Aadaddella Olithe…?
Kannada Theatre

Kriyative Theatre Trust was created with a desire to foster creativity which leads to social action (Kriya). Founded in August 2005 by Laxmi Chandrashekar, a prominent theatre person, the group believes in the potential of theatre to facilitate the creation of a better world and is, therefore, engaged in producing plays which are at once purposeful and artistic.

Special Features:

• Focus on women-oriented themes 
• Creation of solo plays
• Bi-lingual productions 
• Presentation of significant Kannada literary pieces in English 
• Involvement of dedicated professionals

Landmarks:

• Maximum number of solo plays by a single artiste
• More than 250 performances of 4 Kannada and 2 English plays 
• Staging of solo play ‘Just a woman’ at international festivals/conferences in the U.K, U.S, Australia, Singapore, Indonesia
• 165th shows of bi-lingual solo play “Just a Woman”/ (“Hennallave!”
• 67 shows of bilingual solo play ‘Singarevva and the Palace’ 
• Performances at major national theatre festivals in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Mysore and Ahmedabad
• Over 50 performances abroad  
• 57 shows of most popular comedy “Heegadre Hege?”  
• 25 shows of bi-lingual comedy ‘Aadaddella Olithe…?’/’All’s Well…?’
• Six-day theatre festival at Rangashankara in February 2007
• One of the groups with maximum  of shows in Rangashankara

Aadaddella Olithe…?

The unprecedented success of ‘Heegadre Hege?’  showed the group the great need for laughter and relaxation in these stressful times.  Therefore, Kriyative Theatre came up with yet another wholesome comedy, based on the writings of T.Sunanadamma by the same team of artistes and technicians as in ‘Heegadre Hege?’ . ‘Aadaddella Olithe..?’, aspires to be even more entertaining and artistic than its predecessor.   
Scripted by Sunder, the play is designed and directed by Pramod Shiggaon. Sets and props (Sridhara murthy and Vishwas), Songs (written by K.Y.Narayanaswamy), music (composed by Gajanana T.Naik), lighting (Muddanna Rattehalli), costumes (Jayanthi Marulasiddappa) and make-up (Ramakrishna Kannarpadi) are all designed to enhance the humour of the play. Apart from Sunder and Laxmi Chandrashekar, the play features well known theatre and television artistes, Ramakrishna Kannarpadi, Vidya Venkataram and Shilpa Rudrappa.

Synopsis

The play revolves round the antics of a middle-aged couple, Bhageerathi and Kapanipathi,  whose children are grown up and live in distant cities. As they squabble over petty domestic matters, they receive letters from their son and daughter. While the son has written to invite them over to Bombay for the coming Deepavali, their  artist-daughter, who has married a Frenchman, announces her desire to bring her husband home. Bhageerathi sees the visit to Bombay as a long-awaited opportunity to exercise her power as the mother-in-law, while Kapineepathi wants to subject his French son-in-law through the torture he has experienced during his first Deepavali at the in-laws' house. But both of them are in for surprises.

Artistic and Technical Credits

Script: Sundar
Songs: Dr.K.Y.Narayana Swamy
Sets and property: Sridhara Murthy and Vishwas
Assistance: Vijayakumar and Ramesh
Music and Sound effects: Gajanana Nayak
Orchestration: Varun
Vocals: M.D.Pallavi, Sabha Shafi, Sneha, Sandhya, Anup and Varun
Tabla: Prakash
Lighting design: Muddanna Rattihalli
Design and direction: Pramod Shiggaon
Artistes: Sundar, Laxmi Chandrashekar, Vidya Venkatram, Shilpa Rudrappa and Ramakrishna Kannarapadi
Producer: Laxmi Chandrashekar, founder and Managing Trustee, Kriyative Theatre, Bangalore

