Table Of Content

Dreaming Theatre Anew H.s.SIIlVA PRAKASH A ssocio-culturalpracticeandartform. theatreisanintegralpan oftheIndianpeople. Itisoursingulargoodfortune thatcountlesstheatricaland semi-theatricalformsof greatpotenrial havesurvived radical historical changes in Ihis country. They havenot onlysurvivedbutarealsofastintegratingintothemselvesaspectsofsocialchange.Asart forms. the classicalandfolkstreams oftheatre have been influencing and impregnating each otherforages. Asaresultof colonialcontact.theatreinIndia received a newimpetusduringIhelast century.Dramaasagenreafwritingbegantodevelop,andatheatreof pureentel1ainmtnt emergedintheformofthePars;theatre, withitstremendousimpactontheurbanmasses. However,thescenewassoonto change withtheamateurdrama andtheatrecomingin, expressive ofthe aspirations of the newly emergent urban middle class.The new theatre sought to replace the older theatre ofentertainment with a theatre ofideas - aprocess that wasaccelerated afterindependence, The new moodevoked apositive responsefrom theIndianstate,andresultedinthefoundingof theNationalSclwolof Drama.Thesearch fOTanationaltheatrebegan.A newbandof playwrights emerged, togetherwith anewset of theatre directors and technicians. This led to an increasing perfection ofthe craft of doing and writing plays. The National School ofDrama became such a presencethat several smaller versions ofit began to emerge in different parts ofthe country. Several universities hada role inthisdevelopment _ which received encouragementfromEuro· Americansources.Bytheendofthetwentiethcentury,theatre asmovementasenvisioned bythefoundersof amateurtheatrehasbunreplacedby theatreasinstitution, withitsown self lia/idatingsystems.Allhesamelime,inmostpartsofthecountryexceptforsomeparts ofAlaharashtra. the once-influentialprofessional theatre has succumbed to the crushing s impactoj thecinema.Inthisl'acuum.amateurtheatre growth innewdirectionshasbeen some....hat helped.butmostly hampered. byWestern-style stale-orJoreignjundeddranUl school theatre. This middle-middle-class urban theatre, which, unlike the earlier professionaltheatre.isnotaccountabletothemasses butis well entrenched inthemedia. nowprojectsitselfastheonlymodelofexcellenceinthe theatre. The dramaschools.whitt elephantsof ourculture.nowthreaten10 swallowup all otherforms ojtheatre. oldand new. Even when these schools take up plays with a reformatory orprotest message.tltt plovs are beautifully transformed into arrpieces to be admired. The state-fu.nded 'pro~essio~al' hegemon)~ theatretheypromoteisfastbecomingan instrumentof thanksto proliferating 'festivals'. Not thatallojourtheatrehastakenthisslippery palh ofself-liquidation.Tltee:xcesstJ ofthe Emergency was a blessing in disguisefor the theatre.for theatre as protestand movementblazedforththen.Theatreaseducationof themasseswosreflectedinthejonnof streettheatre.However thiszeal k'asSoonsnuffedoutasthe ruling hegemonyandforeign Sllngu/ j\"lllll} Nos. 137-138, 2000 DREAMINGTHEATREANEW s powersstarted working hand-in-hand to appropriatethenewtheatre.Still.notallislost. because indifferentpansof the country.those ..'ho believe inthepoliticai-cutturalvalue oftheatreare at work. However in the absence of any ntw unifying enthusiasm. this endeavournow remains a thankless \-'en/ureundertaken bya handfulof stubborntalents. The countless traditional theatricalforms in every part ofthe country have another storyto tell. Some ofthem, like Yakshagana and Koodivattam. haveattaineda veryhigh degree ofsophistication, which prevents themfrom being put to any better use than a cosmeticone-like drama-schoolproductions.Someotherforms. likeGujarats Bhavai. have remarkable potential, but art being corroded by the commercial cinema.full of pelvis-centred eroticism. Semi-theatricalforms, againfull oftheatrical possibilities. are being abandoned both by their practitioners and clientele in an era of breathtaking changes, mostly for the worse. Like Nerofiddling while Rome was burning. the new 'folklorists', and, the institutions giving them their jobs and perks. are rolling up their sleeves to present these dying arts through documentation on Western lines. Incredibly hugegrantsareofferedforsuch documentation.but whatisdocumentedisalreadydead. Inspiteofeverydeterrent,peoplestilllovetodoandwatchtheatre.Iffilmcouldreplace theatre. as the British culturalhistorian Raymond Williamshadpredicted. it would have happenedinGermany, oneofthebiggestfilm-producingcountriesintheworld.InMumbai, peoplestillthrong to the theatre. Ellerycity in Indiastillhasamateurgroupsplaying to fairlyfilledhouses.Btanyformsofvillagetheatrehavenolyetcompletelylosttheiraudience. Theatres like Yakshagana and Kathakali,for example. have huge audiences and large numbersof players. This is theground/orhopeof anewtheatre. whicbcanbetterreflect theproblems and aspirations of ourfractured and threatened society. The needfor it is compelling, bill not milch is happening 10fulfilthe need. Thegeniusof Indiantheatrehasbyandlargerejectedtraged....·.Ourcultureisessentially celebratoryandoptimistic. Though threatened withblindingfundamentalismand equally blindingcasteisms,andel'enmort blindingjree-marketism,letusriskthedesperatehope of theShakespearean clowns andbe hopefulaboutthefuture ofOUTtheatre.Letustryto dreamitvividly.Letusnot boastin vainaboutthegloryoftheNot)'oshastroorofSanskrit drama.andstill less aboutthe neW'national' theatre.a negativemodelof goodtheatre. Howdoestheatre,moreimmanentthanimminent.appear10usinourins»p:ireddreams? ~t willbe basically a poor theatre _ poor infinancial investment. but in human ~',llt~an~cend investment. It will no more be a display oftechniqueforits010,," sake.but ~ teclmiquebytheforceof passionjorcommuningwithurgenttruths.(Bada.'Sircar kindof r~late theatre,thebestof ouramateurtheatre,canprovideusagoodstartingpoint.}It'WIll itselfintensely to its own language. milieu.andpeople,notcopying theideao!anational theatre in the guise 0/foreign-funded regionalism. It .....ill draw upon the rich store of ~o I ' . . fi lv b _•.Ihefi017Tl5and11UJkethemnew '":.. 'Pesmemories.Images,symbolsand ormson)'to teas . In thefurnace ofthepresent.It willbynecessitybethenegationof drama-schooltheatre., of both Alka::ian and Karanthion kinds. It will learn muchfrom themasters ofthe new idiom. likeHabib Tanvir: and delvedeeperinto thecauldron ofthepresent. Into,that hope ofnewpossibilities. dearfellowjarers.letourtheatreay..ake.