The Garden of Riki Tiki Tavi

The Garden of Riki Tiki Tavi 

During the 2013-2014 season, Columbus State University was hosting several theatrical performances at its River Theater.  Located in the Corn Center on the banks of the scenic Chattahoochee River, in Downtown Columbus, Georgia, the Riverside Theater hosted an adaptation by Y. York from the book by Rudyard Kipling:  The Garden of Riki Tiki Tavi.  I attended this event Friday, January 17, 2014 at 7:30 pm.  Upon my arrival in the lobby of the theater, I was taken aback by the display that showcased pictures and names of the actors who would be performing that night.  As I stood out in the lobby waiting for show time, I spoke briefly with two of the ushers and some of the people who were a part of the staff and faculty.  Excited to be there, all those in attendance were the cast, technical staff, staff and faculty of CSUs College of the Arts, members of the CSU student activities center, and other families with friends who came to see this magnificent performance.  Out of the eight plays that was presented during the 2013 – 2014 season (York, 2014); I chose to see The Garden of Riki Tiki Tavi for two reasons:  1) Because I have liked Riki Tiki Tavi since I was a child, and 2) because I wanted to see how they would portray this delicate blend of reptiles, outdoors, digging, flying, and confrontations on stage.  But most importantly, I wanted to see what kind of costumes, color schemes, props, dialogue, and how each scene would play out what I had seen on television as a child in the 80s.   

 

The green color of the props used to represent the bushes, trees, burrowed holes or tunnels, and branches, reminded me of the buon frescos originally employed by the Minoan artist.  This technique was used by Renaissance artist nearly 3,000 years later.  The basket that Naag’s eggs were nestled in made it simple for the actors to carry and audience to see the eggs.  Also, the way they had them nestled in the basket gave an indication of how they looked on the actual ground.  “…as he watched RIKI TIKI the mongoose protect his human caretakers from snakes, but mostly the evil cobras Na[a]g and Na[a]gaina, whose nest was in the garden of the human home.”    The play was in the style of a children’s play, but one could identify the characters through the costumes.  In addition, the dialogue was brought to life by the wits and creative acting of its cast.  This satirical comedy was “an amusing [and] lighthearted play designed to make its audience laugh” (Sayre, 2011, p. 152). 

The actors who played Riki Tiki, Darzee, ChuChu, and Nag all displayed Komos as they phallically frolicked around stage.  The dialogue expressed the conflict well in this play, reminding me of the clashes between Romeo and Tybalt, as ChuChu, Darzee, and Riki Tiki scuttle, push, and fly for dominance in the garden of the human’s run by Nag.  The conflict is similar to that between Antigone and Creon.  Nag is the fierce cobra who has dominated the garden for years by keeping its inhabitants, ChuChu, and Darzee, in fear.  Along comes young and hurt Riki Tiki the mongoose, whom is taken in by Teddy, the human boy. 

 Riki Tiki falls in love with his new human caretaker, makes friends with ChuChu and Darzee, and plays with them in the garden.  When Darzee tells how she killed Nag’s wife, Nagaina, and how Nag wants to kill Teddy.  Riki Tiki becomes Nag’s mortal enemy as he protects Teddy, but Nag’s love for his eggs (unborn offspring), mixed with his evil intentions allows Riki Tiki to place himself in a very advantageous position as the snake and the mongoose square off in a battle for the garden.  “…as he watched RIKI TIKI the mongoose protect his human caretakers from snakes, but mostly the evil cobras, Na[a]g and Na[a]gaina, whose nest was in the garden of the human home… 

As I sat out in the audience I thought of the “plays [that] were performed [on] an open area of the agora [Greek Theaters] called the orchestra, or ‘dancing space.’  The Riverside Theater reminded me of the “Epidaurus Theater, built in the early third century BCE.”  The atmosphere was one that I could have set in for another two or three hours through another play; even an encore performance.  I was disappointed in the actor who played ChuChu, who just did not want to talk to me after the play.  I wanted to express my thanks to her, and tell her how good I thought her performance was; but she was too busy hugging her friends and fellow thespians to give me a minute of her time..