The Transposed Heads
The story of the Transposed Heads is believed to have originated in India over two thousand years ago in the court of the great King Vikramaditya, thought to be a wise king. From a tradition called the Vikram-Vetal, this is one of a series of stories told by the ghost Vetala, as riddles to the king to test his wisdom and ability to rule. Vetala poses the king with a dilemma questoin at the end of each story, promising to stop haunting him if he answered the questions correctly and morally.
This particular story had almost been forgotten in India until German writer Thomas Mann rediscovered it and wrote his own version, Die vertauschten Köpfe, in 1940. Another adaptation by Indian playwright Girish Karnad in 1994 brought the story back to its Indian roots within another story in his play, Hayavadana. This rendition of the story by Revanta Sarabhai was adapted primarily from Karnad’s version in Hayavadana.
Adapted, choreographed & directed by Revanta Sarabhai
Performed by Revanta Sarabhai & Eric Cupo
Music by K. Jayan, Revanta, & The Darpana Musicians
Lighting by Angelo Anastasio
The Transposed Heads premiered at the University of the Arts Drake theatre on April 30th 2006. The performance was part of a series of works by students of the graduating Senior Multimedia Class at The University of the Arts, Philadelphia.
