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| Edinburgh : A&E : Theatre: Reviews |
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Theatre listings > Mandragora King of
India - Tour & World Premiere. Tara Arts' Mandragora takes us to an India of mysticism and exotica,
whose ideology and independence comes under threat from a group of pre-colonial
British explorers turned conquerors - the "Chalky Whites".
This fantastical tale, a kind of Jackanory story mixed with political
satire, is played out very much in the style of highly theatrical children’s
theatre. The set - just an elaborately painted proscenium arch –
gives the production the feeling of puppet theatre and the This would all be great if the play was a simpler, more childlike piece of writing, but Nirjay Mahindru's Mandragora obviously has higher pretensions than entertainment. It is filled with lots of interesting ideas and the exploration of the relationship between the Indians and the early explorers is very cleverly drawn. However, the script is far too dense and could do with serious trimming. It also takes itself very seriously and shoehorns heavy-handed parallels with the current global situation into scenes where the allusion is either glaringly obvious or strangely inappropriate. The acting is patchy - doubling of characters is handled with varying
degrees of skill. Antony Bunsee as the beleaguered King Mandragora
really shines though. His King is a solemn, melancholy figure and is excellently
contrasted with his other character, the sparky and merry The only sustained sparkle is fabulously displayed in its costumes, the
performances contrastingly feel held back and underplayed while the meandering
plot takes far too long to reach what is an unfortunately weak conclusion.
Mandragora is a piece with great intentions that haven’t really been
realised. 2004 Tour Details of Tara Art's production
of Mandragora King of India . Theatre listings >
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