Contemporary theatre: a reality check
JAYA RAMANATHAN
INDIAN THEATRE IN 21ST CENTURY: Utpal K. Banerjee; Shubhi Publications, 240, 2nd Floor, City Centre, M.G.Road, Gurgaon-122002. Rs. 1995.
We live in an age of instant gratification, more so in entertainment than in any other field of activity. Where does theatre, the oldest and most evolved form of entertainment, see itself today? This is not the first time theatre finds itself in a conundrum; it happened with the advent of movies, with television, home theatre, satellite television and the internet. Although there is this constant talk of the decline of theatre, the art form has survived over centuries, and it has learnt to coexist, even borrowing and incorporating at times, elements from the electronic genre.
Labour of love
This book has come out not a day too soon, considering that but for sporadic books on different genres of drama in India there has been no such comprehensive publication since the Sangeet Natak Akademi anthology in 1956. Above all the book is a fitting tribute to the cardinal drama institution, National School of Drama (NSD), in its golden jubilee year. For the writer, a pan-Indian drama expounder for four decades, one who has critiqued over a hundred theatre events, this is indeed a labour of love, getting together such thespians as Amal Allana, M.S. Sathyu and Reoti Sharan Sharma to contribute to this compilation.
After a general assessment of the vicissitudes theatre has undergone in India, epic theatre, post-Independence, folk, modern classics, regional, political, social, the tome goes on to discuss in detail the different objectives that theatre fulfils today, apart from sheer entertainment. There is first the professional theatre also called “Repertory Company” since it is run as a paid corporate establishment, the actors and technicians are all full time “perfectionists” totally dependent on the stage for their livelihood. For various socio-economic reasons repertories are dwindling, emerging only sparingly in Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi, a singular exception being Ratan Thiyam’s Chorus Repertory in Imphal.
The NSD Repertory is India’s best recognised professional theatre. We then have the three evolved language theatres, English, Hindi and Bengali with sporadic flashes in other parts of the country.
Influences
The book discusses the strong influences on contemporary theatre at great length, Greek, Ibsen, Shakespeare, Moliere, Kafka, Chekov, religious leaders and a plethora of others, who have not only inspired our dramatists but have led to the successful adaptation of their works to the Indian milieu.
The doyens of Indian theatre from each region have dedicated their lives to keeping the stage alive, but the ground reality cannot be ignored today if theatre has to hold its own; several layers of facilities have to be put in place to make it worthwhile for both the audience as well as the dramatis personae.
M.S. Sathyu observes most succinctly that Bangalore has shown the way. Anuradha Nag started the professionally run Ranga Shankar two years ago with a seating capacity of 360. The hall holds 300 ticketed shows a year. The rental is an affordable Rs.2500 per night and many groups can afford to put up their shows here.
The Prithvi in Mumbai is another such place; but there is a crying need for many more such reasonably priced theatres with good acoustics and management if plays are to be continuously staged, theatre personnel make a decent living, and the stage kept alive in the audience’s itinerary.
This is a much-needed compendium on Indian theatre in the current century, but the indifferent production comes as a major disappointment.
A golden anniversary never suddenly hits you; you can see it years ahead and plan a coveted collector’s volume instead of a shoddy wannabe coffee-table hardback.
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