In India, there were folk theatrical cultures such as jatra and the gaayan- baayan forms of Assam and Bengal on one hand. On the other hand, prior to British colonization, there was also a strong British literary influence, largely seen in Indian adaptations of Shakespeare (such as Girish Chandra Ghosh's production of Macbeth.) The ‘Indian People's Theatre Association’ (IPTA) then went on to influence the trajectory of theatrical developments in the country, especially in Bengal.
With the emerging significance of the IPTA, much like many other art forms in different parts of the world, theatre assumed a great socio-political role. It had the potential to affect public opinion and galvanise change. The association itself was the cultural wing of the Communist Party of India (CPIM), but this confluence of theatre with politics and resistance expanded to incorporate interpretations and adaptations across the political spectrum for many theatre groups. Interestingly, the National Award winning actor Riddhi Sen considers this to be one of the significant drawbacks in terms of the commercialisation of theatre. The other major drawback that the community is faced with presently, akin to most other creative and performing arts, is a raging pandemic and closure of venues.
The current public health crisis has signalled trouble for most people working in the performing arts and entertainment realm, given that most performance venues and multiplexes have been closed for over four months. Nonetheless, films and shows are increasingly being steered towards the digital route, which also entails the promise of good outreach and exposure. Independent musicians find it more difficult to be able to use the digital platform and monetise it or reach out to a larger audience, considering the nature of the craft, and yet, a large number of them have been doing it.
What could this possibly mean for the theatre industry in India? While multiplexes are still likely to remain closed even as the country transitions into the second phase of unlocking, the conversation surrounding theatre and drama has not been conferred the same level of importance. An obvious reason for the same is the fact that independent theatre isn't nearly as profitable a venture, as cinema. As Riddhi Sen puts it, "making theatre economically viable isn't a primal point of focus (especially in Bengal)." He reiterated that theatre in Bengal, as in many other parts of the country, was rooted in a socio-political movement, and served a larger purpose. He also stated this as a huge reason for the lack of government investment in the craft, considering how it is seen as 'anti-establishment.'
Actor and director Kaushik Sen's acclaimed play ‘Taraye Taraye’, based on writer Srijato's novel Tarabhora Akasher Niche, was streamed for online viewing during the lockdown. A Times Of India review of a 2018 production of the play would point to the exact issue with digitisation of theatre that the younger Sen talks about. The very first line of the review read, "The magic of theatre lies in its live acts. It is that special moment that makes or breaks a play. And if that momentary performance clicks, along with lights, sounds and shadows, a play can create surreal fireworks." The audience response and energy that performers draw up during a live show, and of course the spectacle of light, sets, and sound, remain unique and irreplaceable in context of the show. The other problem that arises of course, is that even digitisation doesn't offer an adequate means of remuneration for the sheer number of technicians and other background workers involved in a production. This particular streaming by Kaushik Sen's Swapnasandhani was in fact aimed at raising funds to help these very individuals.
As Vikram Pukhan also writes for Firstpost, theatre in India is in any case "an underpaid gig economy." Thus, those who actually make a living out of the same, are likely to struggle all the more in the current pandemic situation. Renowned theatrical centres, such as Prithvi in
Bombay (as Phukan mentions) or even the likes of Gyan Manch or the Academy of Fine Arts in Kolkata, have never before seen such a prolonged period of closure. For a Calcuttan like myself, it isn't just the theatre being closed that feels strange, but the entire culture of students sitting and jamming inside the nearby Nandan, or people enjoying their ‘adda’ over cups of tea in and around the Academy is amiss. It is an entire cultural ecosystem which has been at least temporarily uprooted. Of course, there are theatre practitioners who have been trying to use this time to rethink and reinvent. The Producer’s Guild of India has set up a relief fund to help technical and daily wage workers in the industry. The Assistance For Disaster Affected Artistes is yet another collaborative campaign that is aimed at providing support and sustenance to independent artistes across the country for a period of 6 months, starting from 1st May 2020. Calcutta-based thespians such as Anirban and Joyraj Bhattacharya are amongst those, trying to set up a relief fund for the daily wage workers of the industry in the city.
However, these measures might not prove to be sustainable over a prolonged period. Even as Indian audiences get to enjoy West End or Globe Theatre productions owing to the digital platform, digitising theatre in this country can prove to be challenging owing to the disparity in infrastructure and digital exposure. Calcutta-based actor Aniruddha Gupta believes that the digitisation of theatre defeats its very purpose, which he says, is meant to be a "shared experience." The stage, logistics, and entire setting is crucial to such an experience, which is absent in the digital space. The change in medium, according to him, renders the theatrical quality of a performance as different, considering how a play is written for the stage and not a screenplay. An actor's performative response to a play is different right from the time of reading a script. A large part of stage performance is also dependent on audience response, which is lacking in the digital sphere.
Even in this midst, the Chennai-based company, ‘Theatre Nisha’ has been conducting online play readings over Zoom, while ‘CreaShakti’ has been focusing on engaging its younger audiences through comic narrative panels on social media. Riddhi Sen believes that theatre is meant to survive inside a theatre hall. Actor Ujan Chatterjee too, in a New India Express feature was quoted, saying that theatre can be digitised for archiving but its true essence would be lost in the digital space. A series of quarantine-time interviews conducted by Natyaanan, featuring the likes of Kaushik Sen, Chandan Sen, and Adil Hussain amongst others, has been an interesting initiative to engage theatre enthusiasts and keep the conversation during these strange times ongoing. Kaushik Sen, in the first interview of the series, talks about how this lockdown has provided a creative impetus to many young artistes. Thus, the possibility of artistic regeneration and renewal is not lost. Riddhi referred to the emergence of the ‘Theatre of the Absurd’, in the aftermath of WWII while speaking of such a renewal.
The time might be ripe now, to rethink and innovate new ways of storytelling with a renewed focus on marketing. Even if theatre isn't likely to be digitised, a post-pandemic world order might witness greater use of the digital space to increase its reach and marketability, wherein 'commercial' wouldn't be seen as a demeaning term in this context. Through forging of solidarities and sharing of stories, the theatrical, as well as the larger artistic community, can come out of this crisis with newer artistic idioms. As consumers of the arts, we ought to keep playing our part in terms of providing impetus to such creative processes.
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