Perungattur P. Rajagopal (பெருங்கட்டூர் பொ. ராஜகோபால்) is a seasoned Kattaikkuttu actor, director and playwright from a family of traditional performers. When he was 10, he joined his father’s theatre company and dropped out of school. During his long career Rajagopal has trained many children and young people in Kattaikkuttu. Under his inspiring stewardship, the Gurukulam, has delivered a new generation of young professionals, who are both well-trained in Kattaikkuttu and have enjoyed an all-round foundational education. At present Rajagopal is both the Executive as well as Artistic Director of the Kattaikkuttu Sangam.

Rajagopal received the Kalaimamani award from the Government of Tamil Nadu in 2005, the Dakshina Chitra Virunthu in 2010 recognition of his lifetime contribution to the arts and he was awarded the title Kalai Ratna by News7 in 2019.

Hanne M. de Bruin holds a Ph.D. in Indology and performance studies from the University of Leiden, The Netherlands. In addition to her published study on Kattaikkuttu: The Flexibility of a South Indian Theatre Tradition (1999) she has provided, the first-ever Tamil-English translation of an all-night Kattaikkuttu play, Karna Moksham or Karna’s Death (1998) and has co-edited books and written essays on Indian popular theatre, the role of women performers and the work and new productions of the Sangam.

In 2002 Hanne left an academic career to work full-time for the Sangam and Gurukulam as a programme director and principal fundraiser. She is also involved in the Gurukulam’s (and now Sangam’s) new productions as a dramaturg and costume designer.

In 2016, 2017 and 2018 she was a fellow of the International Research Center Interweaving Performance Cultures in Berlin. This enabled her to re-engage again with her academic work and so did her position as a guest-lecturer in 2019 and 2020 at the Performing Arts Department of Ashoka University, Haryana.