Dr.

Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University

MGM COLLEGE OF JOURNALISM AND MASS

COMMUNICATION

Bachelors Dissertation Project

“A Study On The Effects Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On The Indian

Theatre Industry”

Year: 2020-2021

Author – Vaibhavi Mungle

Roll no – 14
B.A.I.J 6 TH SEM

Guided by – Tanveer Ahemd

Page | 1
 Author’s Introduction

Vaibhavi Mungle is a student of MGM College of Journalism and Mass

communication, Aurangabad pursuing Bachelor’s in International
Journalism. Born and brought-up in the historical city, Aurangabad,
Vaibhavi is an aspiring Artist, eager to explore and gain knowledge in
the entertainment industry. She e is a Social Worker and Co-Founder
of Stambh organization India, a registered organization, working for
the betterment of the society by organizing direct benefit campaigns,
policy research, boot camps, donation drives, and Educational
programmes for underprivileged children. She has worked in various
Marathi drama plays, an art film, and also was the Pune finalist of
Maharashtra Times’ “Shravan Queen” 2019.

Page | 2
 Declaration

I hereby declare, the Research Project entitled “A Study on the Effects

of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Indian Theatre Industry;” has been

conducted under the supervision and guidance of Mr. Tanveer Ahemd

of MGM college of Journalism and Mass Communication.

The material Borrowed from similar titles other sources and

incorporated in the thesis has been duly acknowledged. I also declare

that the content and results embodied in the thesis are based on my

research.

Date: 05 /08/ 2021

Name: Vaibhavi Mungle

Page | 3
 Abstract

The onset of COVID-19 in December 2019 quickly proliferated in

the entire world, leaving no exceptions behind for rich-poor,
young-old. This caused disruption on a massive scale and
affected entire economies of nations along with every aspect of
the daily lives of the populace. The industry of performing arts,
specifically Theatre, in India also suffered due to the fumes of this
pandemic. However, as the best qualities of humans are to adapt,
many ways are being reinvented in the process as well as
execution of the Plays. Digitalization played a vital role in this
revival of the performing arts.

Page | 4
 Acknowledgement

I would like to extend my sincere and heartfelt obligations to all the

personages who have helped me in this endeavour. Without their
guidance and encouragement I would have not made headway in my
Dissertation. I am ineffably thankful to Mrs. Rekha Shelke, Principal
of MGM college of Journalism and Mass Communication for her
valuable guidance and encouragement. I am extremely thankful and
pay my gratitude to my Guide Mr. Tanveer Ahmed for his valuable
guidance and timely support for completion of my Research Project. I
also acknowledge with the deep sense of reverence, my gratitude
towards my Parents who have always supported me morally each and
every time. Last but not the least I extend my sincere gratitude to each
one of them who directly or indirectly helped me to complete this
thesis. Any Omissions in this acknowledgment dose not means lack of
gratitude i thank each one of them for helping me.

Vaibhavi Mungle
BAIJ 14 VI Semester
MGM College of Journalism And Mass Communication

Page | 5
 INDEX

 Chapter 1 - Prologue of the subject

1.1Introduction 
         Draft of Research Project
1.2Objective
1.3Statement of the Problem
1.4Significance of the Study
1.5Review of Literature
1.6Methodology

 Chapter 2.  The Last Pandemic And Theatre

 Chapter 3. Digital theatre and Re-envisioning Theatre

 Chapter 4. Government Assistance

 Chapter 5.Conclusion 

 Chapter 6.1.  Appendix

                  6.2 References
                  6.3 Interviewees List
                  6.4 Interview Questionnaire
                  6.5. Interview Transcriptions
                 

Page | 6
A Study On The Effects Of The Covid-19

Pandemic On The Indian Theatre Industry

Page | 7
 Chapter 1 - Prologue Of The Subject

1.1 Introduction

 The Disruptive Pandemic

The initial outbreak of the deadly coronavirus was reported in November 2019,
in Wuhan, China, after which the entire world took a drastic 360 degree turn.
The World Health Organization (WHO) later on February 11, 2020, named this
disease as the "COVID-19" which is the acronym for “coronavirus disease
2019”. The disease proliferated from China to the entire world within no time,
infecting and taking lives of the global populace at alarming rates, in turn
resulting in the declaration of this disease outbreak as a ‘Public Health
Emergency of International Concern’ on January 30, 2020 followed by
announcing it as “a pandemic” on March 11, 2020, by the World Health
Organization (WHO).

The COVID-19 is caused due to the severe acute respiratory syndrome

coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which is transmitted from human-to-human,
primarily through droplets of sneezes and coughs around the range of 6 ft
(1.8m). Another possible mode of infection is coming in the contact of the
surfaces that are contaminated with the virus. Infected individuals can more
potentially transmit COVID-19 virus when they’re physically closer to others.
The infection, however, can occur through longer distances, especially indoors.

Page | 8
Infectivity starts in nearly just three days prior to the appearing of symptoms,
where individuals are the most infectious immediately prior to as well as during
the inception of symptoms. Then it declines later on after the initial first week,
however infected people can be contagious for around 20 days. The disease can
be spread by individuals even if they don’t possess any symptoms. Additionally,
research on the COVID-19 has re-evaluated the conventional understanding of
the way respiratory viruses spread. The biggest respiratory fluid droplets do not
transit far, and could be inhaled otherwise land upon mucous membranes of the
eyes, mouth, or nose, to infect. The concentration of aerosols are highest when
individuals are within close proximity, leading to simpler viral transmission if
people are nearer physically, but the airborne transmission could happen at farer
distances, majorly in poorly ventilated locations, where in such conditions small
particles could remain suspended into the atmosphere from minutes to even
hours.

Page | 9
Generally, the number of individuals infected by a single infected person
differs; as just 10 - 20% people are accountable for the spread of the diseases
spread. Often it spreads into groups, where infections could be tracked back to
the geographical location or the index case. In such instances, often events of
superspreading occur, where several individuals are stained by just one single
person.

The COVID-19 symptoms are varied, ranging from certain mild symptoms till
serious illness. Common symptoms comprises of headache, loss of the sense of
taste and smell, runny nose and nasal congestion, muscle pain, cough, sore
throat, diarrhoea, breathing difficulties, and fever. Individuals with the similar
infection may experience different symptoms, where their symptoms might vary
over time. The three most common groups of symptoms has been identified:
one group of respiratory symptom including cough, sputum, fever, and
shortness of breath; a group of musculoskeletal symptoms with joint and muscle
pain, fatigue, and headache; a digestive symptoms group with vomiting,
diarrhoea, and abdominal pain. In people with no prior ear, throat, and nose
disorders, loss of the taste coupled with the sense of smell can be related to
COVID-19.

Among the people who exhibit symptoms, around 81% develop just moderate to
mild symptoms (until mild pneumonia), whereas 14% develop serious
symptoms (hypoxia, dyspnea, or over 50% involvement of lung upon imaging)
and just 5% patients endure critical symptoms (shock, multiorgan dysfunction,
or respiratory failure). At least one third of people that are contaminated with
this virus don’t develop symptoms that are noticeable at any instance of time.
These carriers that are asymptomatic do not tend to get inspected and could
potentially spread this disease. Other infected individuals will later develop the

Page | 10
symptoms, called "pre-symptomatic", otherwise have extremely mild
symptoms, also potentially spreading the virus.

As it is general with infections, a certain delay is observed among any moment

a person initially becomes infected along with the emergence of its first signs.
The average delay for the COVID-19 is around 4 - 5 days. The most
symptomatic individuals experience symptoms in just 2 - 7 days post exposure,
while almost all would experience minimum one symptom in around 12 days.
Majority people are cured from this acute period of this disease. However,
certain people – around half of the cohort of young home-isolated patients – go
on experiencing a series of effects – including fatigue – for around months post
recovery – termed as long COVID – including certain observations of organ
damage. Studies that would go on for multi-years are underway for further
investigating the disease’s long-term effects.

Therefore, due to the contagious nature of the disease, preventive measures for
reducing the infection chances consists of staying home, wearing a face mask
while in public, maintaining distance from other people, avoiding crowded
spaces, ventilating indoor places, managing possible exposure durations,
practising excellent respiratory hygiene, washing the hands often with water and
soap and for minimum twenty seconds, along with avoiding touching nose,
mouth, or eyes, with the unwashed hands, and most important of all getting
vaccinated. Those individuals infected with the disease or those who suspect
they might be infected are suggested by the Centres for Disease Control and
Prevention to stay at home except for getting medical care, notifying prior to a
visit at the healthcare provider, wearing a face mask while entering the office of
the healthcare provider and covering sneezes and coughs with a tissue while
being with another individual in any vehicle or room, regularly washing hands
with water and soap and avoiding sharing the personal household stuff.

Page | 11
As of the year 2021, the pandemic of COVID-19 is the ongoing worldwide
health emergency of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) caused due to
SARS CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2). It has
impacted almost around every aspect of the daily life of the people in a vast
spectrum, including, however not limited to, economy, general society, ecology,
politics, and culture, as well as other areas. As of August 5, 2021 over 200
million infection cases have been detected positive, with over 4.26 million
deaths globally confirmed owing to COVID-19, proving it to be amongst the
deadliest public health emergencies in the history.

Page | 12
  A Brief On Theatre

Since years collectively, the art of theatre and its industry has been one of the
effective mode of communication playing the multifunctional role to entertain,
educate as well as generate awareness among the community at large. However,
these performances might have largely been restricted within the auditorium’s
four walls, if they had not been on paper about, and hence the writings
themselves are the spine of the information that is available on theatre.

Page | 13
A known definition for theatre is that it’s an intentional performance created
through live actors which is intended specifically for an audience that is
watching live physically present in the auditorium, typically using scripted
language. Initially, it started around 15th century BCE, in order to aid the
ritualistic practices. The evidences for this are present in the Vedic texts, where
dramas were played during the ceremonies of Yajna. However, the Indian
Theatre’s origins, till date, are a matter of debate and dispute. Nevertheless, it is
extensively believed that this art form originates through the Sanskrit drama
along with works of Kalidasa, Shudraka, Bhasa, Vishakhadatta, Harsha, and
Bhavabhutti. The golden period of Sanskrit drama initiated during the 2nd
century BCE, where around the 10th century CE, its end was marked owing to
various foreign invasions as well as rulers who banned the art form, hence
resulting in its demur. However, he Sanskrit theatre’s essence, continued to be
alive in the India’s southern part, particularly in the Koodiyattam form.

Followed by the Sanskrit theatre decline, the emergence of folk theatre was
marked during the 15th century AD. Instances of the folk art include the Jatra of
Orissa and Bengal, Nautanki of Uttar Pradesh, Tamasha from Maharashtra,
Ankiya Naat of Assam, Yakshagana from Karnataka, and Bhavai in Gujarat.

Drastic changes took place in Indian theatre during the 17th century AD
accounting for the onset of British rule within India. The presence of East India
Company had a remarkable effect upon Indian theatre and plays in Calcutta.

Page | 14
The British people with them brought their own drama plays and introduced the
ways through which the production value of theatre could be increased
dramatically, including using special costumes and intricate sets. Theatre groups
began adapting the writings of Shakespeare, Lessing, and Brecht for
entertaining the rising working and urban and classes. The effects of
industrialization brought about a rise in urban entertainment and people flocked
from all over to view these performances in Calcutta. This allowed for the Parsi
theatre, a term used to describe an influential theatre tradition presented by
Parsi’s, to flourish during this time. It employed captivating music, dance and
drama in a very theatrical manner, making the viewing experience a very
enriching one. A new method of performing plays surfaced in Maharashtra.
Kathakars and kirtankars began singing certain parts of the story and dialogue in
an attempt to enhance the performance and succeeded greatly. Annasaheb
Kirloskar was a pioneer of this field, being the first musical dramatist. This era
of musicals in Maharashtra was known as the Gandharva period.

Indian theatre slowly started to branch out to involve literary drama, as the
demand for it began to increase. Playwrights such as Rabindranath Tagore
helped in the advancement of literary drama greatly. Tagore masterfully melded
Eastern and Western story elements in his work in order to create compelling
and genius plays. His play Chitrangada was so successful that it was performed
internationally.

