Adishakti Laboratory for Theatre Art Research presented its contemporary reimagining of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, A Woman Or Not to Be: Re-Making Hamlet, for the first time in Nagaland before a full house at Town Hall, Supermarket, Dimapur, on Tuesday evening.
Written, directed, acted and with music directed by Vinaya Kumar, the production revisited Shakespeare’s classic through a contemporary theatrical language, exploring grief, revenge, memory, identity and women’s agency. The performance was part of Adishakti’s tour across Assam, Meghalaya and Nagaland.
Rather than following the original narrative in a conventional manner, the production used an experimental approach to revisit familiar elements of Hamlet, including the ghost, Hamlet’s grief and the question of revenge. The performance moved between passages inspired by Shakespeare’s text and contemporary dialogue, often blurring the boundaries between characters, memories and perceptions.
A central focus of the production was the female perspective, particularly questions surrounding grief, silence, anger and revenge. The title itself, A Woman Or Not To Be, reworks the familiar “To be or not to be” question to place women’s experiences and agency at the centre of the reinterpretation.
The recurring presence of the ghost further added to the play’s ambiguity, with the characters questioning whether it was an external presence or something existing within the mind. The performance also repeatedly returned to the idea of revenge, examining the motives behind it while retaining the psychological tension associated with Shakespeare’s original work.
The eight-member team comprised actors Nimmy Raphel, Shreya Agarwal, Rouhi Sanyal, Nithin Murali and Sukant Thakur, with Athul Krishna on lights and Subbu Stern at the sound desk, alongside Kumar.
Following the performance, Kumar thanked the Dimapur audience, describing them as “the best audience”, while responding to questions during a spontaneous interaction with the audience. He noted that such an extended question-and-answer session rarely takes place even in metropolitan cities.
The play, along with a theatre workshop held the previous day, was organised by Tia Ki Nagaland Art Space and Listen Events. It was hosted by North East Christian University, Hotel Saramati, Naga Bawl, Koiki’s Cafe, The Barn by JP Parks, Famous Letterpress and Okiru.
Adishakti Laboratory for Theatre Art Research is a contemporary theatre research and repertory company based near Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu. For around four decades, the group has been engaged in theatre research, performance-making and the development of experimental and hybrid forms of theatre. It also conducts residential workshops, seminars and retreats.
The Dimapur presentation marked the group’s first performance of A Woman Or Not To Be Re-Making Hamlet in Nagaland, bringing its contemporary interpretation of one of Shakespeare’s best-known works to local audiences, students and theatre practitioners.
(Staff Reporter)
