A Blog of One's Own

The Wind Cuts the flute The pain, the pain *** *** *** *** Autumn Trees Opening the door When dreams die *** *** *** *** When the heart bleeds Outside You search for the facade Inside *** *** *** *** Desecend the clouds And hear O Sakura Poems of a wanderer Lie scattered on the road *** *** *** *** Yodo River Calling Siva For moon-viewing

Abhinaya’s Macbeth (dir. Jyotish M.G.; with D. Raghutaman as Macbeth, Athira as Lady Macbeth) Review by Ralph Yarrow I saw this at Abhimanch, NSD, on Jan.9 2009. Excellent use was made of inventive staging, involving large mirrors reflecting the protagonists, subtle entrances and exits, use of swathes of material, striking costumes for the chorus, simple but effective ramps and an imaginatively conceived and effectively used set of severed Banquo heads in the banquet scene. The twin video screens presented surprisingly impressive effects, mostly oblique representations of key motifs (introspection, hand-washing, birds in flight, the dagger – the latter mercifully suggestive and brief). The sound – haunting music with strong moments of intensity and menace, choric speaking amplified at appropriate moments – was also well used and contrasted effectively with the non-amplified speech of the main characters, as though they were battling the elemental forces around them. Lighting was also