In Bengal and parts of Kerala, the leftist movement was taking place and thus,
the theatre was transformed into a political tool. Utpal Dutt, a pioneering figure
in Modern Indian Theatre, enacted many plays such as Kallol, Manushar
Adhikar, Tiner Talwar, Louha Manob and Maha-Bidroha which were soaked in
Marxism.

Page | 15
In 1962, Ebrahim Alkazi took over The National School of Drama as its
director. Alkazi recognized the responsibility the director and actors involved in
theatre shouldered as the interpreters of their time and how it was imperative
that they brought insight and awareness to the text, in order to make it relevant
to a contemporary audience. He implemented a systematic and practical manner
in which the persons involved in the theatre were to conduct their practice. This
helped improve the overall structure of the play and made the communication of
the story much more effective and meaningful. While the National School of
Drama was undergoing a dramatic shift under the direction of Alkazi, an
unprecedented exchange of regional dramas was taking place throughout the
country. Figures like Vijay Tendulkar and Mohan Rakesh contributed heavily to
this exchange. The regional theatre was no longer limited to its area of origin
and the gaps between separate regions, in the context of plays, was beginning to
be bridged. Young directors and actors of this time like Vijaya Mehta began to
rise in popularity during this period. Vijaya Mehta’s plays managed to skillfully
and beautifully portray the complexities and subtleties of human nature and the
connections we make with each other.

Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was a patron of the arts and contributed
heavily towards its development and enrichment. He established national art
academies all over the country, that were geared towards refining, nurturing and
preserving the arts. Institutions such as the Sangeet Natak Akademi provided
many successful theatre artists with the space to refine their skills and add to the
theatre scene of India.

Owing to the emergence of the era of talkies in the 1930s within Hindi cinema,
the theatre industry was pushed in the background. Twenty years later, post-
independence, in the 1950s, there was a restoration in its popularity due to the

Page | 16
efforts of several mainstream theatre and experimental artists as well as the
Indian People’s Theatre Association.

The television industry has always been a massive competitor imposing a for
live theatre’s survival. Badal Sircar, the Indian dramatist proposed the plan of a
portable, flexible, and inexpensive theatre, that allowed freedom from the costly
paraphernalia including the auditorium, sound equipment, light equipments and
so on. Sircar practiced this idea for over 1.5 decades, proving that the voluntary
donation offered by even the community which is the most sufficed. He said
that his theatre not only did survive but it even thrived.

However, as the world went on progressing, so did the people’s ways and idea
of entertainment. Technologically, new upgrades emerged with every raising
sun; people shifted from auditoriums to movie screens, to television screens and
reached to the just 6 inch screens of smart phones. As the screen size was
slimmed, so did the people’s craze and interest towards Theatre. The audience
for dramas were the niche audience, limited to just theatre enthusiasts,
dramatics students and professors, etcetera.

In such a situation, the pandemic was declared; where majority countries

imposed lockdowns, shutting the industries and places of public gatherings.
Along with other industries the COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant
disruption for the performing arts, reflecting its impacts over all the artistic
sectors. Owing to the requirements of physical distancing along with the
shutdown of physical venues, affecting not just the public performances but
even the rehearsals, various institutions of performing arts attempted for
adaptation by offering novel (or newly proliferated) digital services. This In
particular resulted in free streaming of the performances that were previously

Page | 17
recorded for free by many companies – specifically the theatre plays and
orchestral performances.

Page | 18
 Draft of Research Project
1.2 Objective

The objectives of this research are to

1) Evaluate the impacts of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic on the Indian theatre
industry.

2) Examine the pre-pandemic period of Indian theatre along with the current
scenario.

3) Analyze the future of the Indian theatre Industry and Culture.

4) Hypothesize the potential measures that could be taken for ensuring the
survival of the Indian theatre Industry and Culture.

This dissertation aims at contributing to the ongoing discussions within the field
of Post-pandemic studies in drama and theatre. It was observed in the previous
findings that while plenty of researches are done on the Pre-pandemic Indian
theatre, there is a lack of study on the Post-pandemic perspective regarding the
India after the Covid-19, and hence, this dissertation attempts to apply as well
as critically extend the theories as a particular case India. More importantly, this
dissertation aims at emphasizing the need for the more comprehensive
approaches to retain the culture and heritage of the national Indian theatre, in
present day, post Covid-19.

This dissertation in general tries to find an answer to one big question – Will the
theatre culture be able to retain and go back to its previous glory, as it was
before the disastrous pandemic? The answer to this question can prove to be a

Page | 19
turning point in the lives of the numerous artists as well as individuals whose
families were completely dependent upon this very industry.

Moreover, finding ways, analyzing and evaluating measures to reinvent the

regular working modules of the theatre industry in order to adapt with the
ongoing situation which keeps on changing is an important aspect and motive
behind this dissertation. Attempting to do nothing less than remake the field is
no easy endeavour, and when the gravity of the assignment is contemplated, ‘It's
a bit of a challenge.’ There is a lot of uncertainty and confusion regarding the
future of the theatre culture, as there were several pre-planned shows organized
before anybody even knew about the pandemic. Hence, with the ongoing
situation of the continuous on and off of the covid-19 restrictions such as
lockdowns along with the onset of new variants being identified, predicting and
planning the future steps becomes extremely difficult.

Page | 20
 1.3 Statement Of The Problem

Thousands of actors, directors, stage managers, scenic designers, sound

technicians, makeup artists, set carpenters, and front-of-house staff have been
laid off or indefinitely furloughed, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

For understanding the effects of COVID-19 upon the community of theatre, first
the multiple communities of theatre should be considered: theatre departments
of universities and colleges, high-school drama programs, community theatres,
off- off- and off- Broadway productions, regional stages, and the commercial
theatre are quite separate from each other hence they therefore have borne the
pandemic brunt in separate ways.

For example, Broadway has suffered major setbacks because travel restrictions
prevented attendance by the international tourists who help sustain long-running
juggernauts such as Chicago and The Lion King. In London, the West End’s
Moreover, closures last March and April meant that a slate of new Broadway
plays and musicals and much-anticipated revivals were postponed or shut down
without ever seeing an audience. In nonpandemic times, staging a new
Broadway musical are phenomenally expensive, costing anywhere between $8
million and $20 million, and, says Costola, “even when a musical is successful,
it takes years to actually generate profit.” So the prospect for new Broadway
shows repaying their investors and remaining afloat has been especially bleak
the past year, with their potential for becoming the latest Cats or Rent even
more unlikely.

While Broadway’s future remains uncertain, some regional theatres have tried
to support playwrights by commissioning mini-plays that could be published
online while others streamed live and recorded performances. Others have put
on scaled-down outdoor or indoor productions with one- or two-person casts,

Page | 21
minimal crews, and socially distanced audiences who were required to wear
approved face coverings. Still other regional stages have unfortunately had to go
dark, either indefinitely or permanently.

University theatres, meanwhile, do not have many of the constraints of

Broadway or American regional venues, and because collegiate theatres share
their funding with the rest of the institution and students earn class credit rather
than salaries for putting on productions, collegiate drama departments are not
quite as financially vulnerable as, say, community theatres. Even better, college
drama departments are the ideal community for discussing and learning about
the evolution of theatre—including its future. “Colleges can think about
questions such as ‘what does it mean to do theatre?’ and ‘what is theatre?’”
Costola says. “We can come up with new ways of teaching in the theatre, which
means creating new forms of theatre and fostering new ideas that are, in turn,
going to give opportunities to new generations of artists.”

Page | 22
 1.4 Significance of the Study

The findings achieved with the help of this dissertation will redound to the
society’s benefit, considering that art& culture plays an extremely important
role for the betterment of the society. Moreover, taking into account a country
as rich as India, attributing to its abundance of heritage, culture and its
diversified nature, extensive art forms, it becomes an increasingly important
task to cherish and conserve this rich heritage, keeping it alive, for the future
generations.

Universities and Colleges, often differentiate between the fine arts in individual
departments: art, architecture, music, film and television, design, dance, and
theatre. However, any member from the faculty will tell that those
differentiations are quite arbitrary. At the end, majority of the performing and
visual arts find their roots intertwined in antiquity, where each one of them all
have been impacted deeply by the pandemic of the COVID-19 disease. As the
“live” art (though, this description soon will be up for a theoretical debate),
theatre particularly has been hard hit, with just ghost lights enlightening empty
box offices, or stages significantly reducing the sales of the ticket in accordance
with guidelines of social-distancing placed by the government.. Consequently,
hundreds of thousands of actors, stage managers, directors, scenic designers,
makeup artists, sound technicians, set carpenters, as well as front-of-house staff
have been out of job or furloughed indefinitely. With restrictions and closures
of such kinds, local economies have been impacted as well bearing in mind that
tourism is also the driving force of many international and national art
destinations.

Furthermore, in this world where digitalization is happening in around every

aspect of life, right from the workplace to the home and entertainment, the

Page | 23
above stated factor of conserving the Indian theatrical heritage becomes even
more crucial. Owing to the increase in convenience and accessibility to entertain
one’s own self, brought by the digitalization, the theatre industry was even more
sidelined by the general audience. This factor was further accelerated owing to
the onset of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, causing massive disruption and
loss to the industry. The lockdowns ensured unemployment in the numerous
artists who had devoted their careers towards dramatics including the onstage
and the backstage crew and the students, where many of them have families to
support. Therefore, the study becomes significant in order to find an effective
solution for this ongoing issue.

Page | 24
 1.5 Literature Review

 Modern Indian Theatre: A Reader - Nandi Bhatia

Modern Indian Theatre: A Reader brings together essays that discuss the
historical contexts in which theatrical practises arose-colonization, socio-
cultural suppression and appropriation, intercultural transformations
wrought by colonial forces, and acute critical engagement with socio-
political issues wrought by the hopes and failures of Independence.

The book looks at how theatre promotes societal change, how drama
responds to the development and dominance of mass media, as well as
the proliferation and effect of western media in India, and how gender,
class, and caste mediations influence drama's vocabulary, forms, and
aesthetics.

The Introduction provided by Nandi Bhatia offers an in -depth

understanding of the interface among Indian theatre and the 'modernity'.

 On Theatre - Badal Sircar

Perhaps no personality in theatre other than Badar Sircar has had such a
pervasive and deep influence on theory and practice of theatre in post-
independence India as Badal Sircar. His work is an integral part of
contemporary Indian theatre history as a writer of proscenium plays in the
1960s, all of which have been widely produced by leading directors in
several Indian languages; as the pioneer of non-proscenium political
theatre in the 1970s; and as the mentor of countless directors and theatre

Page | 25
 activists who have carried his ideas to far corners of the country. Badal
Sircar has written and spoken extensively about his fundamental
principles, including free theatre, humanity in theatre, masks in theatre,
and the Third Theatre, with which he is most closely associated. 

This anthology collects for the first time his seminal writings in Bengali
and English, written spanning three decades, from 1972 to 1992,
providing an invaluable opportunity for cultural scholarars and theatre
lovers to familiarize themselves with this most influential of practitioners
as he delves deep into the evolution of his theoretical stances and
analyses his own milestone productions. These essays depict a cultural
scene reflective of a historical period prior to the watershed of
liberalisation, and they are written with the same honesty and directness
for which his theatre is known. 

Badal Sircar, born in 1925, has been the recipient of several national
awards and honours such as the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Padma
Shree, Kalidas Samman, Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship, along with
Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship

 Toward a Future Theatre: Conversations during a Pandemic

(Theatre Makers) - Caridad Svich

This collection, which includes interviews with theatre makers in the

United States and the United Kingdom during the first eight months of
the Covid-19 lockdown, reveals the innovations in digital theatre as
artists, companies, and theatres adjusted to the restrictions and devised
new ways of working and reaching audiences. This book not only
documents the work that was created in their own words, but it also

Page | 26
captures the artists' feelings for a novel reality post-Covid in which
theatre is reimagined and issues of racial and economic injustice are
addressed.

