[2] The Madras Players has its origins from Kilpauk General/Mental Hospital in the Psychiatric Ward, a theatre group exclusively for the mentally disabled, that mounted comedies and bedroom farces in the early 1950s.
[4] The group members in the early 1960s included Thambi Kadambavanam, Ammu Mathew, Girish Karnad,[5] and Stewart Melluish.
[3] In the 1970s, they turned their attention to the newly available English translations of Indian-language plays, a venture which was well received by the audiences.
[citation needed] Noted performers for the Players in this period include comedian Naushir Ratnagar, back-stage artist Mithran Devanesan and voice-artist P. C. Ramakrishna,[1] who has been a member of the group since 1969.
[2] The Players' notable theatre productions include adaptations of Vijay Tendulkar's Kanyadaan, Shreekumar Varma's Midnight Hotel and Girish Karnad's Hayavadana.