Kumara Varma (born April 1945) is an

Indian theatre Theatre of India is one of the most ancient forms of theatre and it features a detailed textual, sculptural, and dramatic effects which emerged in mid first millennium BC. Like in the areas of music and dance, the Indian theatre is also defin ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

. To date, he has directed at least thirty-six Indian and Western plays during the past five decades, including ''Raja Oedipus'', ''Urubhangam'', ''Mattavilasam'', ''Abhijnana Shakuntalam'', ''

Ashadh Ka Ek Din ''Ashadh Ka Ek Din'' (Hindi: आषाढ़ का एक दिन, One Day in Ashadh) is a Hindi play by Mohan Rakesh that debuted in 1958 and is considered the first Modern Hindi play. The play received a Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for bes ...

'', ''Baaki Itihas'', ''Uddhwast Dharmashala'', ''Six Characters in Search of an Author'', ''Death Watch'', ''Agg De Kaleere'' ("

Blood Wedding ''Blood Wedding'' () is a tragedy by Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. It was written in 1932 and first performed at Teatro Beatriz in Madrid in March 1933, then later that year in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The play is set in rural Spa ...

") and ''Leedli Nagari ki Neeti Katha'' (" The Visit").

Biography

Kumara Varma was born in April 1945 in

Mavelikkara Mavelikkara () is a municipality in the Onattukara Region of Alappuzha district of Kerala, India. It is located south of the district headquarters in Alappuzha and about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. After completing his BSc, he joined the

National School of Drama National School of Drama (NSD) is a drama school situated at New Delhi, India. It is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was set up in 1959 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and became an independent school ...

in 1964 and left in 1967 with the prestigious Bharat Puraskar and Girish Ghosh Puraskar. During 1967–68, he worked in the Repertory Company of the NSD and directed ''Hori'' (a dramatized version of

Premchand Dhanpat Rai Srivastava (31 July 1880 – 8 October 1936), better known as Munshi Premchand based on his pen name Premchand (), was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani language, Hindustani literature. Premchand was a pioneer ...

’s ''

Godaan ''Godaan'' (, ) is a Hindi novel by Munshi Premchand. It was first published in 1936 and is considered one of the greatest novels of modern Indian literature. Themed around the socio-economic deprivation as well as the exploitation of the vil ...

'') for which the set was designed by

Ebrahim Alkazi Ebrahim Alkazi (18 October 1925 – 4 August 2020) was a Saudi Indian theatre director and drama teacher. A rigid disciplinarian, he instilled in his acting students an awe and reverence that they still carry with them, with several of them ...

. Between 1968 and 1973 Kumara Varma was actively involved in the Natakakalari movement (New-theatre Movement) in Kerala, organizing workshops and directing plays in collaboration with playwrights such as C. N. Srikanthan Nair,

G. Sankara Pillai Gopala Pillai Sankara Pillai (22 June 1930 – 1 January 1989), better known as G. Sankara Pillai, was an Indian playwright, literary critic, and director, known to be one of the pioneers of modern Malayalam theatre. A proponent of Physical the ...

and

Kavalam Narayana Panikkar Kavalam Narayana Panikkar (1 May 1928 – 26 June 2016) was an Indian dramatist, theatre director, and poet. He has written over 26 Malayalam plays, many adapted from classical Sanskrit drama and Shakespeare, notably Kalidasa's ''Vikramorvasiy ...

. Some of his productions of this period include Nair's ''Saketam'', Pillai's ''Bandi'' and Panikkar's ''Sakshi''. Varma joined the Faculty of the Department of Indian Theatre at

Panjab University Panjab University (PU) is an Indian collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh. Funded through both State and Union governments, it is considered a state university. It traces its origins to the University of the Punjab in Lahor ...

in 1973 as Lecturer and later became Professor. He has also chaired the Department and has been the Dean of the Faculty of Design and Fine Arts. He was also formerly a Secretary of the Punjab University Teachers Association (PUTA). Kumara Varma was awarded the Italian Government Scholarship in 1979 and studied the History of Theatre and Drama at the University of Rome. Besides having represented India in the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Theatre Conference at

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1980, he has also studied theatre in many countries. He received the

Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship The Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship is an honour presented by the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, an autonomous organisation for the encouragement, preservation, and documentation of the performing arts of Kerala, set up by the Depar ...

in 2016.

Productions

2000

* ''Leedli Nagari Ki Neeti Katha'' (2001), a Hindi adaptation of

Friedrich Dürrenmatt Friedrich Dürrenmatt (; 5 January 1921 – 14 December 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant- ...

's '' The Visit'' by Kumara Varma for the Department of Indian Theatre, P. U., Chandigarh * ''Ahijnana Shakuntalam'' (2001), by Kālidāsa for the National School of Drama, New Delhi * ''Agg De Kaleere'' (April 2003), a Punjabi adaptation of Garcia Lorca's ''Blood Wedding'' by Surjeet Pattar for the Department of Theatre & Television, Punjabi University, Patiala * ''Teen Bhautik Shastri'' (2004), a Hindi translation of Friedrich Dürrenmatt's ''

The Physicists ''The Physicists'' () is a German satiric drama/ tragic comedy written in 1961 by Swiss writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt. The play was mainly written as a result of the Second World War and many advances in science and nuclear technology. The play ...