A variety of theatre makers frankly explore the current and future of

theatre in conversations arranged under five major categories:

* R/evolution: Instead of resetting, how could theatre evolve? What type

of area could this be if the arts sector in the United States and the United
Kingdom is to survive, and white supremacist, classist, ableist, and
patriarchal systems are deconstructed, and acts of regeneration and
reform are carried out?

* What does theatre look like when working with young people and at-
risk communities on a local and hyper-local level?

* What are the difficulties of creating work in the digital domain and/or
experimenting with socially detached performance in new ways?

* What role can theatre play in addressing social inequities and serving as
a platform for political and creative resistance? What impact has the
pandemic had on their dedication to communities, arts advocacy,
language use on stage and page, and preservation of the living archive?

* Interactions with audiences, readers, fellow artists, students, and

members of ensembles and collectives. Where do we look for fresh ways
to gather and make when liveness and the shared experience are
challenged?

Page | 27
 THEATRE AND THE CORONAVIRUS – A SPEECH-ACT IN
NINE EPISODES
A Video Lecture by Rustom Bharucha

For encapsulating the series of themes within this lecture, that the
Lecturer is describing as a ‘speech-act,’ he begins with an introduction in
which he attempts to find the threat of the coronavirus around the
confines of the theatre spaces at phenomenological and structural levels.
In a broader historical context, this leads to two related scenarios: the first
focuses on theatres closing down during an pandemic, such as the
Elizabethan theatre during the plague, and the second focuses on theatres
keeping open despite the intensity of the Spanish Flu toward the close of
WWI. Following these two contrasting situations, one of the most
incendiary works on the performativity of sickness, Antonin Artaud's
"The Theatre and the Plague" (1933), will be revisited, with its words
resonating with uncanny power in the age of the coronavirus.

Part 2 switches the focus from theatre to performance, and more

specifically, ordinary life performances. I juxtapose expressions of
"social separation" in the global metropolis and in the context of caste in
India in a sociological register. This is followed by a quick summary of
Slavoj iek's and Giorgio Agamben's philosophical views on the benefits
and the  tyranny of the lockdown. The second episode is about the
performativity of political assemblies, and I utilise Judith Butler's theories
to contextualise Black Lives Matter and the Shaheen Bagh movement in
New Delhi. How do actions of civic disobedience in the public domain
coexist with the risk of becoming infected by the coronavirus?

Page | 28
Part 3 focuses on how theatre artists are experimenting with new forms of
online performance in the present, forcing one to reconsider the historical
contingencies of the ‘live' and the ‘mediatized.' Following that, some
thoughts on the necessity for a new environmentally calibrated theatre
architecture in a post-pandemic condition of being will be presented. The
last episode will concentrate on a more personal level on how we may
learn to live with ourselves as we learn to live with the virus through the
ethos of waiting.  

It's not an attempt to forecast the theatrical industry's future. Instead, it

would be viewed as a collection of reflections that have allowed me to
interact with the symbiotic, contrapuntal, intimate, and divisive dynamics
of theatre and the coronavirus at a certain point in time. Much has been
left out, as in every storey, and so much more has to be said on critical
issues. What is presented here are mere intimations of the crisis that
continues from which we can hopefully learn about sustaining our lives in
the theatre.

Page | 29
 1.6 Methodology

Research Approach

This dissertation employs a qualitative research strategy, with an interpretivism-

based research approach being used. Willis (2007) describes interpretivism as a
method used by researchers to synthesise data that are mostly collected from
secondary sources and are qualitative in nature. He also points out that one of
interpretivism's hallmarks is that these facts are abstract in nature, regulated by
a range of non-tangible and difficult-to-measure elements. Economic, societal,
and cultural issues can all play a role. As a result, rather than the positivist and
pragmatic approaches, the author chose the interpretivist strategy for this study.
because abstract, non-quantifiable variables like “finding the arts in business
and working with them to create a memorable experience,” comparing
“traditional management” with “performing art management,” and analysing
whether performing techniques and their application into business can have a
positive impact on business practise were among the dissertation's goals.
Because these are all factors that are difficult to quantify (measure) and between
which various and complicated linkages have been discovered, interpretivism
has been proven to be the most appropriate approach.

Research Design

This study employs a qualitative research technique in the sense that no

numerical or quantitative data will be produced (Bell, 2005; Sarantakos, 2013;
Silverman, 2004). For the aims of this study, where the connection between
multiple different factors had to be established through interpretation, a

Page | 30
qualitative research technique was particularly appropriate. Triangulation is also
used in this study because it allows researchers to approach the research
objectives from various perspectives (Cohen and Manion, 2002; Altrichter et al,
2008), resulting in a more nuanced view of the relationships between the
various variables (Cohen and Manion, 2002; Altrichter et al, 2008).
Triangulation was highly valuable in this study since the researcher wanted to
find the intersection between two very different variables from two very
different industries – the arts (especially performing arts) and business. This
involved the use of surveys and interviews with employees who had received
management using the performing arts paradigm, as well as their managers.

The validity and the advantages and disadvantages of the tools used to
implement the research strategy will be discussed next.

Research Methods

The writer has chosen to combine two standard social science research
methodologies – questionnaires and interviews – for the purposes of this study
(Winchester, 1999; Sarantakos, 2013; Silverman, 2004; Greenfield, 2002). The
questionnaires will be delivered to artist from many organisations that have
included art aspects in their qualifications. In addition, the writer conducted
interviews with an equal number of representatives from each group as a
complementary strategy. The benefits and disadvantages of every method are
discussed below.

Page | 31
Questionnaires

Questionnaires were chosen for this study because they are a reliable and quick
way to collect data from a large number of people in a short amount of time.
This is especially critical when working on huge projects with multiple complex
goals and time as a primary constraint (Greenfield, 2002; Silverman, 2004; Bell,
2005). This study was no exception, and questionnaires were a rapid and
efficient approach for the researcher to reach out to a large number of people in
a short period of time. The predetermined and tight format of the questionnaires,
on the other hand, eliminates the potential of more in-depth or abstract
observation (Bell, 2005; Sarantakos, 2013). This study was no exception to the
rule, since the questionnaires yielded linear and obvious results, although many
aspects of the study were left unexplored.

Interviews

To cover more abstract parts of the study, the author used structured interviews,
which consisted of a series of questions that were distributed among
representatives from each participant group. In the social sciences, interviews
are frequently employed as a supplement to other research methods since they
allow for a more in-depth, open discussion as well as a more relaxed setting.
free interaction between the interviewer and the interviewee (Potter, 2002;
Winchester, 1999; Sarantakos, 2013). The flexible style of the interviews was a
big advantage for this study, as various intricacies of the research, such as
examining "emotions" and "making unforgettable experience," could not be
well captured using the questionnaire design. The results of the interviews, of
course, are not generalizable due to the subject matter of data obtained. Their
flexible format, on the other hand, contributed to a deeper explanation and
comprehension of the connection between performing art and business

Page | 32
performance, and if the researcher could redo the dissertation, this would most
likely be the primary research method, not the secondary.

Other methods

Because of the behavioural features in this study, the author considered focus
groups and participant observation as feasible research methods when starting
this project. These study approaches, however, were not chosen due to time and
financial constraints.

Sampling Strategy

All of the participants were contacted via email, and the surveys were sent to
them by email, where they were completed and returned. This happened
throughout a four-week period. Five managers and five employees were invited
to an interview; they were chosen at random from the questionnaire sample, and
the interviews took place over the phone/Skype and recorded then transcribed
by the researcher. The interviews took place in the course of one month. The
full transcripts of the interviews as well as the questionnaires are attached in the
appendices.

Data Collection

The majority of the communication with the participants was done through
email. Prior to that, the author used a basic internet search to build a vast
database of organisations that fit the research requirements. The author
deliberately chose smaller organizations because the chances of gaining access

Page | 33
to staff were higher, and the process was quicker, which turned out to be the
case. These questionnaires were distributed and submitted in the time period of
one week. The interviews were performed over the phone or over Skype,
depending on the participant's preferences. The researcher then recorded and
transcribed them. Within one week, the interviews were done.

Methods of Data Analysis

The analysis of the questionnaire results took place via thematic analysis. .
Because of the small number of respondents and the diverse design and answer
sets of the questions, and because of the qualitative research approach of the
study, the author did not use any of the statistical software available.

The findings of the interviews were also manually analysed, with the author
attempting to detect frequent terms and phrases and grouping or "clouding"
them together in order to identify trends and tendencies in the respondents'
responses.

The questionnaire findings were provided in the form of tables and graphs. The
dissertation's primary findings will be examined in depth in this section.

Ethical Considerations

The researcher has to examine a variety of ethical considerations when working

on this topic. The most significant one had to do with the participants' informed
permission. All of the participants were given advance notice of the project's
goals and gave their written informed consent to participate.

Finally, all material gathered during the course of this dissertation was used
solely for research reasons and will be kept private.

Page | 34
Problems and Limitations

While conducting research for this dissertation, the researcher experienced a

number of issues and hurdles.

The first problem was finding a sufficient enough group of people to participate.
The original database of possible participants took a long time to build, and
many of the researcher's requests were turned down because most organisations
only allow the opportunity once in a while.

Secondly the researcher was constrained by time, which required the choice of
more efficient methods, such as questionnaire, rather than the more time
consuming participant observation or focus groups.

In terms of the methodology chosen, there are several limitations which need to
be mentioned. In other words, the generalizability of the results is questionable.

Another flaw in the technique was the researcher's adoption of an interpretivist

approach, which was dictated by the nature and goals of the study. In this way,
the project's outcomes and accomplishments can be considered skewed, because
the relationships between the various variables were established based on
assumptions rather than empirical facts, but based on the researcher’s analytical
and judgemental skills, in the context of a particular academic field.

Page | 35
 Chapter 2 – The Last Pandemic And
Theatre

Plague

Shakespeare's entire life was spent in the shadow of the bubonic plague. The
vicar, John Bretchgirdle, registered the baptism of one “Gulielmus filius
Johannes Shakspere” on April 26, 1564, in the parish register of Holy Trinity
Church in Stratford-upon-Avon. A few months later, the vicar recorded the
death of Oliver Gunne, an apprentice weaver, in the same register, The words
"hic incipit pestis" were scribbled in the margins adjacent to that entry (here
begins the plague). Around a fifth of the town's inhabitants died as a result of
the pandemic at the time. It was a stroke of luck that the newborn William
Shakespeare and his family were saved.

Alamy has a photo of William Shakespeare writing.

Such pandemics did not last indefinitely, The pandemic would gradually fade,
as it did in Stratford, with the help of stringent quarantines and a shift in the
weather, and life would return to normal. However, in a few years, the
pandemic would reappear in cities and towns across the realm. It usually
showed up with little or no notice, and it was frighteningly contagious. The
victims would wake up with a fever and a headache. Diarrhea, vomiting,
bleeding from the mouth, nose, or rectum, and unmistakable buboes (swollen
lymph nodes) in the groyne or armpit would all accompany a sensation of great
tiredness or exhaustion. Death would almost always follow, often in
excruciating pain.

Page | 36
Numerous preventive methods were offered, the most of which were ineffective
—or, in the case of dog and cat killing, worse than ineffective, because the
sickness was spread by fleas carried by rats The smoke of dried rosemary,
frankincense, or bay leaves burning in a chafing dish was supposed to help
cleanse the air of infection, and if those materials were not available, physicians
suggested burning old shoes. People went around the streets inhaling oranges
filled with cloves. Perhaps this served as a form of mask when pressed firmly
on the nose.

Early on, it was understood that infection rates were far greater in densely
populated cities than in rural areas; individuals with the resources to do so fled
to rural retreats, bringing infection with them. Recognizing that crowds
exacerbated the spread of disease, city leaders took steps to implement what we
now call the social distancing. They outlawed meetings, feasts, archery
competitions, and other types of mass assembly once the death toll reached
thirty. Church services were not included in the prohibition because it was
considered that becoming infected during the act of worship was impossible,
albeit the afflicted were not permitted to attend. However, London's public
theatres, which often drew two or three thousand people, in an enclosed space,
were ordered shut. It could take months for the death rate to drop to the point
where the authorities will allow theatres to reopen.

