Dramatist Deepan Sivaraman is all set to enthral audiences in Bengaluru with his play new play ‘The Cabinet of Dr Caligari’.
Sivaraman’s new venture is an Indian adaptation of a 1920 German silent horror film directed by Robert Wiene.
Deepan’s play, which was first staged in Thrissur, follows a non-linear narrative and engages strong political propositions.
Bengaluru folks can watch the play on February 9th, 10th and 11th.
Hitha Venugopalan, one of the core committee organizers of the play in Bengaluru, tells TNM that considering the present political climate, the story of the drama is the need of the hour.
“Considering the current political scenario in our country, plays like Sivaraman’s ‘The Cabinet of Dr Caligari’ is important to raise questions against the growing fascist forces. It helps us introspect how fascism influences society and thinking.” says Hitha.
The Cabinet of Dr Caliguri is a 1920 German silent horror film that was made after World War I, and stirred up a storm by predicting the rise of Adolf Hitler as a fascist ruler.
The film revolves around a young man Francis who speaks up against Mr Caligari, a doctor, who manipulates a somnambulist called Cessare to kill people in the town.
Deepan, in his play, tries to decode the complexity of the human mind and how the socio-political climate of a society can influence it. Dr Caligari in the play says, “Freedom is not absolute”, to which Francis retorts saying, “You cannot kill my thoughts and put everybody in a mad house.”
Deepan is an Associate Professor of Performance Studies at Ambedkar University. His career spans across two decades, and he has worked on theatre productions in India and Europe.
He has also won Kerala Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. One of his notable works is ‘The Legends of Khasak’, an adaption of Malayalam writer OV Vijayan’s novel, which went on to become a critically acclaimed success in Kerala.
The cast has some of India’s finest theatre actors, including actor-producer Prakash Bare, who plays Mr Caligari and Purav Goswami as Francis. And Deepan too has a cameo in the play.
‘The Cabinet of Dr Caligari’ is produced by Performance Art Collective, Delhi, in collaboration with NECAB and Blue Ocean Theatre. The play will be performed at The Bay Amphitheatre, Bengaluru.