A Jaffna-born artist who made Tamil theatre popular overseas

“Have your freedom, have your governance…Neither you deprive us of our land, nor we covet your land,” sang a group of youth as they moved in rhythmic steps and gestures on the dais. “Keep your hands straight,” the director, who also moved with the young actors, told them. “Neither are you my slave, nor am I your slave,” they chorused.

Shot in the 1990s while Jaffna-born theatre director AC Tarciisius conducted a workshop in London, the video was used as the opening scene of Amshan Kumar’s recent documentary titled Eela Koothan: Portrait of a Tamil Theatre Artist. It was a deliberate move to showcase the energy that Tarciisius displayed – his versions of movements and expressions drawn from elements of Therukoothu, Kandyan dance and folk.

A scene from one of AC Tarciisius's plays.

Tarciisius has been active as a theatre director, playwright and actor for more than six decades. A man who popularised Tamil theatre in countries like the UK and Switzerland, Tarciisius created a unique style, combining the best of Eastern and Western forms. Tamil theatre, despite its hoary past, was never a force to reckon with when it came to building opinions overseas, according to filmmaker Amshan Kumar, whose documentary exposes the challenging life and struggles of Tarciisius who brought in a big change in the field of Tamil theatre abroad.

When Tamils were not given any social status other than refugees in Switzerland, Tarciisius along with his students made Swiss people realise the cultural richness of Tamils through his plays. “Swiss artists willingly came forward to collaborate with Tamils for play productions, and that was no mean achievement. Neither Tamil literature nor Tamil cinema had played such a transformative role in highlighting the values of Tamil ethnicity in a foreign soil,” said Amshan.

However, the contributions of Tarciisius and the role played by him in promoting Tamil theatre abroad remained unknown to many. It was the reason why Amshan took his camera and went in search of him. He met the 83-year-old artist at his home in London. The 130-minute-long documentary, shot in London, Switzerland, Sri Lanka and Chennai, portrays the life of a vibrant Tamil theatre artist and through it the history of Tamil theatre overseas as well.

Tarciisius with his wife Vimala.

Making a documentary, particularly about an unsung hero, was challenging. “I read everything about him (Tarciisius) and by him and contacted many who knew him both as a person and as a theatre activist. But I learnt more about his theatre when I started the filming. The biggest irony was that even people who were close to him had known him only partially and they all got a full picture of him only through the film. Those who had worked with him in Sri Lanka or Europe were aware of his achievements only in their respective places and not elsewhere until they saw the film.” said Amshan, whose debut feature film in Tamil titled Oruththi was selected for the International Film Festival of India (2003) and was screened in the Indian Panorama Section.

Born in 1940 in Thalaiyadi, a village in Sri Lanka’s Jaffna, Tarciisius studied theatre in Colombo. Besides his work in theatre, he also served as translator and administrator in the education department in Sri Lanka. Tarciisius succeeded in forming Tamil theatre on the lines of popular Sinhalese theatre, according to S Mounaguru, former head of the fine arts department, Eastern University, Sri Lanka.

Tarciisius learnt Sinthu Nadai Kathavarayan koothu in Jaffna, according to A Shanmugathas, emeritus professor, Jaffna University, Sri Lanka. “He learnt Catholic Koothu. It was difficult but he managed it. He was also trained in Batticaloa Koothu, Thenmodi Koothu and Kandy dance. Because of his mastery in all these forms, he is called Eela Kooththan,” said Shanmugathas.

Tarciisius moved from one place to the other to learn the specific art and culture of the region. He met a lot of Koothu and folk artists, including Kandyan dancers. He learnt the basics of western theatre from veteran Sri Lanka playwright Ernest Macintyre and renowned theatre-actor Iranganie Serasinghe. Tarciisius focused on themes like freedom, identity crises of refugees and other existential issues in his plays. Kodai, Puthiyathoru Veedu, Kaalam Sivakkiradhu, Pichchai Vendaam, Kandhan Karunai, Poruththadhu Podhum, Sri Salami, Osai and Kaani Nilam Vendum are some of the plays directed by Tarciisius. He also wrote a number of plays. Poruththadu Podhum, Oru Kavlam Soru, Panchavadik Kavalan, Sri Salami, Avan Seyal, Peigal Arasaandaal are some of the plays written by him. He also won various awards for his plays in Canada, the UK and Sri Lanka.

Even though Tarciisius became popular in Colombo, he had big dreams. The couple went to Nigeria with a great plan. While Tarciisius’ salary would be used for daily expenses and maintenance, Vimala’s salary would be saved to construct an auditorium for theatre and a college in Colombo. But it didn’t work the way they planned. Vimala suffered severe burns due to a gas cylinder explosion and she had to stay back for treatment. It was after she recovered that they returned to the UK in 1992.

One of the reasons why Tarciisius is not too well known is that he lives away in London and had made only a few visits to India, according to Amshan. During his visit in 1997, he formed a group with artists in Chennai, Sri Lanka and London and went on a tour performing plays in many cities in Tamil Nadu and Bangalore. It turned out to be a big theatrical event. Amshan had met Tarciisius in Chennai and London but he never thought of a documentary on him, mainly because of the geographical distance.

AC Tarciisius with a group of budding theatre students. 

“When a proposal to make a documentary on him was made jointly by Navadharshani Karunakaran, professor of Jaffna University and Anton Ponrajah, founder of Swiss Tamil Nadaka Kalloori, I jumped at it. But Tarciisius was extremely shy, and he had to be persuaded,” said Amshan, who found Tarciisius very humble and highly disciplined. “His knowledge and training in traditional theatre forms of the East and the Modern Western theatre are of a very high standard. Renowned German theatre director Peter Braschler mentioned him as ‘my guru’,” he added. Tarciisius, who lives in London, still conducts theatre workshops as he is still in search of movements and gestures. His home in Thalaiyadi (Jaffna) was destroyed during the 2004 tsunami.