Ramayana @ Source

I went to see this play at the Source Theatre, a fairly intimate theatre, over near U St. It is performed by the Constellation Theatre company. The theatre is small enough that the general admission seating pretty much gives you a good seat from anywhere.

As to the play itself, it is hard for me to rate. There is not a lot in the way of characterization as the characters are purposefully one dimensional. I understand that there is a theme and meaning to the text but I would not say that this comes across in a particularly poignant way. I would say that this is mostly a plot driven play attempting to convey as much of the story as possible in a short time. I suppose that it does this well, but even not knowing the original text, I would say that the use of the actors playing the animals borders on and crosses over into the annoying. But like I said, maybe it is like that in the text as well. I know a lot of bible stories when read are sort of silly, simlifying the actions and speech of a character to the point of stupidity. The animals characters REALLY want to convey to the audience that they are rather simple-minded. Ok. Message received. But I don't think I can completely hold the director harmless, as I think it is his job to modernize a dramatic rendering for a more sophisticated audience. Of course then he would receive criticism from the other side claiming he veered from simplistic single truth of the text (I have already read some comments to this affect on one website).

Oh well. I am not sure that I would give Constellation another shot, but we will see. At best, I will be a bit skeptical before purchasing a ticket.