Shakespeare had to deal with these frequent, economically damaging closings

throughout his career as a shareholder and sometimes player in his acting
company, as well as its major playwright. In 1582, 1592-93, and 1603-04, 1606,
and 1608-09 plague pandemics were very severe. Between 1606 and 1610,
when Shakespeare wrote and produced some of his greatest plays, from
"Macbeth" and "Antony and Cleopatra" to "The Winter's Tale" and "The
Tempest," theatre historian J. Leeds Barroll III carefully sifted through the

Page | 37
surviving records and concluded that the London playhouses were unlikely to
have been open for more than a total of nine months. Epidemic sickness is
mostly present in Shakespeare's plays as a low-level undertone, manifesting
most dramatically in metaphorical displays of wrath and disgust in his
characters' words. Mercutio, mortally wounded in the feud between the Capulets
and the Montagues, curses the Capulets and the Montagues by saying, "A
plague on both your houses." "Thou art a boil." Lear tells his daughter Goneril,
“A plague-sore, or embossed carbuncle / In my corrupted blood.” “Here’s
gold,” the misanthropic Timon of Athens offers his visitor. “Be as a planetary
plague, when Jove / Will o’er some high-viced city hang his poison / In the sick
air.” “All the contagion of the south light on you / You shames of
Rome,” Coriolanus spits at the plebeians:

You herd of—Boils and plagues

Plaster you o’er, that you may be abhorred
Farther than seen, and one infect another
Against the wind a mile!

Whatever the future holds, history shows that plagues have sometimes resulted
in massive creative output; to many writers' chagrin, numerous articles in the
early days of the coronavirus outbreak reminded us that Shakespeare wrote
King Lear during a particularly virulent outbreak of bubonic plague (although,
one might argue, it's a bit easier to concentrate on writing masterpieces when
one can rely on a monarch to supply a consistent paycheck!). Even when
pandemics had closed playhouse doors to the public in the past, history shows
that such closures did not always result in plays that depicted the pandemics.
Epidemic and pandemic disease are frequently described in short tales and
novels, but the Bard, for example, makes only a passing mention to plague in
Romeo and Juliet, despite the fact that he composed many of his plays amid

Page | 38
periodic outbreaks, theatre shutdowns brought about by disease outbreaks. And,
while there are many plays about World War II and the Great Depression, there
are few, if any, plays about the 1918 influenza pandemic, which infected one-
third of the world's population and killed 50 million people. Only the most
recent HIV/AIDS pandemic appears to have sparked a slew of theatre plays,
including the critically acclaimed and well-received hits Angels in America, the
Normal Heart, and Rent; There are numerous thought pieces and tomes to be
written about why that would be the case, and we won't know whether COVID-
19 receives the same dramatic treatment for years and decades to come.

Spanish Flu

Looking back on the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-1919, the song 1919
Influenza blues is one of the few memorable musical documents of the
pandemic which for all the magnitude of its impact worldwide has not entered
public memory as one might expected. In the novel by s E Jenkens the lyrics of
the first verse are forthright but a saying in the tail at the very end. It was 1919
men and women were dying, taste of the doctor cold flu people with dying
everywhere death was creeping all through the air, and growls of the rich sure
was sad that's the sting in the tail which makes me realise that for all its more
ballistic reference later in the song to Gods all my plan 1919 influenza blues is a
settling protest that captures a pulse of that historical moment Spanish flu 1918
flu pandemic was known usually the influenza pandemic cause by H1N1
influenza a virus lasting from February 1919 to April 1920 with infected 500
million people in 4 successive waves. the death toll is estimated to have been
around 5200 million making it one of the deadliest pandemics in human history
far surpassing the casualties in the first world war.

Page | 39
John M. Barry, the author of the widley circulated Great Influenza, informs us
that compared to the coronavirus influenza pandemic was little and that it had a
very short incubation period after it spreaded at lightning speed thereby making
it impossible for any kind of contract racing. Not only the technologies for such
contact tracing exist as they do today through apps and other modes of
surveillance there was no medical infrastructure that could treat or prevent the
infection from spreading. Most critically people were not even aware of the
virus causing the influenza 1918 and in this sense it remained terrifying. While
the pandemic is specifically designated as Spanish, the reality is that the
influenza outbreak in 1918 had already been detected in the United States
France Germany and Britain before it got identified as a Spanish. How I go
under the pressure of a vast censorship in these countries the epidemic was
conceived in order to and deny the moral of the troops fighting in the war. Since
pain had remained neutral during the war its media could have reported the flu
this report aaj intensified after the Spanish king was down in the with the flu as
public consciousness the influenza got identified as a Spanish flu. even as it is
known by many other names like the Bombay influenza coma are the Bombay
fever which was spread by infected soldiers returning in overcrowded through
ships to Bombay Karachi from the battleground of Mesopotamia. This infection
which spread in a very short time which and virulence visit within mid
December 1918 resulted in the deaths of 12 to 18 million people, the largest
number of casualties compared to other countries in the world. 

The Spanish flu was brought within the framework of this not to engage with
the details of its complex history but to highlight the startling fact that the
pandemic does not necessarily result in the closure of theatres even as
governments and municipalities ne have recommended such closures with threat
of penalties which were not enforced. So focusing on just two locations London
and Bombay one can get a picture of how the vibrant public culture of the the

Page | 40
cities had come to a grinding halt during the influenza pandemic. There are
some long quotes by historians which needs to be acknowledged they are as
follows, commenting on the situation in London in 1918 Laura Spinney in her
book Pale Rider offers this description,

'The use of public transport systems was restricted and mass gatherings were
banned. quarantines were imposed at ports and railway stations, and patients
were removed to hospitals which set up isolation wards in order to separate
them from non infected patients.' - Laura Spinney

And under these dire conditions the theatres remained open. Contrast to
spinney's description of the social distance Singh and protection measures that
the adopted in London Spinney tells us that they were public information
campaigns advising people to use handkerchief when this means and to watch
the hands regularly sounding extremely familia to today's situation. Compare
this description to the more devastating collapse in Indian cities in 1918 offered
by historian David  Arnold, 

'Docks, railways, telegraph and postal services came almost to a standstill

productivity in textile factories slump as half the workforce basic and die or had
fled...The high court in Calcutta was unable to function as judges, lawyers and
users were absent or sikh. In Bombay amidst what time shortages, it was hard
to find enough food to consume the Great many corpses that had accumulated
in the creation and grounds.' - David Arnold. 'Death and the Modern Empire'

And in these conditions the theatres still remained open. So the question
once again rises that in such total state of devastation when just about any
civilian service collapsed, how can one begin to accept VAT theatres and
cinema halls in Bombay and Calcutta and opened during the pandemic as it is

Page | 41
evident from the advertisement in newspaper that continued to popular size
shows on a daily basis.

In the context of London there is more evidence and and assertion of the theatre
community defying restrictions of the state. So it's one thing to observe are the
theatres in London for instance remained open during the war almost as an
affirmation of patriotism and share amidst the bloom threw a fluorescence of
reviews and music musical operas and comedies and almost all forms of the so-
called escape entertainment good for business and equally reassuring for the
moral of audiences which included refugees working women and most of all
soldiers on leave who were hungry to see scantily-clad women in choruses.
Apparently soldiers constituted a majority of audiences. One such chorus is that
of slave girls in the superhit Oriental panther mine musical comedy Oscar Ash's
Chu Chin Chow inspired by kismat and based on Alibaba and the forty thieves.
Points out that this spectacle which ram for 2238 performances through the war,
despite the Spanish flu had opened on 3rd August 1916 while the battles of
Zelda and the som were being fought. So this is to show that what people really
want to see in states of emergency this is one kind of risk keeping theatres open
during the war with audiences risk in with air raids bombings and blackouts to
see the lights off to Chu Chin Chow. However it is quite another matter to
engage with the risks of theatre going with the Spanish flew was raging in the
final months in immediate aftermath of the war on which relatively little has
been studied. 

An informative overview from the books written by "From pandemics to

puritans' ko written by Nick Clarke and Nick Smurthwaite. We learnt how an
overall faith in in hai Jin supplemented by new ventilation and disinfectant
system provided enough confidence to the theatre management and the general
public that theatres food counter the threat of infections during the Spanish flu

Page | 42
we learn how public health directives invested in auditoriums being hold
completely clear of patrons from the fall of first house curtain for 10 clear
minutes. It is also told that how the the palladium theatre in 1918 had installed
and ozone ventilated system and spray of the strongest germ killer between each
performance. 

We should emulate the adventurism of attending covid-19 party in which the

possibility of getting infected and dying could be the turn on for such
participation. to see advocates of socialism and democracy marching in the
same test matches as right wing protestors clamouring against all forms of
social distancing is not a solidarity that should be endorsed. However the stock
of the theatre shutdown accept this fact without subject in it to a serious critical
it and a search for alternate practices. 

Page | 43
 Chapter 3 – Digital theatre and Re-
envisioning Theatre

A search for new forms of theatre cannot be separated from a search for new
spaces. If one has to assess the share proliferation of online entertainment,
which has been made available for our consumption, extremely outstanding
development has been achieved. Never has private space more assertively
immediate use with the beloved computers, laptops, smartphones and iPads
becoming not just more obligatory media of the times but the new frameworks
for experiencing virtual theatre. If if the world was surrendered to a relentless
binge-watching of place because almost all the shows are  free no longer there is
a need of tickets, but only weblinks because of the readily made available
through networks of friends when you are food advertise for the old shows with
have been cancelled and transmitted by Zoom.

Even as there is much to upload about what is called this solidarity economy
one does need to consider that for the most part are disc are not receiving a fee
for their online performances. Hence for how long can this generous bordering
of creative exploitation can continue? This is a kind of practical question that
needs to be addressed not just at the level of logistic but also at the level of
spector tauriel ethics which cannot be separated from the sustenance of the
virtual theatre economy in a state of emergency. It's necessary to view this
movement somewhat more conceptually in the larger context of earlier debates
relating to live and mediatized performances. 

One would have imagined that these debates have been laid to rest but their
premises continue to surface in unexpected ways with the growing awareness of

Page | 44
the concepts and practices of intermedia lity mediation and mediatization in
which the contingency of live performance are thoroughly embedded. more than
ever the digital has been incorporated into the actual performance of theatre and
the actor has become more readily identified as an element in the larger
technological apparatus. Looking back and time from within the wired
contemporary this discourse it does become somewhat harder to accept per gal
widely disseminating thesis in performance studies in the early 1990 that the
ontology of performance can exist only in the state of disappearance.

Hence performance is dying even as it is in the process of being enacted,

leaving no traces. In the life and death phenomenology of this Renaissance
performance has been defined by Felan as 'representation without reproduction'
adding that to the degree that performance attempts to enter the economy of
reproduction it betrays and teaches the promise of its own ontology. In critical
response Philip Auslander in his seminal articulation of the concept of 'liveness'
had questioned Felan's assumption as a distinctive ontology in the first place for
him that live far from entering the economy of the production was already
firmly embedded within the laws and protocols of the cultural economy. This
debate is well known in performance circles pointing out how the oxymoronic
ironies of live broadcast and recorded live programs as a slender have been very
mysteriously indicated and continues in the ongoing practices of live online.
This leads to a conclusion that media ties forms enjoy pharma cultural presence
and prestige and profitability than live forms. In addition it has been predicted
by Auslander,

'Any change in the near future is likely to be two word a further mission of the
symbolic capital associated with traditional live events.' - Philip Auslander

Page | 45
The selection can be questioned in the age of the coronavirus; real live
performances have become for all practical purposes almost extinct. However
oddly enough even as it would seem that immediate iced form face no
competition and stronger and more widespread than ever before, the
coronavirus has at least a new dezire indeed a new hunger for the live. there is
no reason to believe that this morning for live has to approximate the pure
presents an ontology of being that feeling associated. Perhaps it needs to be
accepted that more understanding of the live in the attempt to to reconfigure,
and the live is always mediated. However mediated in whatever forms through
light sets and digital technology the live event is what most people are missing
in the lives. And it doesn't just include going to the theatre and seeing a play but
hanging out after the play for dinner or coffee with friends, the live both in his
experience and socialization dimensions has acquired a new symbolic capital in
the age of the coronavirus. While the media ties it's a ubiquitous convenience
stop gap measure of not the only option without underestimating its own
aesthetic possibility. It's the live which is out of reach, inaccessible, Angel eyes
able and and for this very reason it becomes desirable.

