LESSON - 3

p10243 Historical Plays

This lesson tells you all about the origin of historical plays,
dealing with national and regional movements. Plays, in verse
form, plays in literature, plays about kings and eminent men,
etc are other things dealt with in this lesson.

Following plays based on ancient epics, historical plays
appeared. Playwrights chose stories from ancient epics, similar
to certain historical events, and spiced them with imaginative
details, to create interesting history plays. Simultaneously,
plays dealing with the lives of eminent personalities like
Thiruvalluvar, Avvaiyar, Kalidaasan and Kabir Das also
appeared.

Notable among the pioneers of Tamil drama, are
Sankaradas Swamigal, Kandaswamy Mudaliar, and Pammal
Sambanda Mudaliar. Both Sankaradas Swamigal and Pammal
Sambanda Mudaliar adapted Shakespeare’s plays to suit
Tamil audiences, and had them performed by professional
artistes.

The Jalianwaalabagh massacre that took place in 1919,
stirred the Indian consciousness so greatly that it influenced
even Tamil drama considerably. Plays dealing with the lives
of Chatrapati Sivaji, Raja Desingh, Subramania Siva and other
leaders were written and performed. The most important of
these Tamil stage troupes, was the T.K.S. Brothers’ theatre
group.

Following this trend, plays promoting the Dravidian
movements also appeared. A few verse plays too, were
written around this time.

Historical plays are a great source of information. They tell
us all about historical events and historical leaders, as well
as the social conditions prevalent at that time. In addition, they
serve to stir in the minds of the audience, feelings of
nationalism and patriotism. Through these plays, we can learn
about events taking place outside Tamil Nadu also. In short,
historical plays bring the past alive to us.

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