The lifespan of Samrat Ashoka was staged wondrously by the students of Madhya Pradesh School of Drama (MPSD). The play ‘Samrat Ashoka’ was staged here on Sunday at MPSD premises wherein the artists showcased the life of Ashoka Samrat and his inclination towards Buddhism.
The interesting part of the play was that it was non-verbal play which was performed after seven long years by MPSD. Directed by Partho Bandhopadhyay, the play was performed by the students of MPSD batch 2017.
The MPSD usually brings innovations in its performances and even this time, the students presented enthralling performance on stage. The war scenes and the transformation scenes of Samrat Ashoka were spell bindingly performed.
This non-verbal play was much different from what mime is. The MPSD experimented with the expressions, body movements and body language to present the play on stage. After seven long years this experiment was done and was well received by the theatre buffs of the city.
The play began with introducing Samrat Ashoka, the king of the Maurya Empire as one of the cruel kings of all times. He knew no boundaries of victamisation. He could do all possible things to trouble his people. In short, he was not a good king and not a good human being.
After the Kalinga war, Ashoka converted to Buddhism. The best part of the play was the war scenes presented on stage. The presentation of martial arts, sword fighting and fighting scenes with bamboo sticks added charisma on stage.
It is to be noted that one month long research and preparation of Samrat Ashoka was carried out by MPSD for which they visited Sanchi to learn about Samrat Ashoka.
