Here we are in South Korea in the southern town of Geochang participating in the Geochang International Festival of Theater. Our journey here was somewhat fraught. The night before we left we saw images of a landslide and floods in Seoul, with cars and trucks floating on the streets! Once we arrived we found out that one of our bags, filled with property and costumes for three of the items on our show, had been lost. Having drived five and a half hours from Seoul, the entire day was spent in trying to trace it, with the kind Bhoomin from the Indian Embassy doing her best. Today, three days later there is still no trace of it. Worse, Jet Airways seems to have left one of our bags in the rain at Mumbai airport and all our beautiful new Chau masks are destroyed. We have spent the day trying to dry them out with hairdryers and repainting them. Unfortunately Drone, like Surpanaka, has lost his nose and surgery is being attempted by Manikandan, the most adept artist of the lot.
The festival takes place around a dammed river flowing out of the mountains, where hundreds of families are camping, tents, babies, dogs and boats in tow. Theaters are built around this and the festival, now in its 23rd year, lasts a month. Our first performance went well last night, but the organization of the festival leaves everything to be desired. The lighting team of 8, sit around drinking beer and smoking while Vasant ended up hanging every single light. Then they could not find a ladder to focus the light. Every query is met by a NO, not possible. Intransigence seems the mantra.
Another show on the 1st of August and then off to flooded Seoul.
