Date: 19.12.2024 – Thursday – 8.05 – 8.50 a.m.

Speaker : Vidvan P. Rajagopal and Dr Hanne M. de Bruin

Title : Kuttu Raga-s: Evoking the character

Abstract :

The lecture will provide a brief introduction to Kattaikkuttu (கட்டைக்கூத்து), a powerful and complex theatre tradition and an inalienable part of the intangible Tamil heritage. We will then demonstrate Kattaikkuttu’s characteristic soundscape, grounded in Karnatic music but adapted for the stage, and illustrate how text, music and movement work together to evoke
and interpret characters in Kattaikkuttu’s heroic-epic repertoire.

Dr Hanne M de Bruin holds a Ph. D. In Indology from Leiden University in the Netherlands. Her latest book Kattaikkuttu: A Rural Theatre Tradition in South India was published in 2023 by Bloomsbury, UK. Hanne is also the facilitator of the Kattaikkuttu Sangam, an association that promotes Kattaikkuttu and the interests of its professional performers.

Perungattur P Rajagopal comes from a family whose male members were hereditary Kattaikkuttu performers. He is an actor, director and playwright. Three of his innovative plays were published by Kalachuvadu (2014). In 1990 Rajagopal cofounded the Kattaikkuttu Sangam. In 2002 he established the Kattaikkuttu Gurukulam, a residential theatre school where, over a period of 18 years, 175 rural children, including girls, got training in Kattaikkuttu acting and music in combination with formal education and comprehensive care. Rajagopal is the Executive Director of the Sangam.