'' for the Department of Indian Theatre, P. U., Chandigarh * ''Ek Dalit Yuvati Ki Dukh Bhari Dastan'' (2005), a Hindi adaptation of M. Mukudan's ''Oru Dalit Yuvatiyude Kadana Katha'' for the Repertory Company of the National School of Drama, New Delhi * ''Warren Hastings Ka Saand'' (2008), ''a stage adaptation of Uday Prakash's Hindi short story for the Department of Indian Theatre, P.U., Chandigarh. '' *"Begum Panikkar",(2012), a Malayalam adaptation of Satish Alekar's Marathi play "Begum Barve" for the Department of Theatre, Sri Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady, Kerala. *"Andorra", (2014), Malayalam translation of Max Frisch's play "Andorra" by S. Sunil Kumar for the School of Drama & Fine Arts, University of Clicut, Thrissur.

1990

* ''Shehar Hamara'' (1990), a Hindi adaptation of

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'', and a U. ...

's ''

Our Town ''Our Town'' is a three-act play written by American playwright Thornton Wilder in 1938. Described by Edward Albee as "the greatest American play ever written", it presents the fictional American town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 ...

'' for the Department of Indian Theatre, P. U., Chandigarh * ''Death Watch'' (1991), by Jean Genet for Sahridaya Sangam, Chandigarh * ''Uspar'' (1993), a Punjabi adaptation of

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

's ''

A View from the Bridge ''A View from the Bridge'' is a play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was first staged on September 29, 1955, as a one-act verse drama with '' A Memory of Two Mondays'' at the Coronet Theatre on Broadway. The run was unsuccessful, ...

'' for Sahridaya Sangam, Chandigarh * ''Rishte Hi Rishte'' (1994), a Hindi adaptation of Thornton Wilder's ''

The Matchmaker ''The Matchmaker'' is a 1954 Broadway play by Thornton Wilder, a rewritten version of his 1938 play '' The Merchant of Yonkers''. History The play has a long and colorful history. John Oxenford's 1835 one-act farce ''A Day Well Spent'' ha ...

'' for the Department of Indian Theatre, P. U., Chandigarh * ''Bury the Dead'' (1996), by Irwin Shaw for the Department of Indian Theatre, P. U., Chandigarh * ''Jana Shatru'' (1999), a Hindi adaptation of

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

's ''

An Enemy of the People ''An Enemy of the People'' (original Norwegian title: ''En folkefiende'') is an 1882 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen that explores the conflict between personal integrity and societal norms. The play centers on Dr. Thomas Stockmann, w ...

'' by J. N. Kaushal for the Department of Indian Theatre, P. U., Chandigarh

1980

* ''Six Characters in Search of an Author'' (1980), by Luigi Pirandello for the Department of Indian Theatre, P. U., Chandigarh * ''Mattavilasam'' (1982–83), by Mahendra Vikrama Varman for the Department of Indian Theatre, P. U., Chandigarh * ''Urubhang'' (1984), by Bhasa for the Department of Indian Theatre, P. U., Chandigarh * ''Men Without Shadows'' (1985), by Jean-Paul Sartre for the Department of Indian Theatre, P. U., Chandigarh * ''Agg De Kaleere'' (1986), a Punjabi adaptation of Garcia Lorca's ''

'' by Surjit Pattar for the Department of Indian Theatre, P. U., Chandigarh

1970

* ''Jabala Satyakaman'' (1970), by Kavalam Narayana Panikkar for Koothamplam, Alleppey * ''Kakkarissanatakam'' (1970), a folk play from Kerala for the Department of Tourism, Kerala state * ''

Bhagavadajjukam The ''Bhagavadajjukam'' (Sanskrit; translated as ''The Ascetic and the Courtesan'' or ''The Hermit and the Harlot'') is a Sanskrit farce composed in the 7th century CE, usually attributed to Bodhayana. However, inscriptional and scholarly evidence ...

'' (1971), by Bhodhayana for Kerala Sangeet Natak Akademi * ''Enikkusesham'' (1972), by Kavalam Narayana Panikkar for Thiruvarang, Alleppey * ''Daivathar'' (1973), by Kavalam Narayana Panikkar for Thiruvarang, Alleppey * ''A Doll's House'' (1973), by Henrik Ibsen for the Department for Indian Theatre, Panjab University, Chandigarh * ''Baaqui Itihas'' (1975), by Badal Sircar, for Indian Arts Revival Group, Chandigarh * ''Ashadh Ka Ek Din'' (1976), by Mohan Rakesh, Janvadi Rang Manch, Chandigarh * ''The House of Bernarda Alba'' (1976), by Lorca for Sutradhar, Chandigarh * ''Durmati Bhanda Phoota (Tartuffe)'' (1977), by Molière for the Department of Indian Theatre, P. U., Chandigarh * ''Ottayan'' (1977), by Kavalam Narayana Panikkar for Thiruvarang, Trivandrum * ''Raja Oedipus'' (1978), by Sophocles for the Department of Indian Theatre, P. U., Chandigarh * ''Uddhvast Dharmashala'' (1979), by Govind Deshpandey for Natika

1960

* ''Chakra'' (1967), by Vidyadhar Pundalik for the National School of Drama * ''Hori (Godan)'' (1967), by Premchand for the Repertory Company of the National School of Drama, New Delhi * ''Bandi'' (1968), by G. Sankara Pillai for Suvarnarekha, Trivandrum * ''Sakshi'' (1968), by Kavalam Narayana Panikkar for Koothapalam, Alleppey * ''Kazhukanmar'' (1968), by G. Sankara Pillai for The Dramatic Club, Cashew Board, Quilon * ''Saketam'' (1969), by C. N. Srikantan Nair for Suvarnarekha, Trivandrum * ''Thiruvazhithan'' (1969), by Kavalam Narayana Panikkar for Koothamplam, Alleppey

References

External links

kumaravarma.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Varma, Kumara 1945 births Living people Indian theatre directors Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship