The cast of 'Remember Remember'
The cast of 'Remember Remember'

This Bengaluru theatre group's latest play talks of fairytales in urban spaces

Theatre group Tahatto's latest play Remember Remember, written by Prashanth Nair is a compilation of five stories connected by magic

Listening to fairy tales and folktales over and over, year after year, was an indispensable part of growing up for all of us. Over the years, our grandparents, parents, uncles and aunts have told us stories about princesses and princes, castles and mountains, and monsters and witches. But did some of you find it a bit difficult to relate to these tales, not because they were completely fictitious, but because they were set in spaces unfamiliar to you? After all, you have lived all your life in an urban setting, except for the occasional visit to the countryside. 

Prashanth Nair was someone like you. But this Bengaluru playwright always believed that he could, in fact, create magic and he didn't have to go into the wild to achieve it. His true calling was in the city and his characters were the people he met every day. With this in mind, Prashanth penned Remember Remember, a play that comprises of five urban folktales. 
 

For Prashanth and his theatre group Tahatto, Remember Remember is their most ambitious production. "We wanted to explore text that is much richer and also do something that is larger than a production set in the drawing room of a house. The play takes place in multiple spaces and at multiple times," states Prashanth, who is also the play's director.
 

What would magic look like in the city? What would fear be like? So, the play has been written like a play with five individual stories that matter to me and the audience
 

Prashnath Nair, playwright

While one story talks about a couple, who is on a mission to create the perfect relationship using a mobile app that takes them ten seconds back in time to rectify their mistakes (I'm already wishing something like that existed), the other talks of a girl, who is in search of those stories that she lost as time passed. There are three more interesting tales that explore different aspects of human life. The common thread in all the stories is magic and they're all fairy tales in nature.

Your view: The audience is also given the chance to share their experiences during the performance
 

The group also wanted to travel and put up an ensemble creation and hence, the play is very agile. There are no large sets. "There is live music and sound, and the spaces are created by people. It was so much more interesting to trust a group of people and see them explore ideas," says Prashanth. The group has performed Remember Remember on a few stages in Bengaluru and Hyderabad already, and is set to perform it at Chennai's Museum Theatre on March 25.

Now, let us find out more about Tahatto. This Bengaluru theatre group was a result of the coming together of a few theatre enthusiasts, who met each other at a workshop, almost a decade ago. Theatre and drama was a new thing for most of them and all of them had their day jobs. "Nobody depends on theatre full-time. But that is what keeps us going," says Piyush Agarwal, one of the members of the group. 

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