancer-choreographer-actor Sheejith Krishna studied, then taught, at the Kalakshetra Foundation for 21 years. Actor-writer Akhila Ramnarayan has a doctorate in post colonial studies and has worked with JustUs Repertory since 2007. She is a founding member of Sahradaya Foundation.

Says Sheejith Krishna, who plays the protagonist Krishnan Nair, “I play the role of a forest guard who runs away from his home in Kerala and gets attached to a tiger cub and saves him  from the hands of poachers. The play is basically about the emotional turbulence of human beings and their relationship with the nature.” The actor essays the role of a Kathakali artiste.    

The play will be staged at Rukmini Arangam, Kalakshetra, Thiruvanmiyur on December 8, 7 pm. For details, call 98400 89030.