MAHABHARATA - REVIEW OF 2025 PRODUCTION OF EPIC PLAY AT BLUMA APPEL THEATRE

Reviewed by James Karas 

Mahabharata is theatre on a grand scale. It is played in two parts titled Mahabharata: Karma. The life We Inherit for Part 1 and Mahabharata: Dharma. The Life We Choose for Part 2 for a total of about five hours. The play is based on an ancient Sanskrit epic that may go back as many as 4000 years.

The full surviving version seems to have been composed or put together based on the oral traditions between 400 BCE and 400 CE Its first English translation was in the 19^th century and was published in 5000 pages. A Critical Edition was produced in the 20^th century and ran to 13,000 pages in 19 volumes. 

In the 21^st century, Carol Satyamurty composed  a “Modern Retelling” of the epic in 843 pages of blank verse. It is this version that Ravi Jain and Miriam Fernandes used to adapt and write the script of the production which was presented at the Shaw Festival in 2023  and is now revived at the Bluma Appel Theatre in Toronto. The production is by Why Not Theatre and Canadian Stage.

Part 1

 The complex story goes over numerous generations of kings, queens, princes and princesses, lesser mortals and gods. There are two closely related feuding families, the Pandavas and the Kauravas, first cousins who engage in an epic dynastic war. The Storyteller (Miriam Fernandes) narrates much of the tale as we meet the ambitious cousins, the fights for kingship, the marriages, the offspring and much more.

The Storyteller advises us “not be confused by the plot” and if you can do that, I tip my hat to you. I was not so much as confused as I did not know in what generation the story was taking place and who was doing what to whom. To me, the unlettered, in Sanskrit script and culture, the names alone were murder. Dhritarashtra, Duryohana, Yudhishthira, Bishma, Bhima were not always easy to distinguish. I need more exposure to the names and the mythology behind them. 

The cast of Mahabharata (Shaw Festival, 2023). Photo: Michael Cooper

An issue for me was the presence of a band on stage that played throughout the performance. All the characters had to speak over the background music which included chanting, humming and playing music. The music did not sound bad at all. The original music and sound designers are John Gzowski and Suba Sankaran with Hasheel Lodhia as traditional music consultant. Do you pay attention to the dialogue and dismiss the music as something in the background or do  you pay attention to the music and of course miss some of the dialogue?  I have no idea what the purpose of continuous background music was and at times I found it downright annoying. 

Shiva (Jay Emmanuel) performs a lengthy and athletic dance routine with some familiar poses but aside from that, I understood very little of the purpose of the segment. The choreography for the play is by Brandy Leary with contributions from Jay Emmanuel and Ellora Patnaik. Emmanuel’s talent and endurance are admirable.

The final scene brings the story together with the two factions of warring cousins facing off against each other and agreeing to settle everything by throwing dice. It is a high stakes match that has the advantage of clarity of plot and high drama. The Dharma King Yudhishthira gambles and loses everything, his city, wealth, kingdom, his brothers, himself, even his beautiful wife Queen Draupadi. (She has five husbands) They all become slaves of Duryodhana, the eldest son of King Dhritarashtra and the leaders of the Kauravas. They proceed by ritually undressing and humiliating Draupadi in an amazing scene.

The generous Dhritarashtra grants clemency to all the Pandavas and releases them. But there is a final toss of the dice. The losers will relinquish their kingdom to the winner and live in exile in the forest for twelve years. They will live incognito in public for one year after that and if they are not recognized, their kingdom will be returned to them.

Duryodhana wins and rejoices.  Bhima the Pandava warrior vows to kill him and slaughter his ninety-nine brothers. Ajuna the greatest archer vows to kill Karna, the son of the sun god and great Pandava warrior. Draupadi vows that thirteen years hence the Kauravas women will be smeared with the blood of their slaughtered sons.

A blood curdling end of part 1.

The set by Lorenzo Savoini shows a large red circle on the stage and much of the action takes place in it. Beyond that circle sat the band who of course stayed and played for the duration of the performance. The lighting by Kevin Lamotte, like the stage design was dramatic, as becomes an epic story.

Part 2

There is a dramatic shift in plot development and tone in Part 2. The band is silenced and there is extensive use of projections, television monitors and a sense of modern times. The embittered Pandavas have endured their exile in the forest and are now appearing in public but fear being recognized and so sent back into exile for another dozen years.

But it seems that they have completed their sentence and according to the wise Bishma and the decent Dhritarashtra they are entitled to the return of their kingdom. The hot-blooded and ambitious Duryodhana states that he has found them which means they have breached the terms of their exile. He is ready to go to war. 

The cast of Mahabharata (Shaw Festival, 2023). Photo: Michael Cooper

The Pandava leader Yudhishthira wants to negotiate peace but his chief warrior Arjuna is prepared to fight. The positions are drawn up and negotiations are bound to prove fruitless. Dynastic arguments of who is right and who is wrong continue but we know that war is inevitable. But there are complex revelations about origins and parents that delay the inevitable bloodshed. Karna, for example, is revealed to be the son of the god sun and in fact a Pandava! Arjuna is fighting against his own family members. The slaughter goes on for twenty days. 

In Part 2, there is an extended opera aria sung by soprano Meher Pavri as the voice of Krishna. The role of Krishna is played by Neil D’Souza. It contains moral and philosophical wisdom. It is beautifully sung in Sanskrit with English surtitles.

