Vaishali Vijaykumar By Express News Service CHENNAI: What happens when a group of children weave together several elements of koothu in a modern format? The stage is sure to be a riot of colours. This is exactly what audience can expect this weekend at Kattaikkuttu Sangam’s and Theatre Shraddha’s Children’s Musical Koothu production — Maayakuthirai (Magic Horse). Shraddha Theatre was launched nine years ago Written by kattaikkuttu expert P Rajagopal, the performance highlights the importance of self-confidence in children, musically and magically. The participants will be dressed in colourful costumes, accompanied by fancy props. “Magic Horse has been performed earlier in a few villages and schools. The story was penned by Rajagopal Sir 23 years back and we hope to strike a chord with youngsters. We’ve tweaked the style and given it a contemporary spin to appeal to this generation. It’s a fresh batch of 14-15 children,” said G Krishnamurthy, who founded Theatre Shraddha along with Shivaji Chaturvedi, Prema Sadasivam and TD Sundararajan. Theatre Shraddha has been making its presence felt in the Tamil theatre space for the past nine years. Over time, it has collaborated with budding theatre groups who do not have resources for a high-value production. It has 33 productions to its credit, cutting across different genres of Tamil theatre. “We’re known for extensively working with theatre groups from diverse backgrounds and for having a deep connect with Tamil literature and culture. Our latest collaboration is with Kattaikkuttu Sangam. We wanted to bring a subject that’s generally performed in villages,” he added. Kattaikkuttu is an open-air ensemble theatre widespread in the northern and central parts of Tamil Nadu. The theatre group was founded in 1990 by kattaikkuttu actor, director, teacher and playwright P Rajagopal together with theatre scholar Hanne M de Bruin and 15 kattaikkuttu actors and musicians. This initiative unites performers across styles and regions. Kattaikkuttu uses different kinds of song, music, articulated prose, acting, movement, make-up and elaborate costumes to produce all-night narrative events most of which are based on the epic Mahabharata. “Besides the stunning visual appearance of its characters, what strikes one in these performances from Magic Horse is the performers’ high energy and heroic nature, their characteristic sound — exuberant, loud, pervasive, upfront — and their irrepressible comedy. We have both ticketed and free events,” said Krishnamurthy. ‘Maayakuthirai’ will be performed in Chennai today at Vani Mahal and tomorrow at Spaces, Besant Nagar Get your tickets For tickets, visit: https://insider.in/maayakuthirai-aka-the-magic-horse-…/event

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