Śakuntalā has oftentimes been adapted and translated in order to conform with the demands of the people. Prevailing genres and cultural aspects were added to the play each time, allowing for the insertion of contemporary dynamics or themes. Contrasting individuals, both affluent and poor, would modify plot points, as well as characters themselves, providing historians with unique manifestations of the same play. The Braj version (1716) of the play Śakuntalā preserved the longevity of the text, while also providing a modern twist to Kalidasa’s version (300-400 CE). Nawāz Kaveṡvara retold the drama in the vernacular, as a mixture between the Mahabharata version and the Kalidasa version, and in a manner that incorporated the prevailing style of the local poetry. Individuals such as Kaveṡvara would prevent Śakuntalā from fading away into the distant past, by once again making it a part of the present.
In 1716, a nobleman, after returning from a successful campaign, asked a well-known poet of the period named Nawāz Kaveṡvara to translate Śakuntalā into “Braj-ki-boli.” This was the language of the common people, allowing everyone to read this classic play for themselves. Originally only the wealthy, such as the members of the Mughal Court, were able to enjoy such old writings like Śakuntalā (Thapar 90). It was now that the play could truly grow in popularity as it could not be picked up and read by most people. The character, Śakuntalā, daughter of Vishvamitra and Menka, would be engraved into the minds of the people. This would allow a variety of individuals with different points of view to analyze the Śakuntalā. Some would side with her independent nature, while others would see her simply as a woman that was standing...
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... (Thapar 190-1). Sakuntala was destined to have a happy ending with the King no matter the hardships they faced. The atmosphere around the play was representative of what was to happen in the play.
All in all, the Braj version of the play Śakuntalā preserved the longevity of the text, while also providing a modern twist to Kalidasa’s version. This new version took concepts from the past and present to create something that all of society could enjoy. Nawāz Kaveṡvara retold the drama in the vernacular, as a mixture between the Mahabharata version and the Kalidasa version, and in a manner that incorporated the prevailing style of the local poetry. Śakuntalā’s ability to change with the times would ensure that it would always have a place in current society.
Works Cited
Thapar, Romila. Śakuntalā: Texts, Readings, Histories. London: Anthem Press, 2002. Print.
When Mary Zimmerman adapts a play from an ancient text her directing process and the way she engages with text are woven together, both dependent on the other. She writes these adaptations from nondramatic text, writing each evening while working through the pre-production rehearsals and improvisations during the day with the cast. The rehearsal process influences the text, and the text enriches the rehearsal process, so that one cannot exist without the other. Every rehearsal is structured the same but each production is unique because as Zimmerman states in “The Archaeology of Performance”, she is always “open to the possibilities”. The piece is open to everything happening in the world and to the people involved, so the possibilities are honest and endless.
“The Nina Variations” were performed by Nipissing's Theatre Arts course this week. The play is based on the final scene of Anton Chekov's “The Seagull” written by Steven Dietz. After being asked to write a new adaptation of “The Seagull,” Dietz could not stop thinking about the final scene between the two, and he has said “I could not focus on the rest of the play at all. I was mesmerized by the magnitude of this single fateful encounter” (Burns). He never wrote the adaption of “The Seagull” and instead created forty-three different variations of the way the final scene could end between the two. The scene is between Treplov, a playwright who is desperately in love with Nina, who is desperately in love with another man (who happens to be Treplov's mother's lover). The play portrays the forty-three variations of the final scene between the two, and the outcomes range from a happy ending, with both characters admitting they are in love with each other, to a hopeless ending where Treplov breaks Nina's heart, or Nina breaks Treplov's heart.
Saikaku, Ihara. Life of a Sensuous Woman. The Longman Anthology of World Literature. (Vol. D) Ed. Damrosch. New York: Pearson, 2004. 604-621. [Excerpt.]
No society remains immobile, even if some human beings resist changes. Advances in technology and the emergence of new beliefs allow people to have a broader imagination. Thus, numerous new interpretations of ancient works, whether they are plays, folktales, or poems, permeate around the world. These renditions re-tell the original stories in contexts that adjust to the modern world. What was considered serious in the past becomes mockery nowadays.
Leenerts, Cynthia. "'How Can We Be Like We Used to Be?': The Collective Sita and the Collective Draupadi in Raja Rao's Kanthapuraand Jyotirmoyee Devi's The River Churning." South Asian Review 24.2 (2003): 84-105. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 255. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
Kabuki Theater is quite different when compared to other types of theater. Its distinctive yet traditional traits are what make it so different. It is also a very traditional form of theater. Kabuki Theater in the 14th century was largely influenced by the events happening in Japan, is shown thrown the play Migawari Zazen.
