Manipur Theatre Today Festival
‘Kumudini’ enthralls audience: Imphal: It is not often that a play provokes the audience to think. So when one comes along, it is an experience that not just entertains but also plays on your mind long after the curtain comes down. Watching M.C. Arun’s Kumudini, directed by M.C. Thoiba of Banian Repertory Theatre and staged at the Jawaharlal Nehru Dance Academy in Imphal on December 20, one was impressed as much by the intricacies of the unfolding plot as by the skill and craft of the director and his actors. Kumudini is a commentary on Manipuri women and their social status in relation to men. It deconstructs and reinterprets the social fabric of 19th century Manipur and the life and times of the queen of the same name, the widow of King Gambhir Singh, who liberated Manipur from the Burmese. The queen’s involvement in governance began when her husband died, leaving behind a two-year-old heir, King Chandrakriti. She not only became involved in palace intrigue but succeeded in it, too. ...