Dr Omkar Bhatkar’s new play seeks to uncover the hidden story of the revered Christian figure popularly known only as the mother of Jesus
A scene from the play Morning Star, which opens in Matunga this week
“The story of Mary is a very internal, invisible, and untold story,” says Dr Omkar Bhatkar, founder and artistic director of the Metamorphosis Theatre group, whose latest play, Morning Star, deals with the life and times of Mother Mary.
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The writer-director of the play, who has ten years of experience as a playwright, says that the relative obscurity of Mary’s early origins drew him towards writing the play. Bhatkar, who is also a sociologist, designed the play as a socio-historical biopic that explores Mary’s life before she became the mother of Jesus. Morning Star takes its name from the famous painting hung at St Michael’s church in Mahim, which depicts Mary with a star on her forehead.
‘Our Lady of Perpetual Help’, a common painting found in Catholic homes and churches, formed part of the 200 Byzantine paintings that Bhatkar’s team researched to get the visual look of the play right
Bhatkar’s vision of Mother Mary stems from his childhood and teenage memories of Mahim’s St Michael’s church, which completes 75 years of its novena this year.
“Since childhood, I was fascinated by how numerous non-Catholics came to St Michael’s church and crawled the aisle,” he says, adding that the amount of devotion and faith that he saw led to the genesis of the play. “That faith, of so many people who come to that space… for me, that is Mother Mary. It’s not about religion, it’s about faith,” he says.
Tracing Mary’s early life was challenging, Bhatkar explains, because there is very little information available in the annals of the Catholic religion. “All that you have in the Marian devotions are mystical writings. But the Quran was a revelation, because it has an entire ‘surah’ (chapter) about St Anne and how she brought up Mother Mary,” he recalls.
The play incorporates all his discoveries from the Quran, starting with Mary’s birth and ending with the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel visits Mary to inform her that she has been chosen to be the Mother of God. Bhatkar also consulted Christian accounts of the mystical visions of Mary by St Elizabeth, St Margaret, and St Bridget of Sweden.
Writer and director Dr Omkar Bhatkar
To design the play visually, the team studied over 200 Byzantine paintings. “The whole play is designed in a very Byzantine style, in terms of movements, expressions, and body language. We have used a lot of movement theatre,” Bhatkar explains. “There are scenes which look like they are a painting in motion.”
The play opened to select audiences at St Andrew’s Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts (SAPP) in April and will now be staged at the Don Bosco School in Matunga for a wider audience.
WHEN: May 26, 5:30 PM
WHERE: Don Bosco International school, Matunga
CHARGES: Rs 300
TO BOOK: bookmyshow.com
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