ABSTRACT
Among the performances of the bards of Madigas, the Cindus are different in that their art form alone is a full-fledged theatrical performance— the rest of the performances by bards are more narrative-based than theatrically-oriented. Their art form is more widely prevalent and practised even today in the Telangana villages than in the other parts of Andhra Pradesh. Make-up, costumes and ornaments are used in Cindu Madiga theatre performances as a device to manifest the text that is presented to the audience. They form the visual component of theatre and possess semiotic value. In theatrical parlance their performances can be termed ‘folk theatre’ because they display all the elements of theatre, such as text and context, performers and actors, make-up and costumes, properties and ornaments, performance space and body language. The duration of the performance has also been reduced from six hours to three, and the materials used in the make-up, costumes and ornaments are increasingly coming from company-made products.
