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+Category:1950s establishments in Madras State; +Category:Arts organizations established in the 1950s using HotCat

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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2018}}
'''The Madras Players''' are the oldest [[Indian English|English]]-language [[theatre]] group in [[Chennai]], [[India]].<ref name="busline">{{cite news|last=Ramachander|first=S.|title=A life in amateur theatre|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2004/05/28/stories/2004052800110200.htm|access-date=28 October 2010|newspaper=Business Line|date=28 May 2004}}</ref> The Madras Players have staged over 240 theatre productions over more than 50 years.<ref name="highdram">{{cite news|last=Batool|first=Aliakbar Lehry|title=High on Drama |url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2008/01/04/stories/2008010450020100.htm|access-date=28 October 2010 |newspaper=Business Line|date=4 January 2008}}</ref>

==History==
The Madras Players has its origins from Kilpauk General/Mental Hospital in the Psychiatric Ward, a theatre group exclusively for the mentally disabled, that mounted comedies and bedroom farces in the early 1950s.<ref name="hindu">{{cite news|last=Roy|first=Elizabeth|title=Playing for 50 years |url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/2004/08/13/stories/2004081301920300.htm|access-date=28 October 2010 |newspaper=The Hindu|date=13 August 2004}}</ref> In 1955, the [[British Council]] first hosted [[Robert Newton]]'s ''[[Othello]]'' which featured a mix of British and Indian actors. Shortly after, the Madras Dramatic Society closed down, and bequeathed most of their props and make-up equipment to The Madras Players founding members N. S. Yamuna and Gayathri (Grace) Krishnaswamy.<ref name="metroplus">{{cite news|last=Muthiah|first=S.|title=An old theatre tradition |url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2005/01/31/stories/2005013100170300.htm|access-date=28 October 2010|newspaper=The Hindu Metro Plus|date=31 January 2005}}</ref>

The group members in the early 1960s included Thambi Kadambavanam, Ammu Mathew, [[Girish Karnad]],<ref>{{cite book |title=Authors speak|chapter= Girish Karnad|author=Sachindananda|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|year=2006|isbn=81-260-1945-X |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PGWa7v08JikC&pg=PT82&dq=%22Girish+Karnad%22+-inpublisher:icon&cd=8#v=onepage&q=%22Girish%20Karnad%22%20-inpublisher%3Aicon&f=false|page=57|ref=Sa }}</ref> and [[Stewart Melluish]]. In their early days, the group staged British works from [[Terence Rattigan]], [[Shakespeare]], [[Ibsen]], [[John Osborne|Osborne]] with the help of directors like John Shepherd and Peter Coe and with constant support from the British Council.<ref name=hindu /> In the 1970s, they turned their attention to the newly available English translations of Indian-language plays, a venture which was well received by the audiences. Noted [[Kannada]] director [[Girish Karnad]] translated his plays to English for the group, who also performed translated works of playwrights like [[Mohan Rakesh]], [[Vijay Tendulkar]] and [[Gurucharan Das]].{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}

Noted performers for the Players in this period include comedian [[Naushir Ratnagar]], back-stage artist [[Mithran Devanesan]] and voice-artist [[P. C. Ramakrishna]],<ref name=busline /> who has been a member of the group since 1969.<ref name="highdram"/>

==Activities==
The Players' notable theatre productions include adaptations of Vijay Tendulkar's ''Kanyadaan'', [[Shreekumar Varma]]'s ''[[Midnight Hotel]]'' and [[Girish Karnad]]'s ''[[Hayavadana]]''. The group's longest running play was the 2007 adaptation of [[Chetan Bhagat]]'s novel ''[[Five Point Someone]]''.<ref name=highdram />

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*{{official website|http://www.madrasplayers.org/admin.php}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Madras Players, The}}
[[Category:Theatre companies in India]]
[[Category:Amateur theatre]]
[[Category:Culture of Chennai]]
[[Category:Organisations based in Chennai]]
[[Category:1950s establishments in Madras State]]
[[Category:Arts organizations established in the 1950s]]

The Madras Players - Revision history

imported>BrownHairedGirl: +Category:1950s establishments in Madras State; +Category:Arts organizations established in the 1950s using HotCat