He-Rose, a play that draws parallels between Arjuna and Achilles

A scene from He-ROSE written by Nimmy Raphel.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

An international collaboration in culture is always seen as an intellectually high-yielding venture. Blending the best of French and Indian theatre, ENSATT lyon of France and Adishakti Theatre of Auroville, came together to present the play HE-ROSE, premiered recently at Alliance Française, Puducherry.

Written by Nimmy Raphel and directed by Vinay Kumar of Adishakti and assisted by Amaud Guennad of ENSATT, HE-ROSE depicted the tragic saga of two mythological heroes, Arjuna from Veda Vyasa’s Bhagavad Gita and Achilles from Homer’s Iliad. The play HE-ROSE was about two personalities from two different cultures and was in a liminal realm between glory and tragedy.

HE-ROSE depicted the tragic saga of two mythological heroes, Arjuna and Achilles.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

What Achilles was to the Greeks at Troy, Arjuna was to the Pandavas at Kurukshetra. Though both were skilled warriors they were initially hesitant to join the war. However the death of their dear ones (Achilles friend and Arjuna’s son) made them wage a war of revenge. While Achilles was shot dead before the Trojan war was complete, Arjuna won the battle.

The play began with thundering sounds of the drum. Wounded and dead soldiers and wailing women and children conveyed the trauma and tragedy of the war. Since it was an inter-cultural production, Arjuna was played by a French actor, and Achilles by an Indian. The portion of the play that was in English had French subtitles and vice-versa.

A scene from He-ROSE. The thundering sounds of the drums, and the wounded and dead soldiers seen on the sides conveyed the trauma and tragedy of the war.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

HE-ROSE was a shared emotional space of thought and realisation. Among the actors, Nimmy Raphel as Achilles excelled with her diction and body language. Julie Cecchini and Mathilde Briet made a lasting impression with their movement and expression.

François Landureau’s scenography was innovative and Vinay Kumar’s direction was gripping. The play will next be staged at Varanasi, Delhi, Chandigarh, Pune, and also in some of the neighbouring countries.