Deccan Chronicle

Rotary Avani presents Girish Karnad’s “Boiled Beans on Toast”

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When theatre stalwarts like Prakash Belawadi and Girish Karnad come together you know that there will be something special in store. And naturally there will be a Bengaluru connect as well. And this is what is in store as part of Boiled Beans on Toast being showcased at Bangalore International Centre as part of Rotary Avani, the ongoing Ecology Festival which is being organised till the 5th of June 2019.

Girish Karnad’s drama revolves around the unsung tales of ordinary Bengaluru citizens and their struggles. Directed by Prakash, a veteran theatre person the show is about Bangalore changing as it becomes ‘Bengaluru’ — conflicted with its past and emerging present, development destroying its character and in-migration altering its culture and self- image. “Since 1975, there has been no year in my life in which I have not done something in theatre from make-up, lighting, sets, music, acting or direction. I am, essentially, a theatre person, an amateur theatre person. Occasionally, my work is good enough to travel and be showcased at festivals, but that is not usually the case. As a director, I always tend to work with a mix of newcomers and longtime, loyal actors of our group, Centre for Film and Drama,” says Prakash. The show itself has a motley collection of artistes who start under a single roof see their lives branch out in various directions, get entangled in the swirl of life outside where they lose track of themselves and separately or unexpectedly collide and careen off each other – all within the realms of the city of Bengaluru.

Post his recent stint as an actor with a professional theatre production, Counting and Cracking – Belvoir St Theatre at the Sydney and Adelaide festival and his work as director at Mysore Rangayana with an adaptation of Yashwant Chittal’s novel ‘Shikari’ has fueled Prakash’s theatre dreams further. “Now I want to do more professional theatre work. Even this production of Karnad’s ‘Boiled Beans on Toast’ is a work in progress. I want to turn it into a professional show,” he explains. While the show is not really focused on the environment itself it does talk about how profound change in the city ecology impacts the lives of a family, its friends and servant class — in a wide sweep of themes, covering road widening, tree cutting, infrastructure development, breaches of trust in every kind of relationship, an unraveling of life as we knew it. Real life situations and dramatic moments been interspersed easily and amazingly because it seems so effortlessly set into the plot and story. “The audience can expect an evening of fun, some reflection on what we want for our city and its people. Whose city is it, anyway,” asks Prakash. Looking ahead, Prakash says he has some more acting, in movies and web series, in different languages and another play in Australia in 2020. “I am writing and directing a Kannada film, later than this year and also working on a set of novels on Bangalore-Bengaluru.”

  • What: Rotary Avani presents Girish Karnad’s “Boiled Beans on Toast”
  • Where: Bangalore International Centre (BIC), 7, 4th Main Road, Domlur II Stage, Bengaluru
  • When: June 1st & 2nd, 2019 7:00 PM
  • Duration: 105 minutes, Below 12 years not allowed
  • Tickets are priced at Rs. 200 and available on www.bookmyshow.com

This story first appeared in Deccan Chronicle Bengaluru dated 31 May 2019 here:

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