Hanne M. de Bruin
Fellow
Johanna (Hanne) M. de Bruin (1959) holds a Ph.D. in Indology from the University of Leiden, Netherlands. Her research and practical work covers different popular theatre forms in rural Tamil Nadu, including Kattaikkuttu, drama and the rural Devadasi tradition. She has a special interest in the (stigmatized) position and contribution of women performers to the rural stage, the role of elementary education in the formation of rural children in Tamil Nadu, and issues revolving around social stigma. Her publications include the Tamil version and English translation of an all-night Kattaikkuttu play, Karṇa Mōkṣam or Karṇa’s Death: A Play by Pukalentippulavar (1998), Kaṭṭaikkūttu: The Flexibility of a South Indian Theatre Tradition (1999) and Leprosy in South India: Stigma and Strategies of Coping (1996). She edited a Seagull Theatre Quarterly Special Issue on Hybrid Theatres in India (2001) and co-edited the monograph Between Shame and Fame: Performing Women & Women Performers in India (2011) with Heidrun Brückner and Heike Moser. Together with her husband, Kattaikkuttu actor, director and playwright P. Rajagopal, she founded the Kattaikkuttu Sangam (1990), a grassroots association of professional performers, and the Sangam’s ground-breaking project, the Kattaikkuttu Gurukulam (2002). Since 2001, Hanne has been working full-time for the Sangam, initially as facilitator and more recently as its executive director, programme director and principal fundraiser. She is involved in the Gurukulam’s day-to-day artistic, educational and financial management and accompanies its new productions as a dramaturg and costume designer. She has curated three large scale rural festivals of the Sangam in 2000, 2005 and 2015, offering equal space and time to performing art forms without labelling each as folk, traditional, classical or modern/contemporary. These festivals offered rural audiences access to South Indian theatre, dance and puppetry forms that normally remain outside their sphere of contact, and allowed urban/international spectators to witness Kattaikkuttu’s vibrant performance scene. Hanne is a member of the India Theatre Forum and an alumni of the ATSA arts management course instituted by the South Asian network of the Goethe Institutes, New Delhi. www.kattaikkuttu.org
THIS AUTHOR WROTE
Johanna (Hanne) M. de Bruin (1959) holds a Ph.D. in Indology from the University of Leiden, Netherlands. Her research and practical work covers different popular theatre forms in rural Tamil Nadu, including Kattaikkuttu, drama and the rural Devadasi tradition. She has a special interest in the (stigmatized) position and contribution of women performers to the rural stage, the role of elementary education in the formation of rural children in Tamil Nadu, and issues revolving around social stigma. Her publications include the Tamil version and English translation of an all-night Kattaikkuttu play, Karṇa Mōkṣam or Karṇa’s Death: A Play by Pukalentippulavar (1998), Kaṭṭaikkūttu: The Flexibility of a South Indian Theatre Tradition (1999) and Leprosy in South India: Stigma and Strategies of Coping (1996). She edited a Seagull Theatre Quarterly Special Issue on Hybrid Theatres in India (2001) and co-edited the monograph Between Shame and Fame: Performing Women & Women Performers in India (2011) with Heidrun Brückner and Heike Moser. Together with her husband, Kattaikkuttu actor, director and playwright P. Rajagopal, she founded the Kattaikkuttu Sangam (1990), a grassroots association of professional performers, and the Sangam’s ground-breaking project, the Kattaikkuttu Gurukulam (2002). Since 2001, Hanne has been working full-time for the Sangam, initially as facilitator and more recently as its executive director, programme director and principal fundraiser. She is involved in the Gurukulam’s day-to-day artistic, educational and financial management and accompanies its new productions as a dramaturg and costume designer. She has curated three large scale rural festivals of the Sangam in 2000, 2005 and 2015, offering equal space and time to performing art forms without labelling each as folk, traditional, classical or modern/contemporary. These festivals offered rural audiences access to South Indian theatre, dance and puppetry forms that normally remain outside their sphere of contact, and allowed urban/international spectators to witness Kattaikkuttu’s vibrant performance scene. Hanne is a member of the India Theatre Forum and an alumni of the ATSA arts management course instituted by the South Asian network of the Goethe Institutes, New Delhi. www.kattaikkuttu.org
June 19, 2017
A few weeks ago, IRC-Fellow Hanne de Bruin went to Paris to see Une chambre en Inde, Théâtre de Soleil's latest production directed by Ariane Mnouchkine. The production premiered in November 2016 and was inspired, among other things, by the South Indian (Tamil language) Kattaikkuttu or Terukkuttu theatre. Hanne de Bruin works as Programme Director/Facilitator for the Kattaikkuttu Sangam, an association of professional Kattaikkuttu performers. Together with her husband Kattaikkuttu actor, director and playwright, P. Rajagopal, she helped set up the school Kattaikkuttu Gurukulam in 2002. Being an expert on Kattaikkuttu, de Bruin watched Une chambre en Inde with totally different eyes then most of its audience - a rare chance to get a special insight. Have a look at her review to learn about her thoughts and questions.