‘Kaliyachan’ performance held at TDM Hall, Kochi

Renowned

kathakali

artiste

Peesappilly Rajeevan

gave a stage presentation of poet P Kunhiraman Nair’s ‘

Kaliyachan

,’ recently, in Kochi.

It was organised by Bank Employees Art Movement (

BEAME

) and it was held at TDM Hall. The show was directed by Arun Lal.

The performance stages the mental agony of a kathakali artiste. The poem, which had won the Kendra Sahithya Academy award, is the master piece of the writer. The multi-layered, long poem delves into a detailed account of the tiring inner dialogues of a Kathakali artiste, who is troubled to no end by his own follies, such as his selfish affairs with various women. The artiste finds it tough to save himself, though he is aware that he is on a path towards self-destruction. The poem is said to be an autobiographical work of the writer.

Artiste Rajeevan says, “It is in the year 2016, at a stage named Ekalochanam that I performed Kaliyachan for the first time. Ever since, I have staged it on more than 100 platforms. It is a 50-minute-long show, which can be tagged to the genre of one-act play, accompanied by background music.”
The artiste is known in kathakali circles for his new interpretations, like the role of Asaari in Bakavadham. In an interview, he had once said that eh would love to give a new interpretation to the character of Brihannala, from Uthara Swayamvaram.