Forest is narrator in Kambar's new play

BANGALORE: In this play, the forest speaks. It tells a story. This is how Jnanpith award-winning playwright Chandrasekhar Kambar explains in one sentence his latest Kannada play 'Maari Kaadu', based on Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'.
"This is my 'namaskara' (tribute) to Shakespeare. I was also inspired by the screenplay of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa's 'The Throne of Blood'."
"We've never essentialized forest or water as characters.Perhaps, all this started around the middle of the 20th century with KV Puttappa (Kuvempu) and Shivaram Karanth. Shakespeare's forest is very cruel," Kambar says, adding: "I began on the premise -- why not get the forest to narrate the story? And that's how the idea of writing this began.''
Kambar is also impressed by Spanish playwright Federico Garcia Lorca's works. "Though I've read Shakespeare's 'Othello', 'Macbeth' and 'King Lear', Lorca's play 'The House of Bernarda Alba' impressed me a lot. He is close to our theatre. We always tell a story in our plays. Though Lorca wrote very few short plays, he told stories through them.''
In 'Maari Kaadu', Macbeth becomes Madakari and Birnam forest Maari Kaadu. This is the story of a man who couldn't comprehend the complex and mysterious demands of the forest.
Kambar is now busy penning a novel. "It may take 5-6 years to complete it. In between, I may also write a couple of plays.''
PLAY POINTS
* Maari Kaadu will be staged at Ranga Shankara from April 2-6
* Folk play, directed by S Surendranath, has characters like Kampilaraya, Madakari Nayaka and Beera Nayaka
* Plots, murders, deceit and treason make it a dark play