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The Mahabharata is a true Indian epic and a treasure trove of wis-
dom. Running 74,000 sentences long, it is India’s foremost ancient
text. Inspired by the story, director
Hiroshi Koike
travelled the
world working with actors of many nationalities to create his own
unique take on this classic tale.
Hong Nhung
caught the show
and checked in with the cast.
LIFESTYLE
44
timeout
B
esides the main story about a
fierce war between two families
- the Kaudavas and Pandavas -
who founded the Brahata dy-
nasty, the Mahabharata contains many
smaller legends, fables, adventures and
love stories. It is said of the play ‘What
is found herein may also be found in
other sources; What is not found herein
does not matter’.
“The Mahabharata’s sheer length
can be a challenge for any director
who wants to bring the work to the
stage,” says Hiroshi Koike. “But after
many unexpected changes, such as the
closure of my 30 year old company and
the dual disasters of Japan in 2011, I
have been thinking more about culture
and the nature of human-beings. Many
Japanese feel that they have to change
their basic thoughts and fundamental
ideas. This epic gave me a key to help
make such thoughts more clear and to
help myself and my audiences better
understand the fundamental nature of
human beings.”
In taking on this most challenging
of texts, Koike opted for a novel ap-
proach. Eschewing the use of dialogue,
he chose instead to maximize move-
ment to convey the central aspects of
the story.
The audience is immediately
hushed by the captivating stage set,
richly decorated with dresses and
masks. However, when the actors first
emerge en masse, they are wearing
simple, casual wear, meaning that
those not paying attention to their body
language might hardly recognise that
the play has begun. The cast comprises
just seven actors who between them
play over 30 roles. Koike was keen to
include multiple nationalities in his cast
and as such it includes Cambodians, a
Japanese bali dancer, a Japanese ballet
dancer and a Malaysian Butoh dancer.
They make a series of costume
changes on stage, donning different
masks and morphing between charac-
ters in front the audiences’ eyes. “The
masks are key to helping the actors ful-
fill the demanding number of roles they
must take on,” says Koike. “Moreover,”
he adds, “the masks are inherently mys-
terious, something which for me helps
encapsulate the feeling of the tale that I
A PLAY WITHOUT