'...the best way to think about the relationship between live and mediatized
cultural forms is to understand liveness as a historically contingent concept…' -
Philip Auslander

Precisely neither the likeness nor the live can be fixed in time their relationship
about to change the end never more so than today when the coronavirus has
drastically destructed normal practices of theatre. using the lens of historical
contingency to examine different kinds of online performance in the present
movement of the pandemic, a great deal of what passes at online performance
could be more accurately described as pre-recorded performance where the pro
performance have taken place a while ago and was recorded during the run of

Page | 46
the the play for archival purposes all the promotional public relations these cold
storage recordings have finally found an audience in the age of the coronavirus
and given probability to a much larger audience for a single online screening
and for the entire run of the production.

In this category of pre recorded online performance it has been seen in the last
five months in the number of productions being available generously by the
national theatre in London, metropolitan Opera House in New York city and
From this productions in it does become it does become coronavirus that what
we are seeing what wear being made to see through some kind of complicity
between the theatre company and the audience's is the real thing. What are
adaptations of special edited treatment of a recording of a production but the
production itself. This illusion of the live performance is 15 by the fact that the
actors and the pre-recorded performance are not performing for the camera or
the battery of the cameras which remain invisible. Neither the camera has focus
on the life audience which also remains invisible for most of the recordings
except perhaps for the pre curtain anticipation of the show the bulbs in the
audience before the lights and auditorium darkens.

All these factors contribute to the artifice of authenticity of what is eventually

being getting to see on the computers or smartphones where the view was
become the audience within the exclusive confines of the living room.
According WWE girl who has just returned the book on technicity Shakespeare
and performance what is being experienced in the phenomenon of pre recorded
performances seen online is simply a variation of a production which implies
only that the work has been transferred to an alternative platforms which in no
way alters the cultural force or authority of originating work. Hence the forms
of theatres are necessary changing the form remains the same but the audiences
are reviewing it in a different format.

Page | 47
Perhaps the only online performances that break ground are those which push
the assumptions of mediatization into a new temporality. This temporality
cannot be separated from the immediate cause of hearing and now which are
introduced in Italy linked to the constraints of the coronavirus in facilitating live
theatre. So far from attempting to forget the coronavirus the most intense
interesting works are those which inscribed it within the narrative and modes of
production are you a valley these are coronavirus production which have
allowed themselves to be infected.

In many instances what is being achieved in the new figuration of time  the time
is out joint, it isn't nobody's business in theatres to set it right and the business in
theatres in some ways is to create new forms of theatre out of this out of joint
anus of time. Instead of trying to even it, marginalising it and covering it up.
Majority of online productions are instances of strategic uses of low tech
recording devices all of which have been tweaked and stretched to meet the
specific demands of producing place online under conditions of duress and
never ending stress. 

Some of the practices to the visual evidence provide a surreal thought as the
actors are divided by plastic screen and translucent protective devices which
almost automatically makes them resemble spectres in a science fiction
narrative. Perhaps there has been little to no attempt to do theatre during the log
down in site specific locations for open spaces where there would be less of a
risk. The irony is that in the best of times when there was no coronavirus that
mini theatre companies abe idli searched for alternative spaces like abandon
factories or deserted car parts that were under the jurisdiction of mainstream
theatre management and government laws. But now that the world is in the

Page | 48
coronavirus pandemic such attempts to find alternative venues are almost non-
existent.

New ways to define space:

Looking beyond the state flood down, turning our attention to a more critical
examination of space beginning with how theatre architecture can be re-
envisioned to meet the demand of a post pandemic theatre culture. What might
be learnt from the demands in the present for the creation of safe 3/8 spaces and
how many be actually concretized these pieces at and architectural level through
a closer engagement with ecological resources and principles.

If there is any one change that missed in material ized post pandemic theatrical
scenario it would have to be related  to theatre architecture. If some of the basic
requirements for a safe theatre space would include more air circulation
staggered seating a flexible performs space a new cleaning devices following
each show. It needs to be accepted that the existing theatre spaces across the
spectrum whether the include early 20th century theatrical release on the west
and Broadway or black boxes in university theatre or three stages of theatres in
the round and for basement theatres for industrial complexes refurbished as
theatrical venues, all these venues are desperately caught in a time warp.

At one level this is ironic because there are many number of ongoing
experiments intersecting theatre and architecture as interdisciplinary practices
even as these initiatives remain somewhat scattered and linked primarily to 11
God projects outside the main stream. Nandlal s enough has been explored to
break the the dichotomy between theatre architecture f a building which remains
fix at durable standing the test of time and performance as some kind of input.
normally these categories have been kept apart now they are intersecting. Today

Page | 49
there is a new theorization of theatre architecture generating specialities which
are active interactive effective improvisitory and co-creative with the audience
in the large context of the performance. hens architecture for from remaining
somewhat static is now a dynamic agent in the performative Dynamics of the
theatre. Some of the most inspiring personas of theatre architecture are of the
view that
 
'The play house scenes and irrelevant architectural genre in this age of liquids
nothing is stable where fiction constantly falls into reality and where secondary
structures can no longer house the mediatized spectacle of daily life.' - Dorita
Hannah

For the challenge of liquid essence which she seems to character characterizes
one of the dominant features of this times can be realised only through the
building of more porous open-ended transparent and femoral environment.
Professor Rustom Bharucha, introduced three principles, including
impermanence ecology and humility all of which led him to ask undeniably
provocative question. Can a museum/theatre erase itself? In other words can it
be construct its own structure and risk exploring the creative possibilities of
disintegration and decomposition needless to say he was thinking
metaphorically and not an actual register. The challenge critics imposed here
was, 'I have waited my whole life entering a museum to show my work there so
it disturbs me to accept that such an institution should be raised and that very
point and time when I wish to claim it as my own.'

At a left metaphorical level the world needs new materials and ecological
reserve sers to enable museums and theatres to breathe but most of all there is a
need of new mind set. In this regard theatre strikes as being a somewhat
progressive normal as compared to the museum world where there has been

Page | 50
phenomenal innovations in the last decades what are the in relation to the
conceptualization of the building themselves but they lived experience of space
as envisioned by architect bunna lumi in in construct of event space.

Instant by computer relating the nostalgia of heritage theatre the best and have
really refurbished there are already existing lush interiors with almost no regard
for sustainability the edifices and both economic and ecological level and it is
for this reason that they are such deep trouble that these theatres are not likely to
be open until perhaps next year. Airtel ecological level most established theatres
are energy guzzlers in their use of thousands of life and other technological
devices in order to play into the aesthetics of even grander and elixir specials, a
point of saturation has been reached in consuming the spectacles which have far
surpassed the assumption made by Guy Debord in 1967,

'The spectacle is capital to such a degree of accumulation that it becomes an

image.' - Guy Debord

Admittedly this is not the condition of commercial theatre nor is it entirely

contemporary phenomenon. There is a new need of ecology of design and
consumption of energy in theatre in order to actually in maths all the
possibilities as theatre workers in relation to the largest global crisis. The most
recently constructed and cutting-edge facility in the global village The Shed
which open last year in New York city. Without prior knowledge the shared
would appear some kind of a wooden outhouse in a rural area novelty purpose
enclosure form painting and creative writing the irony is that the seemingly cosy
enclosures is part of a 25 billion dollar on clay called Hudson yards in New
York city which has 8 figure apartments 720 thousand square foot shopping
zone which are all part of a one-shot supersized virtual city state as Justin
Davidson reports,

Page | 51
'I have a feeling we're not in New York anymore' - Justin Davidson

This city has its own plant for electricity which will operate even in the rest of
the Manhattan faces a blackout, it includes an engineer flood control system as
Davidson puts it

'this is shining city on a deck is built to withstand a wide range of plagues' -

Justin Davidson

However the irony of this statement could not be more devastating as the shed
remains shut like any other struggling to survive basement theatre in New York
city and other world. with all its possible and futuristic designs including the
possibility of creating open spaces and pavilions it has been duly challenge by
the infiltration of the coronavirus lore has it been able to come up with social
distancing practices in its enormous space where one would imagine that divas
cross section of people would be accommodated very comfortably. 

What one needs for the future of theatre architecture is humility. humility for
not be equated with difference of weakness it is simply a means of respecting
the human non human interconnection of things combining the material to be
ethical having enough resources for once sustenance with the capacity to share
once creative work with others in a spirit of collaboration rather than ownership.
Hence much more needs to be share for the future of the post pandemic theatre
architecture.

Page | 52
 Chapter 4 – Government Assistance

Subsidies and assistance to Drama and Acting groups

The government of India is promoting Arts and culture in full fledged. To

support the artists, a number of financial assistance schemes have been
launched. This not only helps the industry to sustain in a better way but also
motivates and inspires the artists to do better. Recently in the repertory grant,
financial help Schemes for Promotion of Arts and Culture was provided to the
artists;
The theme for money help for Promotion of Art and Culture consists of 05
theme elements specifically
(i) Repertory Grant;
(ii) Money helps to Cultural Organizations with National Presence;
(iii) Cultural operate & Production Grant;
(iv) Money help for Preservation and Development of Cultural Heritage of the
Himalayas; and
(v) Money help for Development of Buddhist/Tibetan Arts and Culture.

1. The theme of monetary help for Promotion of Art and Culture: The theme
consists of 5 elements. The target of 05 theme part is as given below: -

Repertory Grant
The objective of Repertory Grant theme part is to produce support for all genres
of humanities activities like dramatic teams, theatre teams, music ensembles,
kids theatre etc. and transmission coaching of artists by their several Guru on
regular basis in line with Guru–Shishya Parampara. As per the theme, support is

Page | 53
provided to one Guru and most eighteen Shishyas (in case of Theatre) and 01
Guru and ten Shishyas (in case of Music and Dance categories).

Amount of help: Guru Rs.10000/- p.m., Shishya – Rs.1000-6000/-p.m.

Cultural organizations with National Presence, the target of this theme part is to
produce support for cultural activities at giant scale National / International
level. The Quantum of help below this theme is up to Rs. 5 Cr.

Cultural operate & Production Grant (CFPG)

The objective of this theme part is to produce support to NGOs/ Societies/
Trusts/ Universities etc. for Seminars, Conference, Research, Workshops,
Festivals, Exhibitions, Symposia, Production of Dance, Drama-Theatre, Music
etc. the most grants provided below CFPG is Rs.5 Lakh (Rs. twenty large
integer below exceptional circumstances)

Financial help for the Preservation & Development of Cultural

Heritage of the chain of mountains:

The objective of this theme part is to market and preserve the cultural heritage
of the chain of mountains through analysis, coaching and dissemination through
audiovisual programs. The support is provided to the organizations within the
States falling below the chain of mountains Region i.e. Jammu & geographic
region, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, geographic region and Arunachal
Pradesh. The quantum of funding is Rs. 10.00 lakhs each year for a company
which may be raised to Rs. 30.00 lakhs in exceptional cases.

Page | 54
Financial help for the Preservation & Development of Buddhist/Tibetan
Organization below this theme part, money help is provided to the voluntary
Buddhist/Tibetan organizations as well as Monasteries engaged within the
propagation and scientific development of Buddhist/Tibetan Cultural and
tradition and analysis in connected fields. The quantum of funding below the
theme part is Rs. 30.00 lakhs each year for a company which may be raised to
one.00 large integer in exceptional cases.

This info was given by the Minister of State (I/c) of Culture and business
enterprise, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel during a written reply within the Lok Sabha
these days.

