Chorus Repertory Theatre
Ratan Thiyam, Artistic Director
A Dynamic Presentation of Music, Dance and Drums from Religious Ceremonies and the Social Life of the People of Manipur, India.
The capital city of Manipur, one of IndiaÆs far north-eastern hill states, is Imphal, which is closer to Burma than to IndiaÆs great metropolises of Bombay, Calcutta or Madras. ManipurÆs language and culture are unique to the region. Grounded in (successively) animist, Hindu and Christian practices, the arts - music, dance, literature, martial forms - are a rich composite, well-known throughout central Asia. The Chorus Repertory Theatre of Imphal was established there in April, 1976, by its director, Ratan Thiyam.
Situated in one of IndiaÆs most isolated areas, Thiyam and his troupe create their work with an eye towards the larger world. Their fame has spread far beyond the shores of India and international directors such as Peter Brook and Tadashi Suzuki have made the pilgrimage to Imphal. The troupe has performed throughout India and abroad with appearances at the Edinburgh (Fringe First Award 1987), Glasgow, Dublin, Avignon, Perth, Adelaide, Rome, Cervantino, Mitsui and Toga Festivals. They have also had engagements in London, Paris, Greece, the former USSR, England, Holland, Cuba, South America, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and in Thailand. This tour marks their debut appearance in America.
A writer, director, designer, musician, painter and actor, Ratan Thiyam draws on epic stories and mythologies, issues of personal responsibility, cognizance, good and evil and community obligation for his works. His stories are most often those of war and peace and are drawn from such sources at the Mahabharata and other historic texts.
A son of Manipuri dance masters, for a time, Thiyam studied painting. He then turned to writing and published the first of his six novels in 1961 at the age of 22. He also wrote poetry and reviews. Writing led him to the theater, and in 1971 he enrolled at the National School of Drama in Delhi, where he gained a reputation as a powerful actor and director. In 1976 he returned to Manipuri and founded Chorus Repertory. Except for a two-year stint as Director of NSD in the early 1980s, Manipur became and has remained both the physical and aesthetic foundation for his work.
9/21/00: Ratan ThiyamÆs Chorus Repertory Theatre
