‘If Lanterns Could Talk!’ uses folklore and shadow puppetry to explore caste, love, and silence

Hyderabad: A new physical theatre production in Hyderabad is turning suppressed stories into stage language, using shadow puppetry, Kalaripayattu, and folklore to ask what happens to the stories people are not allowed to tell.

If Lanterns Could Talk!, directed by Osman Ghani of Red Turtle Collective in collaboration with Lighthouse Theatre, reimagines an old folktale collected by A. K. Ramanujan. The piece reframes the traditional narrative to reflect present-day realities around caste, love, marriage, control, censorship, and the burdens people carry.

In this version, untold stories take unexpected forms on stage, including a kurta and a chappal. The production blends movement, martial art, and shadow puppetry to give shape to themes often left in silence. Kalaripayattu informs the physical vocabulary, while shadow work allows characters and conflicts to appear and dissolve like memories.

Ghani’s approach treats the stage as a space for suppressed voices. By drawing from Ramanujan’s folklore archive and layering it with contemporary questions, the performance connects inherited narratives with current social dynamics.

The work highlights Red Turtle Collective’s focus on devised and physical theatre, and marks another collaboration with Lighthouse Theatre to bring experimental forms to Hyderabad audiences.