I have not given credit to the international cast of artists, many playing numerous roles in what is already a complex story. In no particular order I applaud Miriam Fernandes as the sprite Storyteller who takes on other roles as well; Anaka Maharaj-Sandu as the great archer Arjuna; Ravin J. Ganatra as Dhritarashtra; Shawn Ahmed as Yudhisthira; Darren Kuppan as Duryodhana; Goldy Notay as Draupadi and Gandhari; Ellora Patnaik as Kunti  and Drona; Jay Emanuel in four roles including Drupada and Shiva; Navtej Sandu as Karna;   Sukonia Venugopal as Bhishma.

Writers Ravi Jain and Miriam Fernanes advise us in a note in the program that they carved ploughed and weeded through the epic myths for ten years. That is an epic in itself.

My reaction to the two-part production of Mahabharata is one of admiration, frustration and perplexity. I need a lot more knowledge of the original epic and the cultural background to understand and enjoy the production fully.

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Mahabharata: Karma. The life We Inherit, Part I and Mahabharata: Dharma. The Life We Choose Mahabharata, Part 2 written and created  by Ravi Jain and Miriam Fernandes from Carole Satyamurti’s retelling of the myth continues until April 27, 2025 at the Bluma Appel Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front Street East, Toronto, Ontario. www.canadianstage.com

James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture of The Greek Press 

 

DAVID AND JONATHAN - REVIEW OF 2025 OPERA ATELIER PRODUCTION

Reviewed by James Karas

The cover of the program of Opera Atelier’s production of Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s  David and Jonathan shows a shot of Michelangelo’s statue of David,  surely the ultimate definition of male beauty and virility. David is best known as the slayer of the brute Goliath and as one of the early kings of Israel. The opera has almost nothing to do with the fight with the Philistine  Goliath but that seems to be the reason for the unknown David gaining a position in the royal household and developing a strong friendship with Saul’s son Jonathan.

Marshal Pynkoski and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg, the artistic directors of Opera Atelier have done a brilliant job of recreating the opera and providing us with a stunning production. They have included the Artists of the Atelier Ballet and the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir (and of course the Tafelmusik orchestra) to enrich the production. Ms Lajeunesse Zingg’s judicious and splendid choreography introduces almost a ballet performance and the Chamber Choir adds a gorgeous vocal pleasure.

The biblical story from the book of Samuel involves the complex psychological story of King Saul (baritone David Witczak) who takes the unknown David (tenor Colin Ainsworth) into his household for the good reason that he killed Goliath. David develops a deep and everlasting friendship with Saul’s son Jonathan (soprano Mireille Asselin).

Baritone David Witczak as Saul and tenor Colin Ainsworth as David in 

Charpentier's David and Jonathan. Photo by Bruce Zinger

Saul becomes jealous of David’s popularity and in the Prologue to the opera consults the witch Pythonisse (mezzo-soprano Mireille Lebel) about his future. She conjures up the ghost of Saul’s predecessor Samuel (bass-baritone Stephen Hegedus) who prophesies that Saul will lose everything.

The Pynkoski-Zingg team waste no time in setting a brisk pace with Saul running frantically around a lively witch and her demons commanding the stage for the duration of her presence.

David goes back to the Philistine ranks. Joabel (tenor Antonin Rondepierre), the leader of their army wants war while Saul and King Achis (baritone Christpher Dunham) of the  Philistines negotiate peace. Joabel finds a way to inflame Saul’s anger, mistrust and jealousy against David and an inevitable explosion occurs. The opera has an astonishing web of emotional entanglements that add to its fascination. Saul loves his son and David but then he hates the latter and is upset with the former. There is emotional stress and psychological uncertainty among the characters.

Artists of Atelier Ballet in production of Charpentier's 

David and Jonathan. Photo by Bruce Zinger

The emotional and political intrigues come to a head when the Israelites and the Philistines go to all-out war. David and Jonathan, the best and most faithful friends in the world, part. Jonathan and Saul are seriously wounded. Jonathan dies in the arms of his friend while Saul falls on his sword. Amid the horror and the slaughter, there is a glimpse of good news. David is proclaimed King of Israel. The Pynkoski-Zingg fertile imagination, their sense of theatre and their inventiveness create a stunning opera. Some directors feel that deep friendship between two men must have a homoerotic element to it. Pynkoski, to his credit, does not fall for that trap.

The production is a continuous visual and vocal delight. There are gorgeous ballet sequences at regular intervals and the Chamber Choir, I repeat,  is an aural splendor. The costumes by Michael Gianfranco are a colorful pleasure to behold. The set by Gerard Gauci in the reconfigured stage of Koerner Hall is an added bonus.

Ainsworth and Asselin are Opera Atelier stars whereas Witczak and Dunham are with the company for the first time. Hegedus, Lebel and Rondepierre have sung various roles with Opera Atelier. Kudos to exceptional performances.

David Fallis conducted the Tafelmusik orchestra impeccably and they and the cast provided a superb evening at the opera.      

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David and Jonathan by Marc-Antoine Charpentier opened on April 9 and will continue until April 13, 2025, at Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre for Performing Arts, 273 Bloor St. West, Toronto, Ont.   

James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture of The Greek Press