Collected Plays of Mahesh Elkunchwar Garbo / Desire in the Rocks / Old Stone Mansion / Reflection / Sonata / An Actor Exits

by Elkunchwar, Mahesh; Gokhale, Shanta; Bhattacharya, Supantha; Bandyopadhyay, Samik

• ISBN13: 9780195697971
• ISBN10: 0195697979
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-05-03
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Collected Plays of Mahesh Elkunchwar is a collection of six critically acclaimed plays - 'Garbo', 'Desire in the Rocks', 'Old Stone Mansion', 'Reflection', 'Sonata', and 'An Actor Exits' - of the noted Marathi playwright. 'Garbo' is the story of four outsiders who come together with their 'outsiderness' as a bond between them, and try to find purpose, beauty, or meaning in the world by living 'other' lives. While 'Desire in the Rocks' is a story of incest on one level and a deep probe into the meanings of 'fact andtruth', passion and infatuation, creativity and sterility, 'Old Stone Mansion' portrays how the old order yields to the new. 'Reflection' is a play about losing identity in a faceless crowd in a mega city, and the alienation of individuals from themselves, from the society, and from the cosmos. 'Sonata', a story of three independent career women in a metropolis, living life on their terms and conditions and bondedtogether by their femininity, is a story of bonding, betrayal, and forgiveness. 'An Actor Exits' tries to explore an actor's relationship with his director, with his medium, his body, and finally his mortality. Translated into English by Shanta Gokhale, Supantha Bhattacharya, and the playwright himself, this volume includes a Foreword by Girish Karnad and an introduction by noted theatre critic Samik Bandyopadhyay. With interesting details about each of the six plays, photographs of the staging of theplays, and critical notes on theatre by Mahesh Elkunchwar, the volume will appeal to students and researchers of modern Indian theatre, Indian literature in translation, and cultural studies, as well as general readers and theatre lovers.

Author Biography

Mahesh Elkunchwar is an acclaimed playwright, actor, and screenwriter. He is also well-known for his theoretical writings and critical works.
Shanta Gokhale is a freelance writer. She was formerly Arts Editor with The Times of India Mumbai.
Supantha Bhattacharya is Professor, Department of English, Hislop College, Nagpur.