Sydney Festival: THE MANGANIYAR SEDUCTION
THE MANGANIYAR SEDUCTION, York Theatre Seymour Centre Festival hub and Parramatta Riverside Theatres. Photo: Prudence Upton
A musical box containing 43 virtuoso musicians is the sort of enchanting, mysterious delight a festival needs. And it’s easy to see why Sydney’s artistic director Lindy Hume was bowled over by the Manganiyar troupe when she saw them in Vienna 18 months ago. The show is spectacular and unexpected; a hypnotic mix of ancient music and modern technology whose sound engineer (S Manoharan) and lighting operator (Balli Nath) perform as an integral if unseen part of the intricate concert.
Daevo Khan conducts – as a dancer and player of the khartal (elongated castanets) – from the floor in front of the four-tiered set of little red curtained windows in which the musicians are initially concealed. Beginning with a solo khamaycha (rather like a cello), the curtains are drawn on window after window as singers, drummers, strings and woodwind players gradually join, leave and rejoin in a complex set of call-and-response movements and symphonic variations on themes. Ranging from tender and melancholic to thunderous and thrilling, the work is a non-stop hour and 15 minutes of visual and aural pleasures.
At the close of the performance (January 11) its director, Roysten Abel joined the players on stage as the audience rose in a long and rapturous standing ovation. He then spoke about the troupe: all from Manganiyar in Rajasthan, spanning three generations and all surnamed Khan. He alluded to the violence towards Indian students and other Indian nationals in Melbourne recently and also to sectarian violence in India and elsewhere in explaining the philosophy and importance of the troupe: all Muslims plus one Hindu (“who hasn’t been killed yet”). It was the kind of gallows humour that went down well with the eclectic audience of all ages and backgrounds.
He also expressed delight and wonderment that this troupe of some 50 men (including three chefs who travel with the company for obvious cultural and Halal reasons) had been asked to come to Sydney by its woman director! “I have never experienced a woman director of a festival anywhere in the world,” he said. “And I must say it is wonderful to have a woman’s touch. It is gentle and we feel we have been so very well looked after here.” At which point the artistic director was given a spontaneous and warm ovation of her own from the enthusiastic audience. Talk about feel good.
Extra performances have been scheduled: catch one if you can. But be warned: it could be more costly than you anticipate: on leaving the theatre we felt compelled to go to our favourite halal cafe (Bismallah in Crown Street, Surry Hills) and over dinner, begin planning a trip to India.
