India Herald, January 2, 2004
“Shunya Theatre Debut’s Girish Karnad’s Hayavadana in Houston”



HOUSTON, TX - Does the Mind make the Man? Or is it his Body? Hayavdana, a play written in Kannada and translated to English by the renowned playwright, actor, director Girish Karnad, poses this very question. Under the direction of Soham Mehta, along with music direction by Sara Kumar and art direction by Shraddha Srivastav, Houston-based Shunya brings Hayavadana to the local theatre scene. Shunya’s production weaves comedy, tragedy, music, and magic creating a unique and remarkable theatre experience. Hayavadana runs from January 16 to February 8, 2004 at The Venue.

Based on the ancient Sanksrit story Kathasaritsagara and influenced by Thomas Mann’s Transposed Heads, Hayadavana centers on a love triangle between an intelligent yet insecure pandit, his fickle and self-indulgent wife, and his good-looking but dense laborer best friend. But this is not a typical Bollywood love triangle. Just like John Woo’s Face/Off, before the first act is over, the two men find themselves with their heads swapped! Now Padmini has to answer the question: Who is her real husband, and the real father of her child? Is it Devadatta’s brilliant head atop Kapila’s strappling body, or Kapila’s hollow head atop Devadatta’s weak body? And what defines the personality of such a hybrid man – the head or the body?

But there is more to Shunya’s production than just the plot. An eight member ensemble provides live original music throughout the performance. In the magical world of Hayavadana, a traveling theatre troupe, talking dolls, a horse-headed man, and an appearance by Mother Kali herself, all find a place in the dark comedy. The cast members and the musicians brilliantly convey the comic lightheartedness and the philosophic issues of the play. Chaitan Jain is Devadatta, Danny Uddin is Kapila, and Eswari Raja is Padmini. The horse-headed Hayadavana is played by Rajesh Venkateswaran, and Guru Singh, Meenu Mangal, Yaksha Bhatt, Rajeshwari Yog, Radhika Dinavahi, and Sandhya Krishan round out the cast. The play’s comic and dramatic points are beautifully heightened by the gifted musicians: Sara Kumar, Arundhati Shenoy, Mandar Sane, Kajal Gandhi, Sameer Vyas, Rohan Wagle, Ashok Ayyar, and Dinavahi.

In just one year of existence, Shunya has introduced innovative South Asian plays in English to a diverse audience and provided a voice to the South Asian community. The theatre troupe is run as a non-profit organization by local artists.

Tickets are available online at www.tickets2events.com. Friday and Saturday performances are $13 in advance. Tickets for the matinee Sunday performances are $10 in advance. All tickets are $15 at the door. To maintian an intimate theatre experience, Shunya plays several shows in very small theatres. So seating is very limited and advance reservations are highly recommended. For more information log onto www.shunyatheatre.org