"Outcaste Eternal" is the first ever stage dramatisation of this significant yet controversial event in Kerala's history. Scripted and directed by Vasanthi Sankaranarayanan and Nirmala Seshadri, the music has been specially composed by late L.Vaidyanathan.
The production was first staged ten years ago in Singapore with a multi ethnic Singaporean cast. Now, nine years later, the work is being resurrected and restaged with a Chennai cast - in memory of L. Vaidyanathan.
The predominant style of dance used is the South Indian classical form Bharatanatyam. Kerala folk dance forms and Malay dance movements have also been used. The style of theatre which has been adopted is the Theatre of Transformation, a system of theatre prevalent in Kerala seen in the ritualistic dance Theyyam in which the actor becomes the character. The principles of trance and possession are also explored in the process.
The play has been divided into 3 Acts.
Act 1: This is the trial scene. In the book the trial scene is at the end but for dramatic impact, this scene has been brought to the very beginning. Hence while Paptikutty argues her case, flashbacks are brought in reflecting the events that happened in her life. In this act, the present, ie the actual trial is shown in theatre format. The flashbacks are shown in stylized fragments of Indian classical dance.
Act 2: Takes the audience back in time to the birth of Paptikutty and her early childhood years.
Act 3: Takes a look at the kind of society in which she lived – the social system which pushed her into doing what she did. This Act culminates where the play began, with trial leading to her excommunication and exile from Kerala, the land of her birth.
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