Dramatic Performances Act & its brief history

The Dramatic Performances Act was enforced by British Government in Bharat

within the year 1876 to police seditious Indian theatre. India, being a colony of
British Empire had begun exploitation the theatre as a tool of protest against the
oppressive nature of colonial rule. so as to examine these revolutionary
impulses, Brits Government proceeded to impose the Dramatic Performances
Act. Following India's independence in 1947, the Act has not been repealed, and
most states have introduced their own changed versions with sure amendments
that have in truth, usually reinforced the management of the administration over
the theatre.
The Dramatic Performances Act, usually shortened to "DPA", was brought into
force within the year 1876 beneath the administration of Viceroy Northbrook.
The Act wanted to empower Brits administration to higher management the
theatre scene in Bharat.

Page | 55
The Act printed the restrictions that public performances of a play, pantomime
or the other drama would got to adhere to. per this Act, if the government
judged any play to be of a disgraceful nature; disrupting social values; or felt
that it would excite feelings of disaffection against the govt. established by law;
or that it might corrupt persons, then the same performance would stand
prohibited.
The Act more explicit that if a person or teams on whom AN order of
prohibition had been served refused to go with an equivalent, such persons or
teams would be at risk of be punished . The penalty for disobedience of the
terms of the Act was either imprisonment for a term extending to concerning 3
months, or a fine, or in some cases, both. The Act presented upon the govt. the
correct to data, by that right the persons as sceptred by the Act might demand
the procurance of all such plays for verification whose content may violate one
or several terms of the Act.
The police was granted the license to enter, arrest and seize any persons,
scenery, costumes, and or articles whose use or meant use within the
performance as prohibited beneath the terms of the Dramatic Performances Act,
had been fairly established. By this Act, no public performance was to require
place in any native space while not the sanction of a license.
In Kolkata, by the first decennary the necessity for public theatres was
powerfully felt. Dramatic performances up to now were non-public and
irregular, hospitable one or two of spectators. up to date newspapers advocated
the necessity for theatres to act as vehicles of social reform and instruction in an
exceedingly style of subjects, as also, a spotlight of amusement and amusement.
it had been to be a democratic house wherever, by the acquisition of a price tag
of lowest charge, anyone might be a spectator.

As early as twelve could 1862, the Kyrgyzstani monetary unit Prakas

emphasised the necessity for a public theatre. The Naba Prabandha issue of

Page | 56
August 1868 mentioned the necessity for a healthy house which might counter
the harmful effects of the vulgar pleasures provided by up to date panchalis,
tarjas and halfakdais.[1] It more advised the institution of a public theatre on
strict business principles wherever acting would become an expert domain.

Bhuban Mohan Neogi offered the Baghbazar Amateur Theatre an area in his
house on the watercourse Ganges River for his or her follow sessions. The play
chosen was Dinabandhu Mitra’s zip Darpan. The endeavour won the
enthusiastic support of such eminent persons as Sisir Kumar Ghose (1840–
1911, editor of Amrita Bazar Patrika), Nabagopal Hindu deity (1840–1894,
editor of the National Paper), Mon Mohan Basu (1831–1912), editor of the
Madhyastha, among others.

A temporary tilt arose concerning the theatre's terminology. Nabagopal Hindu

deity, nicknamed "National Nabagopal" for his fervent nationalism expressed in
his need to connect the word "National" to each Bengali enterprise, advised the
name "The Kolkata National Theatrical Society", that was finally shortened to
"National Theatre". Girish Chandra Ghose, United Nations agency was the
unofficial leader of the Baghbazar cluster wasn't able to adopt this title and later,
he compound company along with his friends on account of this broil.
Towards the tip of March 1875, some members of the National Theatre (that
had currently become the "Great National Theatre") went traveling. In
Lucknow, throughout a scene of zip Darpan—the scene wherever Torap, AN
Indian ryot, holds down the eu adult male. Rouge United Nations agency
assaults the helpless lady Kshetramoni—British troopers among the audience,
enraged, hurried onto the stage and commenced behaving violently, that LED to
the calling it off of the play.

Page | 57
The following year, Edward, patrician of Wales visited Kolkata. before long
once his visit, the good National Theatre bestowed the play Gajadananda o
Jubaraj (or Gajadananda and also the Crown Prince), that wanted to focus on
Jagadananda Mukherjee, a widely known national of Kolkata, Junior
Government advocate and member of the geographical area general assembly.
This man had invited the patrician to his Bhowanipur residence on three January
1876 and had taken him on a tour of the ladies’ flat of the house wherever he
was given a conventional Bengali welcome by the feminine members of the
family. This incident infuriated the orthodox Bengali society for it looked as if it
would them that Jagadananda had sacrificed his ethics and culture in an
exceedingly bid to gentle Brits masters and win favours from them. The satiric
play Gajadananda o Jubaraj, supported this incident, was stopped by police
order, nevertheless it came the subsequent week on twenty six Feb beneath a
distinct name, Hanuman Charitra.

On 1 March, Upendranath Das’s play Surendra Binodini was followed by a

caustic remark known as The Police of Pig and Sheep, burlesquing Sir Stuart
Hogg, Commissioner of Police, and Mr. Lamb, Superintendent of Police for his
or her hostile behavior towards the people. though this issue was taken to court,
the court threw out the case.

On twenty nine Feb 1876, Lord Northbrook, Governor-General of Bharat,

publicised AN ordinance. The Indian Mirror of one March 1876 reportable as
follows:

A Gazette of Bharat Extra-ordinary was issued last evening containing AN

Ordinance to empower the govt. of geographical area to ban sure dramatic
performances, that area unit disgraceful, defamatory, seditious, obscene, or
otherwise damaging to the general public interest. The Ordinance shall stay

Page | 58
effective until could next by which era a law are going to be glided by the
governor Council on the topic.

In March 1876 the Dramatic Performances management Bill was introduced

within the Viceroy's Council. Despite robust public opposition, the Bill was
passed into law in December 1876. whereas the immediate provocation for the
promulgation of the ordinance was the play Gajadananda o Jubaraj, the
particular motive of the govt. was to silence such nationalistic plays as zip
Darpan, Asian nation Mata, Puru-Vikram, Bharate Yavan, Banger Sukhabasan,
Beer Nari. This Act additionally served as a weapon to require, at just one
occasion or another up to 1911, the subsequent works: Anandamath,
Chandrasekhar, Mrinalini, Chhatrapati Shivaji, Karagar among others.
Following the promulgation of the Dramatic Performances Act, the govt. felt
disgruntled with its terms and wanted to plot some kind of penalty for the
sponsors of the prohibited plays. Their aim was to charge the sponsors if not on
the bottom of a play itself, then a minimum of, on another purpose. On four
March 1876, once the play Sati Ki Kalankini was being performed on the stage
of the good National Theatre, the police stormed the place and in remission the
director Upendra Nath Das, the manager Amritlal Basu ANd eight others on the
charge of immorality for an earlier play, Surendra Binodini. On eight March
Upendra Nath and Amritlal were sentenced to 1 month's straightforward
imprisonment whereas the remainder were free. Later but, the court overruled
the order of the tribunal and free the couple.
This case reflects the extent to that the rulers of colonial era wanted to gag free
speech, and noticing inside the general public theatre the germs of a nationalist
movement, declined laborious on theatre teams, individual administrators of
plays and even those that looked as if it would be the sympathizers of this
artistic domain.

Page | 59
Following the independence of Bharat on fifteen August 1947, this Act wasn't
entirely abolished. Post-1947, many countries have introduced their own
amended versions of this Act and a few have in truth changed it to such AN
extent that it's even increased the Government's management over public
theatre performance in freelance Bharat. The Bombay DPA, brought into action
in 1950, is one such case in purpose.

Stringent censorship of public theatres has in truth continuing in Bharat within

the post-independence era. The police have usually known as upon members of
a specific theatre association or individual persons to furnish entire manuscripts
of plays for scrutiny by the censorship authorities, that then may or may not be
prohibited or by selection potted. In 1953, the Indian People's Theatre
Association was faced with such an attempt after they were known as upon to
show in concerning fifty manuscripts, including the plays zip Darpan and
Nabanna.

In 1953, South Dravidian author and theater director Thoppil Bhasi’s play
Ningalenne Communistakki i.e. You created ME a Communist was prohibited
by the Thiruvananthapuram District judge per the provisions of the Dramatic
Performances Act.The government alleged that the play contained provocative
material which could prove harmful to the integrity of the state and encourage
folks to rise in revolt against the govt.. This play charts the lifetime of a adult
male as he journeys from the cloisters of a conservative wellborn Hindu family
to communism. once being prohibited, the play, its solid and director invited
larger bother upon themselves by violating the ban and playing the play at
Kovalam, close to Thiruvananthapuram. This LED to the immediate arrest of all
the actors of the play. However, an efficient opposition from the party in Kerala
compelled the court to declare the ban null and void 2 months later. West

Page | 60
Bengal repealed the Act within the year 1962 following persistent agitation
from the ranks of the artists’ fraternity.

The {india|India|Republic of Bharat|Bharat|Asian country|Asian nation} Code

Compilation of Unrepealed Central Acts declared in 1993 that the Act is one in
all the "obsolete laws" that exists in India these days. The report of the
committee to spot the central acts that don't seem to be relevant or now not
required or need repeal/re-enactment within the gift socio-economic context has
known this Act as appropriate for repeal.

Recent Jammu Kashmir Film production promotion

Policy as an example;

Jammu and Kashmir elected official Manoj Sinha has launched the new J-K
film policy to encourage filmmakers to shoot movies and additionally to form
employment opportunities for the youth.

“To meet the necessity of film shooting, we've got a force of over one,500 such
trained artists which is able to additionally give a chance to the native abilities
to indicate their skills,” the Lt Governor said as per New Indian specific report.

The Governor additionally said that the new film policy can provide a boost or
rise to the film business enterprise sector leading to a lot of employment
avenues for the locals living there. Sinha feels that their square measure varied
unknown places that are unattended by filmmakers, thus through this new
policy, those potential places with obligatory facilities are provided.

Page | 61
Through this launch, the authorities plans to facilitate the growth of the J-K
industry, fitting of Jammu and Kashmir Film Development Council in
conjunction with easy accessibility to the web site for Talent Pool and
alternative shooting destinations. Meanwhile, alternative developments like
infrastructure for film screening, the revival of closed cinema halls, up-
gradation of existing cinema halls, encouraging of multiplexes and cinema halls,
destination promoting for the state, organizing festivals, preservation of J-K
Films, among others are planned consequently. Among alternative
developments, the govt can any be fitting assemblage boards with data
associated with the film to draw in a lot of tourists

Page | 62
 Chapter 5 - Conclusion

Indian theatre has transformed from being restricted to ritualistic practices that
took place only in palaces to a versatile and mammoth art form that has
influenced masses over the ages and is performed in the biggest live theatres
and on the simplest of streets. Indian Theatre has existed from the first
millennium BCE, constantly evolving and progressing. As long as the human
race exists, this cherished art form will continue to thrive.

However, only time will tell if the pandemic's effects on theatre will last. What
new sorts of experimentation will emerge? Will crowds flock to venues in
droves, as they did in the past following pandemics and other disasters? What
genres will long-barrelled theatregoers be longing for once the curtains are
reopened: raunchy comedy, breezy musicals, cathartic tragedies, escapist flights
of fantasy, or the tragedies that hit hard that directly takes on the pandemic?
Whatever the future holds, history shows that plagues have sometimes resulted
in massive creative output; to many writers' chagrin, numerous articles in the
early days of the coronavirus outbreak reminded us that Shakespeare wrote
King Lear during a particularly virulent outbreak of bubonic plague (although,
one might argue, it's a bit easier to concentrate on writing maste).

The coronavirus pandemic's ultimate opportunity is innovation and revival.

Attempting to do nothing less than remake the field is no easy endeavour, and
when the gravity of the assignment is contemplated, ‘It's a bit of a challenge.’
One of the biggest challenges is getting used to being comfortable with failure,
because inventing a whole new theatrical production process would eventually
lead to failure.