Japan is known for its unique gardening style, their diverse plants, their food, and their beautifully woven tapestries. Yet, most do not know about the history of their drama. Japanese Noh theatre is one of the most precise and prestigious art forms. It has been this way since the fourteenth century when Zeami first created Noh theatre. Zeami’s most famous plays, such as Kinuta, are still performed today. Japanese drama has not changed much since the fourteenth century because it has made a lasting effect on the culture. Noh theatre had a major influence on fourteenth century Japan and has affected modern day drama.
Filmmaking and cinematography are art forms completely open to interpretation in a myriad ways: frame composition, lighting, casting, camera angles, shot length, etc. The truly talented filmmaker employs every tool available to make a film communicate to the viewer on different levels, including social and emotional. When a filmmaker chooses to undertake an adaptation of a literary classic, the choices become somewhat more limited. In order to be true to the integrity of the piece of literature, the artistic team making the adaptation must be careful to communicate what is believed was intended by the writer. When the literature being adapted is a play originally intended for the stage, the task is perhaps simplified. Playwrights, unlike novelists, include some stage direction and other instructions regarding the visual aspect of the story. In this sense, the filmmaker has a strong basis for adapting a play to the big screen.
With Kabuki as the main form of theatrical entertainment for commoners, there was an outburst of creativity. During this period the styl...
...ing. If it were to be produced in a modern setting it should not stray to far from the playwright’s original intentions. I went to see this play produced at UMASS last semester; it was what prompted me to read the play for this analysis. I walked out of the theatre totally confused about what had just saw and so did the person that I went to see it with. The director changed so much of the script and altered the playwright’s intentions so much that the entire production was a fast whirlwind of confusion with random things thrown in. It was not until I read the play did I understand what some of those things were. I believe if this play is to be produced modernly the language can be changed to modern English but the plot should stay the same without many alterations. We need to see the entire story in order to understand exactly what is going on. We can do this by changing some of the characters to more modern people of today’s society that the audience can relate to; such as instead of Faustus conjuring Helen he could conjure a popular supermodel instead. Modernizing in this way would give a better understanding to the audience of what the play is about and what the story line is.
The drama of Wole Soyinka is the creative mixing of Yoruba rituals, dramatic techniques, music and dance with the foreign language, English. The rites, rituals, gestures, music and dance are some of the nonverbal techniques Soyinka employs in order to achieve his dramatic effect. The language is full of wit and graphic insult. Language is not the only thing Soyinka relies on for effective theatre but also on so many techniques. This is an attempt to discuss these techniques in some important plays of Wole Soyinka.
The Picture Book of the Taiko, the latest play to be performed and adopted from Banruku theatre, existed to be a thirteen act production. Although the only lingering scene that is still performed is the “Amgasaki scene”, it is the only scene performed of the thirteen because it is the most well-known and important part that describes the meaning of the play. This scene consists of Takechi Mitshuide, the protagonist who reluctantly lances his mother Satsuki, who was bathing, misidentifying her as the feudal Lord Oda Harunaga.
Shakuni, the King of Gandhar kingdom and most intelligent and powerful villain of Drauparyug whose ego and resentment destroyed him, was again alive but this time he had no power with him. He couldn’t use his illusion or the power of hypnotism to make someone trust him the way he wants. Shakuni was still struggling to understand why Krishna sent him here, and then suddenly saw two women quarrelling with each other. He walked closer to them where they both were arguing in full enthusiasm.
Mahesh Dattani writes on the burning issues that beset the post-independence Indian society, whether it is communal discord, politics and crime, growing homosexuality or the gender bias. He uses stage to condemn many of the drawbacks prevailing in society. His plays depict marginalized groups of society, people who are considered misfits in a society where stereotyped attitudes and notions reign supreme. His plays have varied content and varied appeal.
Lakunle was a poor village school teacher who had greater admiration for Sidi, “THE VILLAGE BEAUTY WHO WANTED EVERYMAN TO LOOK AT HER SO, SHE MADE A SHOW OFF” when carrying a pail of water, through her way of walking and improper dressing which did not cover the parts of her neck and shoulders. Sidi wanted to attract Lakunle also and “BEING LITTLE INFLUENCED BY HIS LOVE BUT DID NOT ACCEPT HIM FULLY AS HE WAS NOT ENOUGH TO PAY A BRIDE-PRICES FOR HER”.