Oxygen Theatre Company is an experimental theatre group based in Thrissur, in the Indian state of Kerala that explores the possibilities of a contemporary visual language in Indian theatre, which can possibly surmount the multilingual barriers, through the collaboration of artists from various disciplines like theatre and visual arts. Oxygen aims to develop a visually narrative theatre language firmly rooted in the contemporary Indian life.
The group is made up of a core team of theatre practitioners who have been active in the contemporary theatre scene of Kerala from the 1980s onwards, associating with many experimental theatre groups such as Root, Thrissur, Theatre Eye, Thrissur, Abhinaya Theatre Research Centre, Thiruvananthapuram and Rangachethana, Thrissur. Although most of the Oxygen members are not academically trained theatre artists, many of them are quite well known in the theatre scenario of Kerala for their socio-politically aware and radical approach towards theatre-making.
Spinal Cord the first production of Oxygen, directed by Deepan Sivaraman, in 2009, won seven out of thirteen Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META) in 2010, including Best Production, Best Director, Best Stage Design, Best Choreography, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Lighting Design.
Production by Oxygen Theatre Company
The first production of Oxygen Theatre Company, `Spinal Cord,` based on Gabriel Garcia Marquez`s famed short story, `The Chronicle of A Death Foretold,` won seven out of the 13 prestigious Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META), given at the national level in 2010. The play won the Award for Best Production, for Best Director, Best Stage Design and Best Choreography for Deepan Sivaraman, Best Actor for Gopalan K., Best Supporting Actor for James Elia and Best Lighting Design for Jose Koshy.
The second production of Oxygen Theatre Company, `Peer Gynt,` a Malayalam adaptation of the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, is produced in association with the Dramatic Art and Design Academy, Royal Norwegian Embassy, New Delhi as part of the Delhi Ibsen Festival-2010. Directed by Deepan Sivaraman, this adaptation of `Peer Gynt` is placed in the contemporary Indian context.