Page | 63
 Chapter 6 – Appendix
4.1 References

 https://www.amarchitrakatha.com

 https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/covid019-india-
cases_colorcorrected.jpeg?
quality=75&strip=all&w=940&h=664&crop=1

 https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/05/theater-
survive-coronavirus-art-west-end-broadway/611338/

 https://www.geisteswissenschaften.fu-berlin.de/en/v/interweaving-
performance-cultures/online-projects/Theater-and-the-Coronavirus/
Episode-3/index.html

 https://www.geisteswissenschaften.fu-berlin.de/en/v/interweaving-
performance-cultures/online-projects/Theater-and-the-Coronavirus/
Episode-8/index.html

 15 MAR 2021 5:13PM by PIB Delhi

https://pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=1704887

 Bhatia, Nandi. Acts of Authority/Acts of Resistance: Theater and Politics

in Colonial and Postcolonial India. University of Michigan Press, 2004.

 Mukherjee, Sushil Kumar. The Story of the Calcutta Theatres--1753–

1980. Kolkata: K.P.Bagchi and Company, 1982.

Page | 64
 https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/explained-what-jammu-kashmir-
film-policy-2021-offers-from-location-and-talent-directories-to-
incentives-for-filmmakers-9868271.html
 Greenfield, T. (2002) Research Methods for Postgraduates, London:
Arnold
 Altrichter, H., Feldman, A., Posch, P. & Somekh, B. (2008). Teachers
investigate their work; An introduction to action research across the
professions. London: Routledge. p. 147. (2nd edition).
 Bell, J. (2005) Doing Your Research Project, Berkshire: Open University
Press/McGraw-Hill Education
 Cohen, L.,& Manion, L. (2000). Research methods in education. London:
Routledge. p. 254. (5th edition).
 Sarantakos, S. (2013) Social Research, Basingstoke: Macmillan
 Kirby, M., Konbel., F., Barter, J., Hope, T., Kirton, D., Madry, N.,
Manning, P., Trigges, K. (2000) Sociology in Perspective, Oxford:
Heinnemann
 Potter, S. (2002) Doing Postgraduate Research, London: Sage
 Silverman, D., (2004). Qualitative Research: Theory, Method and
Practice. 2nd ed. London: Sage Publication.
 Winchester, H. P. M. (1999) ‘Interviews and Questionnaires as Mixed
Methods in Population Geography: The Case of Lone Fathers in
Newcastle, Australia’, The Professional Geographer, 51: 1, 60 — 67
DOI: 10.1111/0033-0124.00145 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/0033-
0124.00145
 Willis, J. W., (2007). Foundations of Qualitative Research: Interpretive
and Critical Approaches. London: Sage

Page | 65
4.2 Interviewee List

 Kavita Divekar:
PhD in Theatre Makeup candidate, Master’s in Performing Arts
 Ratna Wahule:
Assistant Professor, Department of Dramatics, Deogiri College,
Aurangabad.

4.3 Interview Questionnaire

1. How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the Indian

Theatre Industry?
2. What was the situation of artists during the past 1.5
years?
3. What was the government’s take on this situation?
4. Many plays evolved themselves into digital medium,
what is your take on this?
5. Will the audience return to the theatres post pandemic?
6. What change occurred in the process, presentation, and
response of the plays?

Page | 66
4.3 Interview Transcriptions

1. Ratna Wahule:

1) कोरोना महाभारी चा नाट्यसृ ष्टी वर कसा परिणाम झालाय?

कोरोना महामारी मु ळे रं गभूमी ही दोन वर्षापासून बं द पडले ली आहे . म्हणजे प्रत्यक्ष

प्रयोग हे झाले च नाहीत. नाटका सं बंधीच्या चर्चा, कार्यशाळा किंवा खूप कमी प्रयोग
हे ऑनलाइन म्हणजे च डिजिटल माध्यमातून झाल्याचे पाहायला मिळाले . या डिजिटल
ऑनलाईन प्लॅ टफॉर्मवर केवळ शै क्षणिक स्तरावरच जास्त प्रमाणात चर्चा, व्याख्याने ,
कार्यशाळा झाले ल्या पाहायला मिळतील. सर्वसामान्य प्रेक्षकांना मनोरं जनासाठी
म्हणून कुठले ही नाट्यप्रयोग गे ल्या दोन वर्षात या महामारीच्या काळात झाले ले नाही.
त्यामु ळे नाट्यसृ ष्टीत काम करणारे कलावं त हतबल होऊन घरी बसले ले आहे त. ते
निराश आहे त, त्यां च्याकडे इतर कुठलाही उद्योग नसल्यामु ळे किंवा उद्योग असला तरी
त्यामध्ये ते पारं गत नसला म्हणून त्यात त्यांची आर्थिक विवं चना होत आहे . कलाकार
जगला तर कला जगे न आणि आणि कला जगली नाट्यसृ ष्टी चा विकास होऊन
समाजाचा विकास होईल.

2) या दिढ वर्षात कलाकारांची काय परिस्थिती होती?

     
जे व्यावसायिक रं गकर्मी तसे च हौशी रं गकर्मी ज्यामध्ये नाट्यशास्त्राचे प्रशिक्षण
घे णारे विद्यार्थीही ये तात त्या सर्वांनाच या कोरोना महामारीचा फटका बसले ला आहे .
व्यावसायिक प्रयोग करणारे ज्यामध्ये अभिने ते, दिग्दर्शक, तं तर् ज्ञ, ले खक या नाट्य
निर्मिती मधल्या सर्वच घटकांचे नु कसान झाले ले आहे . अने क कलाकारां वर उपासमारीची
ही वे ळ आले ली आहे आहे . अने कांची आयु ष्य उध्वस्त झाली आहे त. वृ त्तपत्रे,
वृ त्तवाहिन्या मधून आपण या कलाकारां च्या कथा-व्यथा ऐकल्या, पाहिल्या असतीलच.
एकू णच आर्थिक नु कसानासोबत शै क्षणिक नु कसान हे भरून न काढण्यासारखं आहे ज्यात
नात्यात प्रशिक्षणार्थी ये तात. रं गभूमी म्हणून ज्या गोष्टी चालत आल्या होत्या तिथे

Page | 67
खं ड पडले ला आहे .बरे चसे कलाकार व्यावसायिक रं गभूमीवर, चित्रपट, मालिकांमधून
काम करत होते पण या अचानक ओढावले ल्या परिस्थितीमु ळे गावाकडे जाऊन शे ती
किंवा तत्सम काही कामं करुश उदरनिर्वाह करत आहे त.

3) शासनाचा काय कल होता?

कोरोना या रोगाबद्दल विशे ष माहिती नसताना आणि भीती प्रचं ड असताना जे

सं भर् माचे वातावरण होतं ते पाहता टाळे बं दी ही योग्य होती. परं तु नं तर कोरोना हा रोग
काय आहे , त्याच्यावर उपचार काय आहे , तो कसा दरू केला जाऊ शकतो हे जे व्हा
तज्ञां च्या लक्षात आलं , त्यावे ळी परिस्थिती बदलायला लागली. कोरोना बद्दल लोक
जागृ त व्हायला लागली आणि त्यावर शास्त्रज्ञांनी,डॉक्टरांनी उपाय शोधून काढला,
त्यानं तर ही टाळे बं दी हळू हळू शिथिल करण्यात ये ऊ लागली. टप्प्याटप्प्याने हे काम
होत होतं गर्दी टाळण्यात ये ऊ लागली. बार, हॉटे ल्स, मॉल्स हे सु रू करण्यात ये त होती.
परं तु नाट्य मं दिराच्या बाबतीत हे घडले नाही. यामागे प्रशासन उदासीन आहे का हा
प्रश्न प्रत्ये क कलावं ताला पडले ला होता. त्यामु ळे शासनाचा नाटकाविषयीचा कल
नकारात्मकच दिसून आले ला आपल्याला पाहायला मिळाल्याची अने क कलावं तांची
भावना आहे .आज सगळं काही सु रू आहे पण मं दिर आणि कले ची मं दिरच बं द
आहे त.किंवा कलाकारांसाठी शासनाची जी मदत होती ती अतिशय तोकडी आणी
असक्षम होती.शासन कलाकारां च्या बाबतीत उदासीन आहे .

4) या महामारीमु ळे बऱ्याच नाटकांना ऑनलाइन रुप आलं य, यावर तु मचं मत?

   सर्व जग ताळे बं द असताना बहुतां श कामे इं टरने टच्या सहाय्याने पार पाडली जाऊ
लागली. त्यामध्ये नाट्य प्रशिक्षण हे ही होऊ लागले . चर्चा, व्याख्याने , विविध
नाटकांचे अभिवाचन या डिजिटल  माध्यमा वरती घे ण्यास सु रुवात झाली. त्यामु ळे
आपण या ऑनलाईन माध्यमाकडे सकारात्मकते ने पाहणे गरजे चे आहे . सर्व काही बं द
असताना या डिजिटल प्लॅ टफॉर्मने नाटक जिवं त ठे वलं . कलाकार एकमे कां शी जोडले
गे ले. त्यां च्या नाटकांची दे वाण-घे वाण होऊ लागली. हा एक नवा पर्याय नाट्य
क्षे तर् ातल्या लोकांसाठी खूप उपयोगी पडला हे निश्चित.पण नाटक हे जिवं त अनु भत
ू ी

Page | 68
दे णार माध्यम आहे .ते प्रत्यक्षच सं वाद साधू शकत. त्यामु ळे नाटक हे ऑनलाईन
नाहीतर ऑफलाईन राहन
ू च माणसातल्या ऑफ झाले ल्या सं वेदनांना ऑन करू
शकत.आता ott प्लॅ टफॉर्मवर सु द्धा नाटक ये त आहे .हे स्वागतार्ह असले तरी,या
माध्यमातून नाटक प्रभावीपणे टिकू शकणार नाही

5) कोरोना सं पल्यावर प्रेक्षकांचा कल नाट्यगृ ह आकडे किती असे ल?

 या कोरोनाच्या काळामध्ये लोक हे आपल्या हातातल्या मोबाईल कडे जास्त प्रमाणात
वळले ली आहे त. त्यांना ऑनलाइन ठे व व्यवहार प्रशिक्षण तसे च मनोरं जन ही या
मोबाईलच्या माध्यमातून घर बसल्या मिळत असल्यामु ळे ते रक्षा ग्रहाकडे ये तील का
असा प्रश्न पडणे सहाजिक आहे ते कठीण वाटणे रस्ता आहे हे पण हे खरे नाही. जे व्हा
परिस्थिती पूर्ववत होईल त्यावे ळेस लोक पूर्वीपर् माणे च नाट्य गृ हाकडे वळतील. कारण
नाटकाची अनु भत
ू ी ही प्रत्यक्ष प्रयोगातून होते जी आपण नाट्य मं दिरातच घे ऊ
शकतो. तु मच्या कम्प्यु टरच्या किंवा मोबाईलच्या स्क् रीनवर तु म्ही नाटक ही जास्त वे ळ
बघू शकणार नाही कारण नाटक हे प्रत्यक्ष रं ग मं दिरात जाऊनच बघण्याचा माध्यम
आहे .ये त्या काळात जिवं त अनु भत
ू ी दे णार नाटक बघण्यासाठी नक्कीच लोक गर्दी
करतील,अशी आशा आहे .

6) प्रयोग प्रक्रिया आणि प्रतिसाद यामध्ये काय बदल झाले त आणि बघायला
मिळतील.

