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| The Fire and The Rain opens April 23rd |
From our friends at the Constellation Theatre Company...
Constellation Theatre Company Brings You India's Dazzling Tale of Forbidden Love!
The Fire and The Rain runs April 23 - May 24.
Constellation Theatre Company will present The Fire and The Rain by Girish Karnad directed by Allison Arkell Stockman from April 23 - May 24 at SOURCE 1835 14th St NW, Washington, DC. Tickets are $20 - $45 and can be purchased online at www.ConstellationTheatre.org or over the phone by calling 202-204-7741.
The creative team that brought DC audiences The Ramayana brings to life a dynamic family drama drawn from the Indian epic The Mahabharata.
As he begins the seventh year of the fire ritual, Paravasu feels the waves of heat rise from the flames and prays that finally the rain will come to quench the parched earth. Isolated and lonely, his wife entertains a rival’s wild tales of the humid jungle. Paravasu’s brother, Arvasu and young Nittilai, a star-crossed pair of lovers, pursue a forbidden marriage. In this mystical exploration of humanity, we encounter a mask that possesses its owner, a tortured demon-soul on a mission, and a supernatural act of compassion.
Girish Karnad, India’s most celebrated contemporary playwright, embraces spectacle and spirituality to spark an explosive story of ritual and rebellion that will thrill and inspire.
A playwright, screenwriter, film actor and director, Girish Karnad has been prolific since the 1960s. He often draws upon mythology and history as inspiration for his plays, which he writes in the Kannada language before translating them into English. Over the past 50 years, Karnad has been the recipient of many awards including the National Film Awards for Best Direction, Best Feature Film and Best Screenplay. Karnad has also been recognized with the Jnanpith Award, India’s most prestigious literary honor given for lifetime achievement. While a household name in India, Karnad is not widely known in the U.S. The Fire and The Rain was commissioned and work-shopped by the Guthrie Theatre under the leadership of Garland Wright. Constellation Theatre Company is delighted to be giving the play its North American premiere. The play was also adapted into an elaborate Hindi film by the same name: Agni Varsha.
Director Allison Arkell Stockman leads the group of long-time collaborators: A.J. Guban (Scenic and Lighting Design), Kendra Rai (Costume Design), and Tom Teasley (Composer and Percussionist). This same creative team brought DC audiences the Indian epic The Ramayana in 2010 and remounted it in 2011 due to unprecedented popular demand. Constellation’s artists and technical team are enjoying the challenge of bringing the elements into the intimate playing space. Throughout The Lieutenant of Inishmore they had a “Make It Rain” fundraising campaign to underwrite the cost of creating the rain effect indoors.
The stellar cast is being led by Dallas Tolentino and Lynette Rathnam, who are playing young lovers. Constellation Associate Artists Katy Carkuff, Jonathon Church, and Ashley Ivey are being joined by Michael Kevin Darnall, who appeared in Constellation’s production of Metamorphoses. DeJeanette Horne, Shawn Jain, Ryan Andrew Mitchell, Eric Andrew Porter, and Jonathan Lee Taylor are making their Constellation debut.
Winner of 2 Helen Hayes Awards and the 2014 WAMA (Washington Area Music Award) for Best World Music Instrumentalist, Tom Teasley will perform his live original compositions during each performance.
Constellation Theatre Company’s mission is to spark the curiosity and imagination of the people of Greater Washington, DC by bringing stories to life from all over the world. Visual spectacle, music and movement unite with an exuberant acting ensemble to create an exhilarating entertainment experience.
