Tamil Nadu   

Against all kinds of discrimination

It does not have the ostentatiousness of the stage. Everything is based on spontaneity and the power of the voice and body language. And, that is what Suresh Dharma firmly believes in - The power of communicating through body language. The director of "Black Theatre," a resource group based in Chennai that trains people in the dynamics of street theatre, he traces the history of this genre of theatre in Tamil Nadu and shares his thoughts with Anasuya Menon.

"Street theatre evolved as a means of expressing protest against injustice, discrimination and suppression," Mr. Dharma says. A structural engineer by profession, he was drawn to the idea of street theatre. "It has been 30 years now and I don't regret having quit engineering."

It was during the Emergency that street theatre took shape as a movement in Tamil Nadu. Termed as "Flash Theatre," they were very short plays enacted on the streets in protest against the bureaucracy. Then, it gradually became popular and attained mass appeal. Tamil Nadu did have its own form of folk theatre called `Vatta Arangu" (circle theatre) where the audience sat in a circle and the actors performed in the centre.

Street theatre does not require make-up, the settings are minimalist and the people who perform are not essentially actors. They are actually communicators. "You do not require acting skills to perform on the streets, instead what you need is commitment to society," Mr. Dharma says. Even though this form of theatre dispenses with face-paints, masks and attractive costumes, it does make use of props. Wooden sticks and pieces of colourful cloth and sometimes even the `parai' (traditional drum) are used, he says. Its themes are based on all kinds of discrimination. "Human rights are violated left, right and centre in our country and the issues need to be addressed. Our target audience is the suppressed class. We want them to be aware of their rights. It is theatre for the masses," he emphasises. Reaching out to people is the ultimate aim. Since there is no stage, the performers and the audience are at the same level. It is interactive, he says.

Training for street theatre involves physical exercises, including yoga and voice culture. Co-ordination among the performers is also very important as in any other form of theatre. Through voice the performers should be able to arrest people's attention. They should remember that they are not performing for a select audience. All they have is their voice and their selves, Mr.Dharma says.

Suresh Dharma

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