Director: Pramod Gururaj Shiggaon

A post-graduate in Kannada Literature from Karnatak University and a Diploma holder in Theatre Arts from Ninasam Theatre Institute in Heggodu, Pramod Shiggaon has been working in theatre since 1984 as Actor, Director and Designer. One of the most talented, young directors working in Kannada theatre today, Pramod has directed more than 20 plays, the most important among them being Mother Courage, Ghasiram Kotwal, Sultan Tippu, Andhayug, Pampa Bharatha Medea and Heegadre Hege?, ‘Aadaddella Olithe..?’ and ‘Kalavu’. He has worked extensively with youth and directed many award winning productions for college theatre groups. acted in a number of children’s His productions are known for psychological depth, fine craftsmanship and attention to detail. A most sought after designer, Pramod has designed costumes and properties for major productions directed by eminent directors like B.V.Karanth, Prasanna, C.Basavalingaiah, K.V.Akshara, C.R.Jambe, Jayathirtha Joshi and Venkataramana Aithal.

Writer: Sunder

A post-graduate in Commerce from Bangalore University, Sunder has been prominent member of the amateur theatre community in Bangalore for the last 15 years.  Theatre became a serious passion during his undergraduate days at St. Joseph’s College of Commerce, particularly after securing the Best Actor Award at the State Level Drama Competitions for two consecutive years. Sunder has acted in 50 plays and worked under reputed theatre directors like M.S.Sathyu, Prasanna, Surendranath, Prakash Belwadi, Basavalingaiah, C.R.Simha Pramod Shiggaon and others. He has trained in GRIPS Theatre with German director, Wolfgong Kolneder and played the lead in the first ever GRIPS play in Kannada. A regular face on Television, sunder has acted lead roles in more than 20 television serials and penned the script for 3 popular serials.  He is the recipient of the Aryabhatta Best Actor Award for the year 2003 for his role in the popular daily serial ‘Manvantara’.A lecturer in Commerce by profession, Sunder is also the convener of the college theatre club. A radio jockey as well, Sunder hosts a weekend show on World Space Kannada channel.

Producer: Laxmi Chandrashekar

A post graduate in English literature from the universities of Mysore and Leeds (U.K.) Laxmi Chandrashekar started acting when she was still in school and has been in theatre for over four decades. Since 1977, she has been a member of the Kannada theatre group Samudaya which believes in using theatre as an instrument of social change and has acted major roles in most of theirproductions. She has acted in more than 25 plays in Kannada as well as in English and worked under eminent directors like Peter Coe (British), Dr.N.Rathna, M.S.Sathyu,  Prasanna, Basavalingaiah, D.R.Ankur,  Suresh Anagalli, N.A.Soori, Soumya Varma and Pramod Shiggaon.). She has also played major roles in a number of popular television serials including Malgudi Days, Mayamruga and Grihabhanga and in award-winning films like Atithi, Matadana,  Mouni and Beru. She was  awarded the Aryabhata Award for Best Actress for the Year 2002 for her role in the path-breaking television  serial 'Grihabhanga ', directed by well known film-director, Girish Kasaravalli. Since 1998 Laxmi has been busy touring with her solo performances, which she performs in Kananda as well as in English.  Her first solo ‘Hennallave’(‘Just a Woman’ in English), has already seen over 150 shows both within India and outside. Her second solo play 'Singarevva mattu Aramane’ ('Singarevva and the Palace' in English), an adaptation of a well known Kannada novel, has seen close to 60 shows. The two plays have been presented at numerous National Theatre Festivals, universities and conferences on women's issues within the country and abroad. Founder and Managing Trustee of Kriyative Theatre, Laxmi has produced two more solo plays ‘Eddelu’ and ‘Medea’ based on the monologues of Dario Fo and Franca Rame.

An acclaimed translator, Laxmi has translated several short stories and plays from Kannada into English, including her own solo scripts. She writes a weekly column on theatre for the popular English daily, The Hindu and has published academic articles on theatre and literature and won awards for her work in theatre and translation. Until recently she was a professor of English at a women’s college in Bangalore.