Andreu Honeycutt as Rama and Heather Haney as Sita in The Constellation Theatre Company’s production of ‘The Ramayana’The Ramayana, an epic poem comprised of over 24,000 verses, is one of the most revered texts in Hinduism. Originally composed in Sanskrit, and attributed to the poet Valmiki with a number of subsequent versions, its characters are familiar throughout South and Southeast Asia. The piece, along with stories from within it, have been depicted in countless ancient and contemporary visual, dramatic, and musical forms. the Constellation Theatre Company has put its own twist on this age-old piece, in the form of The Ramayana, currently running at the Source Theatre.
As with any adaptation of such a revered work, questions inevitably arise as to whether the piece disregards the essence of the source material. Or on the flip side, whether the reworking is so literal that the piece becomes bogged down in minutiae. Peter Oswald’s script and Allison Stockman’s direction in Constellation’s show prove to be not so much a “modern take,” but rather a respectful and creative interpretation of the ancient epic.
The archetypal story centers on Rama, played here by Andreu Honeycutt. Rama is a reincarnation of the Hindu deity Vishnu, who takes human form to destroy Jim Jorgensen’s Ravana, a ten-headed demon king who cannot be killed by either man nor god. Through deceit and treachery, Rama, heir to the throne of Ayodhya, loses his princely status and is forced live in the forest for 14 years. Accompanying him are his wife, Sita (Heather Haney), and his devoted brother, Lakshman (Danny Gavigan). While in exile, Rama and Lakshman deny advances by Ravana’s sister, and in the ensuing dispute, leave her disfigured. To avenge this insult, Ravana and his demon court mastermind a plot to kidnap Sita. Rama is then forced to rescue Sita and confront Ravana in a final battle. Along the way are encounters with other demons, superhuman (or in this case super-primate) feats, mystical encounters, and divine interventions characteristic of classic myth.
