CHENNAI: What does it mean to grow old, and how does witnessing the lives of others change the choices we make? In Oliyudal (Light Years), a theatre production written and directed by Prasanna Ramaswamy, a senior living facility becomes the setting for stories of ageing, memory, grief, love and the search for dignity.
The play brings together a diverse group of residents, staff and visitors, each carrying their own histories and conflicts. Among them is a choir singer living with dementia who finds moments of lucidity when he hears Bharathi’s poetry. The facility’s manager, meanwhile, is dealing with the loss of a loved one in a hit-and-run accident even as she goes about her responsibilities.
Music becomes an unexpected bridge between the two. When the manager begins singing and notices the resident responding, she continues to sing for him. The music takes him back to the days when he was part of her choir, allowing him to experience moments of clarity. The play also follows a suspected murder attempt and the ensuing police investigation. As the evidence brings the person responsible for the hit-and-run closer to being identified, the manager makes an unexpected decision to drop the case. Having witnessed the residents’ efforts to live with dignity despite their disabilities and limitations, she begins to reconsider what pursuing justice would mean to her.
Through these intersecting narratives, Ramaswamy seeks to give form to the emotions and experiences that accompany ageing rather than treating them as abstract ideas. The production uses multiple narratives, discussions, movement and music to bring its characters’ inner worlds to the stage.
Drawing on the works of writers including Girish Karnad, Thi. Janakiraman and Imayam, alongside other literary and philosophical influences, Light Years combines Rasa and cathartic aesthetics. Beyond its dramatic turns, the play invites audiences to consider ageing as a stage of life that everyone will encounter. Theatre production Oliyudal will be staged on October 30 at 7 pm at Alliance Française and on October 31 at 7 pm at Medai. Tickets are available on KYN.