Review of Man..an Awakening...

MAN-AN AWAKENING'

The play moved between the past and the present, the real and the imaginary. It took you from the present day school classroom to the war-stricken world of Anne Frank. It transported you from happiness to sorrow, from despair to hope. In the end, it really moved you.
'Man-an awakening', the first theatrical enterprise of Theatre Beings of Madras Christian College (MCC) was a ringing success, if the sustained applause of the packed audience in Anderson Hall, MCC, was any indication. Theatre Beings were able to produce their first play within six months of the formation. This theatre group comprises a dedicated team of theatre-loving students and teachers of MCC.
The play, which began at 6 pm on Friday, the 20th February 2004, lasted for over an hour during which time eighteen young actors performed their roles to perfection. 'Man…an awakening' was not conventional, least of all its stage. The entire hall was the stage, with some of the scenes even enacted among the audience and from the galleries above.

The play revolves around the life of Anne Frank (well enacted by Midhu James), the young German-Jewish girl, whose diary written during the Second World War poignantly relates her tragic story. A young school Boy (Ajay Kuruvilla) of today, who reads her diary is fascinated by her life. He is drawn into her world by a Mad Man (Amit Naik) and the Man’s silent alter ego (Jenny Mary Mathew), and we see scenes from Anne’s life through the Boy’s eyes, while he questions his existence and the world around him.
One of the memorable scenes in the play was the final one between Anne and her love Peter (Aswin Sridhar), enacted from opposite galleries. Another was the one which had Anne with two flower garlands symbolizing her sister Margot and Peter, where she achingly cries out at the world’s injustice: “If freedom is torture, then let that freedom die!”
Apart from the actors, what transformed the play into a brilliant success were the sound and the lighting, along with the sets and the projector (which showed several scenes from world and civil wars).
The sound and music was ably handled by Anand Kurien and Benjamin Mathew, while the lights were controlled by Ayben, Srikanth and Varun Aiyer. The props were unusual and even included battery torches and a bullock cart.
The script was original, penned by Varun Aiyer, Lincy Jacob and Midhu James. The credit for direction went to Varun Aiyer. The gifted young man was guided by Aswatthama Jd, an expert from New Delhi’s National School of Dramatics, with over twenty years of theatre experience.
Premjith Mathew of the English department was the staff-in-charge, who also was in charge of organizing and managing the various committees involved. He was assisted by Benjamin Mathew and Joshua Rozario, and an enthusiastic offstage crew.
Except for a few glitches at the beginning, the play ran smoothly. Its exceptional success heralds more innovative and enjoyable experiments in theatre by the Theatre Beings.