Kerala Theater
|| Kerala Culture || Kerala Architecture || Kerala Cinema || Kerala Fine Arts || Kerala Music || Kerala Theater ||
In the late 19th century theater in modern Malayalam began to flourish. The Hindus of Kerala have a rich tradition of Temple Theater such as Koodiyattam, Thullal and Kathakali, and so realistic drama failed to create a niche among the audience. The Portuguese came to Kerala for trade in the 15th century and started gradually their places of worship as well entertainment. A Christian theater was established by the Portuguese and later the Christians of central Kerala took initiative in staging of drama based on the history of Charlemagne, Jacob of the Old Testament, and on the lives of various saints. Passion plays and enactments were played at the churches, but this could not reach the mainstream culture.
Translation of Sakuntala and Adaptation of Neo-classical Plays :
Drama, as a literary genre came into prominence when Valia Koyil Thampuran translated Kalidasa’s Sakuntala (1882). Later various English dramas of various periods were translated. Adaptations of English neo-classical dramas of Sheridan and Goldsmith were produced by the novelist C. V. Raman Pillai. The Kurupilla Kalari (A Chaotic Place, 1909)) of CV Raman Pillai plays the model for future growth of comedy and E. V. Krishna Pillai's farces filled the missing part of a dramatic tradition in Malayalam.
Drama, a Medium of Political Culture :
Subhadrarjunam, a play written by first women dramatist, Thottakkat Ikkavamma introduced a new chapter in Kerala theatre. Drama became popular at the rise of communism as it was a medium to express the
revolutionary zeal of the emerging political culture. The progressive writers were the precursors of the new theater movement. The socialist realist play Ningalenne Kammunistakki (You Made Me A Communist, 1952) written by
Thoppil Bhasi's heralded a new phase in Kerala drama. It was performed by the Kerala People's Arts Club in nook and corner of the state. With this drama Malayalam Theater came out of age. The modernist phase started with adaptations and translations from Continental Drama with sophistication
Existential Drama and Decline Phase of Artistic Theater :
Physiological and existential drama became a part of Malayalam literature with the introduction of dozen of plays written and produced by N. N. Pillai. With efforts of Thoppil Bhasi, N. N. Pillai, and K. T. Muhammad, movable theater companies came into existence and this created a niche in the cultural fabric of the state.
Rise of Commercialized Theater :
The artistic theater phase declined at the late 60’s and the commercialized theater became prominent. The most popular commercialized groups of theater are Alleppey Theaters and Kalanilayam and various other theater groups came into existence. Some says that the patronization of these performing groups by the Hindu temples and church organizations define the weak structure of the modern Malayalam drama.
Post-modernist Drama :
Undoubtedly television and film industry have taken the place of theater. Rivaling against the main stream theater, some radical dramatists started the post-modernism concept in Kerala Theater going back to the root of traditional theater. G. Sankara Pillai, Vayala Vasudevan Pillai, Vasu Pradeep, Kadavoor Chandran Pillai, S. Ramesan Nair, Narendra Prasad and Kavalam Narayana Panickar are pioneers among them. They ushered a new concept of theater re-linking with Kerala's ancient traditions of ritual theater.
