Archives
Contribute
| JeanÂClaude Carrière’s Mahabharata |
Press Release
09/23/2014
Mahabharata
An intimate retelling of the world’s greatest story
One of the greatest storytellers of our time —JeanÂClaude Carrière, tells one of the greatest stories of all time — the epic poem The Mahabharata, at the majestic Paramount Theater on October 25 and October 26, 2014.
Accompanied by a sitarist, JeanÂClaude holds the audience captive for a magical 90 minutes, as he unfolds his adaptation of The Mahabharata, telling the story of a dynasty building up to a Great War in the fourth generation. Like a traditional bard telling the ancient story on a village stage to an audience intimately familiar with it, JeanÂClaude Carrière reprises the performance to a modern cosmopolitan audience.
Given the importance of the Story and the legendary status of the StoryÂTeller, this production will strongly resonate with a wide range of audience of all ages and nationalities, and particularly the South Asian community, Francophiles and patrons of the theater.
JeanÂClaude Carrière : Writer, Director, Actor
JeanÂClaude Carrière will be the recipient of an honorary Oscar by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences 2014
This eighty two year old, selfÂprofessed ‘tramp’, if at all one can call him that, is one of the most successful story tellers of our time, with work spanning six decades, each more prolific than the last. As Vinita Belani, the Artistic Director of Enacte Arts, the producers of the show, likes to say, “I’ve known JeanÂClaude for twenty years, but from a time well before that he is known as a scriptwriter, playwright, novelist, actor, and director. He can legitimately claim to be the Master Storyteller of the greatest of all stories, the Mahabharata.â€
His decorated 170+ film script writing career includes collaborations with other such greats as Jacques Tati, Luis Buñuel, Milos Forman and Philip Kaufman, resulting in his – being nominated for and winning a slew of laurels – Oscars, BAFTA Awards, 7 d’Ors, Palme d’Ors and Grand Prize of the Jury at Cannes , Césars, National Society of Film Critic Awards and Writers Guild of America Awards from whom he also received the Laurel Award for Screen Writing Achievement in 2000.
His mammoth theatrical version of The Mahabharata was written in collaboration with the legendary director Peter Brook. He documents his three years of travel in India in the book In Search of the Mahabharata, during which he digs deep into the natya traditions still alive in the villages and small towns of India. As Kamesh Aiyer, Enacte Arts Boston liaison, says in his Amazon review – “What [he] discovered was that the Mahabharata cannot be discovered  it exists as the idea of India, and everywhere they went in India, the idea of the Mahabharata was the idyll of the people. The Mahabharata as idea exists in the warp and the weft of Indian life in a way that nothing else does. All movements in India sooner or later come to the Mahabharata for validation and inspiration, and there they become Indian.†What he presents in this telling is a a sincere distillation of the philosophies of India to a Western audience. Over the course of the last 30 years he has developed a deep, unique and personal relationship with this grand epic. It is this relationship that makes the Story Telling Event all the more compelling.
The Mahabharata
Traditionally, Hindus consider the Mahabharata as Itihaasa (“It Happened Thusâ€), not scripture. Composed as an oral epic, it was written down about two thousand years ago – 100,000 couplets as well as prose, making it ten times the size of the Iliad and the Odyssey.
It includes, as digressive as well as explanation, a trove of philosophical and devotional material including the Bhagavad Gita, considered by many as the gospel of Hinduism. Told as a local tale through the length and breadth of India and its neighboring countries (as far as Indonesia), the Mahabharata is the definitive expression of the “Indian†way of life.
About EnActe Arts
EnActe Arts is a U.S. based, international theatre company that produces contemporary theatrical projects which explore multicultural issues with particular reference to the South Asian Diaspora.
EnActe Arts provides a platform for upcoming performing and directorial talent to practice and grow their craft; a platform for playwrights from South Asia and the South Asian Diaspora to present contemporary, new works; and a platform for writers from across the globe tackling South Asian issues and stories.
EnActe Arts was registered in 2012 as a 501(c)(3) non profit organization. Since then, EnActe has produced events in Houston and the San Francisco Bay Area and has upcoming events in the 2014Â2015 season in New York, Boston, Chicago, Houston and the San Francisco Bay Area.
About Arts Emerson
ArtsEmerson brings many of the world’s legendary and pioneering artists to Boston, presenting work that won’t be seen elsewhere in New England.
The Paramount Center’s theaters enliven theatrical real estate dating from before the American Revolution. While bringing the buildings back to life, Emerson College lovingly preserved historic treasures from those original buildings, and painstakingly returned the 1933 Paramount Mainstage to its original art deco appearance. The 1903 Cutler Majestic Theatre was magnificently restored for its 100th birthday. Both venues preserve, interpret, and celebrate Boston’s proud theatrical past while functioning beautifully as modern theaters.
A Show Not To Be Missed
Whether you are of South or SouthÂeast Asian origin, or a theater aficionado, or a storyÂtelling fan, or a history buff, or one interested in human preÂhistory, or a philosopher in search of an ethical basis for acting, or plain old J. Doe flipping channels looking for a soap, the Mahabharata will have something for you.
It is a smashing good tale, to paraphrase Rumpole of Old Bailey. It is the oldest soap opera in the world with a 100 episodes. It has both swords and sorcery, both gods and demons, both the beginning and the end of the world. As a play, it breaks the third wall (addresses the audience), breaks the fourth wall (explains the reasons for everything), and if I may innovate, breaks the fifth wall (the author has a role), and, yes, the sixth wall (inviting the audience to question their reality). It has an author who has a role in the story, both in the beginning and at the end. It has stories within stories with stories like a Russian Matryoshka doll. It has a story that asks which is real – the dream or the dreamer.
Meet the Author
At least one of the shows will be followed by a backstage opportunity offered to VIP ticket holders (a steal at $90) to meet JeanÂClaude Carrière while elegantly sipping chai and assorted snacks.
Individual and Corporate Sponsorship
EnActe Arts brings to the US stage high quality, innovative, and unusual works that relate to South Asia. Our sponsoring members make it possible to keep ticket prices affordable to the extent we can. We welcome both individual and corporate sponsors – these come with some free tickets to this show as well as appropriate recognition in marketing this show and at the event itself.
More details may be found by contacting rahoulroy@enacte.org or kamesh@aiyers.net (also 617Â335Â1520).
|
You may also access this article through our web-site http://www.lokvani.com/
