My colleagues pressed me to arrive at Kathakali half an hour early : “You cannot miss the make-up session”, they insisted. Kathakali is non-speaking theatre you see. So the performance starts early on, before the show even starts. One of the two performers of the night was on stage when I arrived. He was applying all the bright colours artfully, as if his face was a map. His face was eventually entirely covered after hours of preparation. Kathakali is about craftsmanship.

When the second performer arrived on stage he gave us a live glossary of emotions. The performance was narrated in english but didn’t need to be. The whole room could read the precision of his mimics. And when the play started most of the audience knew the famous legends being performed, the children were freaked out. It was interesting to be able to see a play in India, a play without words and to get the feeling you have as much chance as anyone to follow the story. Kathakali is about universality.