Name of the play: SEEVAKA SINTHAMANI
Author: J. Appandairajan | Directed by: G. Sreedevi
Seevakan was a hero born amidst chaos and irony in a graveyard — the last place where birth could take place. His father, a king smitten by beauty, gave the duties of the state to his minister, who later killed the king to take over the kingdom. Seevakan was born to a fallen king and a queen, yet the community did not recognise his birth and higher stature. The epic is about how the talented Seevakan, after going through numerous conquests and challenges, manages to reclaim his father's kingdom and finally renounces everything to attain liberation.
The epic deals with characters whose issues are very universal. Seevagan fits perfectly to Aristotle's descriptions of a tragic hero — denied his rightful stature, he goes on a journey in search of a solution. The final conflict that reveals his true identity puts him back into the community.
Seevaka Sinthamani, written in the 9th Century AD, has not yet been treated as extensively as Silappathigaaram or Manimegalai, despite its universal elements of theatre and drama, and elements of magic and sorcery similar to Shakespearean plays.
