Shoorpanakha: A search

Shoorpanakha: A search is an actor`s enquiry into her own body vocabulary through inhabiting a character like Shoorpanakha, the most marginalised one in The Ramayana epic. Who is she beyond the mutilation? Can we reimagine new dimensions for this character? Along with this enquiry is a parallel search by the actor herself to go beyond her existing performative body. Will inhabiting the character of Shoorpanakha also help her to break the shackles of a physical idiom imposed on her by her specific cultural context? The performer travels through different performance traditions such as Kattaikkuttu, Koodiyattam, Mizhavu, Oppari and Parai. Will these forms help the actor to manifest the character? Will the character influence these forms? In the end, what`s the performance body the actor will end up with? These questions drive this solo forward.