Review: The NAC English Theatre's Presentation of the Epic MAHABHARATA: KARMA - PART 1

OTTAWA

The curtain closed on Mahabharata: Karma - Part 1 The Life We Inherit to an uproar of applause. Upon exiting the theatre, the air was filled with loud, excited chatter, as is always the case at the National Arts Centre when the audience is deeply appreciative of what they have just seen. 

Publicity poster for Mahabharata.

I asked my partner what they thought, and they remarked, “That was like nothing I have ever seen before”. So, how to explain it?

When I was at university, I took a complementary class called “Ancient Religions of the Near East”. I made sure that I never missed a class; my professor was an amazing storyteller, and each class was utterly spellbinding. That class was the easiest A I ever got.

Mahabharata: Part 1 made me recall that experience. The narrator, and co-playwright, Miriam Fernandes, is also a gifted storyteller with a commanding presence and a way of connecting with the audience.

The story is divided into two parts. While, in theory, you could get tickets only to Part 1 The Life We Inherit or Part 2 The Life We Choose, you will really need to see both parts to get the full story and achieve the complete experience. For those who want an even more immersive experience, you can opt to see both parts on the same day and partake in an optional interlude that includes a traditional community meal.

Mahabharata was in development by co-creators and co-Artistic Directors of Why Not Theatre, Miriam Fernandes and Ravi Jain, for a decade. The play is based on an ancient Indian Sanskrit epic story, with major themes of love, brotherhood, revenge, war, and justice.

The tale begins with King Janamejaya, who is about to kill all the snakes in the kingdom to avenge the death of his father. A storyteller beseeches him not to and gathers everyone around the fire so that they can share the history of the king’s ancestors, the Pāndavas and the Kauravas, in the hopes of ending a cycle of vengeance. They ask, “when everyone believes they are right and their opponents wrong, how can one end a spiral of revenge?” And so, it begins.

Real the review here.