या महामारीमु ळे अने क बदल घडले , घडत आहे त. त्यामु ळे हे बदल केवळ नाट्यशास्त्र
मध्ये च नाही तर अने क बाबतीत झाले त। त्याचा परिणाम सर्वच घटकां वर होणार आहे .
नाटक ही समूह कला आहे , यामध्ये अने क कला आणि कलाकार मिळू न ही कला बनते
आणि ती प्रत्यक्ष प्रयोगाची आहे . पण या महामारी मूळे कलाकार स्वतः घरी राहन
ू ,
ऑनलाइन प्लॅ टफॉर्मच्या माध्यमातून या निर्मितीप्रक्रिये त, प्रयोगात सामील होतोय,
प्रयोग करतोय आणि प्रतिसाद रूपात शब्दरूपी कौतु क ही त्याला मिळतं य.परं तु
कलाकार आणि प्रेक्षक जे व्हा प्रत्यक्ष एकमे कांसमोर असतात ते व्हा टाळ्यां च्या
स्वरूपात जी दाद मिळते ज्यातून कलाकारांना जो आनं द होतो, जे प्रोत्साहन, प्रेरणा,

Page | 69
उत्साह ये तो ते या ऑनलाईन प्लॅ टफॉर्म मध्ये मिळत नाही. हा बदल कोणालाही प्रिय
नाही. या महामारीने सर्व मानव जा हतबल झाले ली आहे . त्यामु ळे कोरोना पूर्व
परिस्थिती जोपर्यं त ये त नाही तोपर्यं त नाटकाचे अच्छे दिन ये णार नाही हे वास्तव आहे .
या कोरोना महामारीच्या काळात या ऑनलाइन प्लॅ टफॉर्मचा खूप मोठ्या प्रमाणात
फायदा झाला. एक नवीन माध्यम नाट्यक्षे तर् ातील कलावं तांना मिळाले . नाट्य विषयी
चर्चा, व्याख्याने , कार्यशाळा, अभिवाचन, सादरीकरण हे बदल निश्चितच फायद्याचे ठरले
आहे त. जे व्हा परिस्थिती पूर्ववत होईल त्यावे ळेस हे माध्यम आपल्याला सोयीचे ठरणार
आहे .

2. Ramdas Sangale:

1) कोरोना महामारी चा नाट्यसृ ष्टी वर कसा परिणाम झालाय?

प्रामु ख्याने पाहायला गे लं तर नाटक कला ही प्रेक्षकां च्या समोर, प्रत्यक्षात सादर
केली जाणारी कला आहे तर त्याच्यासाठी प्राथमिक गोष्ट म्हणजे एक रं गमं च आणि
त्याच्या समोर प्रेक्षक आवश्यक आहे . त्याशिवाय तर नाटक शक्यच नाही आणि जर
अशी परिस्थिती नसे ल तर आपण म्हणतो की नाटकाला अर्थ नाही. उदाहरण द्यायचे
झाले तर, पथनाट्य घे ऊ, एक ठिकाण आणि त्याचा आजूबाजूला काहीतरी प्रेक्षक हा
या नाटकाचा आत्मा आहे . तर या कोरोना काळात प्रमु ख नाटकाचा परमाणु
सादरीकरणाच्या बाबतीत ला गाभा आहे , त्याचावरच अमृ त्सर परिणाम झाला,
साहजिकच यात कोणाची चूक नाहीये , ही नै सर्गिक आपत्ती आहे त्याच्यामध्ये झाला
पण याचा दीर्घकालीन परिणाम त्याच्या पु ढे या क्षे तर् ावर राहील कारण एकदा हा
आपला सं पर्ण
ू ताळमे ळ तु टला, तर त्याला परत ट् रॅक वर ये ण्यासाठी बराच काळ
जातो. आणि तो काळ किती असे ल हे सां गता ये त नाही. आणि प्राथमिकता म्हणलं
तर आता मी स्वतः एक नट आहे , या दृष्टीने विचार करतो, मला ही खूप नाटक
करण्याची इच्छा आहे पण ते नाटक कुठे करणार आणि कसं करणार? कारण ही
समु हकला तर आहे च लोकांना एकत्र यावे लागणार आहे आणि माझ्या समोर प्रेक्षक
पण मला गरजे चे आहे . नाटक-कार आणि प्रेक्षक असतात त्याच्यामध्ये एक अदृश्य

Page | 70
सं वाद चालले ला असतो, ज्यावे ळेस आपण नाटक करतो, त्यावे ळेस आपलं समोरच्या
प्रेक्षकाला एक दे णं असतं . प्रामु ख्याने ते दे णं आपण त्या रं गमं चावरून आपलं दे त
असतो आणि ते रिसिव्ह समोरचा प्रेक्षक करत असतो पण या परिस्थितीत ते शक्य
होत नाहीये . तर याच एक एक प्रत्ये क कलाकार असे ल किंवा त्यात त्या याच्या वरती
अवलं बन
ू असे लोक असतील त्यां च्यावर खूप मोठा परिणाम झाले ला आहे . ज्या काही
लोकांचे सं सार साधना हे च यावर ते अवलं बन
ू होते त्याच्यावरील तरी खूप सारा
परिणाम झाले ला आहे .

अलीकडच्या काळात, ही पूर्वीची प्रथा नाही, नाटकांचे बरे सचे इन्स्टिट्यूट आहे त, कि
अकॅडमी ऑफ थिएटर आर्ट्स आहे , डॉ बाबासाहे ब आं बेडकर मराठवाडा
विद्यापीठातील नाट्यशास्त्र विभाग आहे , कोल्हापूर विद्यापीठातला, नाट्यशास्त्र
विभाग आहे , पु ण्यात ललित कला केंद्र आहे , या ठिकाणी ज्या ऍक्टिव्हिटीज
चालायचा त्या ऍक्टिव्हिटीज पूर्णपणे थांबले ल्या आहे त. आणि IT विद्यार्थी किंवा
इं जिनिअरिं गचे विद्यार्थी घरी अभ्यास करून त्यांचे परीक्षा दे ऊ शकतात तसे च कले चे
विद्यार्थी किंवा नाटकाचे विद्यार्थी ऑनलाईन परीक्षा वगै रे दे ऊ नाही शकत.  दिला तरी
थे रोटिकल एक्झाम दे ऊ शकते पण मी टिकट ट् रेन ऍक्टर आहे अकॅडमी ऑफ थिएटर
आर्ट्स ला मी माझं मास्टर्स झाले ला आहे , तर तो दोन वर्षांपर्वी
ू चा काळ, त्या
काळामध्ये जवळपास 75 टक्के ऍक्टिव्हिटीज घे तल्या जायच्या. आणि त्याच्यात
25% आहे ते थे रॉटिकल वर व्हायचं म्हणजे आपण असे म्हणू की सध्या हे चालते ,
सध्याचे ऑनलाईन होतात जे डिपार्टमें ट आहे त, नाटकाच्या निगडीत त्यांचा फक्त 25
% हे च काम होतं असं माझं वै यक्तिक मत आहे , तर राहिले ल्या 75 % आहे त्याचं
काय?
आज विचार केला गे ला तर शासनाच्या नियमाप्रमाणे जे कॉले जेस आणि ह्याचे गोष्ट
आहे त त्या ऑनलाईन चालतात पण मला असं वाटतं की जे नाटकाचे निगडीत ज्या
गोष्टी आहे त त्या ऑनलाइन नाही चालू शकत, हे माझं वै यक्तिक मत आहे .
ऑनलाइन ते वढे प्रभावी नाही ठरणार आहे त आणि त्याचा एक परिणाम सर्व
कलाकारां वरती होईल.

2) या दिढ वर्षात कलाकारांची काय परिस्थिती होती?

Page | 71
कलाकार म्हणजे फक्त नाटककार, नट, यांना मानत नाही, कलाकार हे सर्वच असतात
जे नाटकासाठी पडद्यामागे काम करत असतात त्याच्या से टिंग साठी असतात, से ट
साठी असतात, लयटिं ग साठी असतात, त्याच्या कंपोझिशन साठी असतात हे सगळे च
कलाकार. प्रामु ख्याने पाहायला गे लं तर चे स्टे जवर काम करणारे कलाकार आहे त
आपण त्यांना नट म्हणू, त्यां च्या परिस्थिती अशी असते की प्रत्ये क नटाला एक
कले ची भूक असते , तर ते जर होत नसे ल तर एक फ् रस्ट् रेशन असतं . आता माझ्या
बाबतीत घडले ली एक मी सां गतो की मला तर खूप इच्छा होती की मी आता परफॉर्म
करावं मं चा वरती, आता त्याला दोन वर्ष होऊन गे ली की मी परफॉर्म केलं नाही, असं
वाटतं सगळ्या गोष्टींना आता तोंड द्यायला गे लो तर मला कधी अडचणी तर ये णार
नाही ना? ही प्रॅक्टिस ची गोष्ट आहे . आणि पु ढे परफॉर्म करायला गे लं तर मला
परफॉर्मन्स प्रेशर तर ये णार नाही ना? याची एक भीती असते . तिथे आपण स्वतःहन
ू
तयारी करत असतो स्वतःची प्रॅक्टिस आपण करत असतो पण आपल्या वै यक्तिक
स्पे स मध्ये केले ली प्रॅक्टिस आणि स्टे ज वरती केले ला सराव याच्यामध्ये जमीन-
अस्मानाचा अं तर असतं . ती एक कलाकारासाठी नवी चॅ लें जिं ग गोष्ट होईल होत
असे ल. दुसरी गोष्ट घे तली गे ली तर कलाकारां च्या उपजीविकेचा प्रश्न असतो. बरे च
कलाकार असे आहे त जे नाटकावरतीच अवलं बन
ू असतात. माझे बरे चसे मित्र असे
आहे त की जे फक्त नाटकच करायचे , ते टिव्ही वगै रे मध्ये प्रयत्न सु द्धा नव्हते करत.
पण नाइलाजाने अशा परिस्थितीमु ळे त्यांना टीव्ही मध्ये काम शोधण्याची वे ळ आली.
त्यांना त्या गोष्टीसाठी खूप सं घर्ष करावा लागला, जरीही टीव्ही पण अभिनयाची गोष्ट
असली, तरीही त्यांना मूळ मार्गापासून वे गळं जाऊन प्रयत्न करावे लागले . जे
कलाकार पडद्यामागून काम करत होते , जसं की से ट, लाईट, साऊंड करणारे लोक
आहे त अशा लोकांचं काय हा खूप मोठा प्रश्न आहे . त्यां च्या उपजीविकेचे प्रमु ख
साधन आज बं द झाला आहे .

3) शासनाचा काय कल होता?

शासनाचा कल म्हणलं तर शासनाने या मागच्या काळामध्ये , मला तर असे निदर्शनास

कुठे च आले नाही की या लोकांसाठी काही ठोस पावले उचलली गे ली म्हणजे नाटकाशी

Page | 72
निगडित होते किंवा कलाकार मं डळी यां च्यासाठी त्यांनी कुठल्याही प्रकारचा ठोस
पाऊल उचलले नाही, कदाचित त्यां च्या दृष्टीने कला ही एवढी महत्त्वाची नसावी,
इं टरटे नमें ट ल ते एवढं महत्त्व दे त नसतील. त्यांनी सीरिअल्स वगै रे यासाठी तरी
तडजोडी केल्या, जसं अमु क एवढे लोक घे ऊन तु म्ही शूट करू शकता, बऱ्याच गोष्टी
त्यांनी टीव्ही इं डस्ट् री साठी उचलले पण नाटकासाठी त्यांनी चु कू नही असं कुठलं ही
पाऊल उचललं नाही. याच्या बाबतीत मला थोडीशी खं त वाटते की आपल्या
महाराष्ट् राला खूप नाट्यवै भव लाभले ला असून, नाट्यकले चा खूप मोठा वारसा असून,
या कोरोनाचा काळामध्ये ही कला मरण कडे ला आले ली दिसत आहे . मला वाईट वाटतं
की असं कलाकारांसाठी शासन चकार शब्दही काढत नाही. बर्‍याच लोकांसाठी मदत
घोषित झाली जसं की कामगार समूह, पण थे टर साठी असं काहीच दिसून आलं नाही.
कदाचित सां स्कृतिक मं डळाला या गोष्टीचा विसर पडले ला आहे . सरकारला नक्कीच
अजून बरीच आव्हाने आहे त, पण कलाकारां विषयी त्यांना विसर पडता कामा नये .

4) या महामारीमु ळे बऱ्याच नाटकांना ऑनलाइन रुप आलं य, यावर तु मचं मत?

ही मूळ सं कल्पना आहे ती माझ्या तरी डोक्याच्या पलिकडची, माझ्या विचारां च्या
पलिकडची आहे . नाटक हे ऑनलाईन कसं असू शकतात कारण आत्तापर्यं त नाटकं
शिवायची त्याचे प्रयोग वे गळे व्हायचे म्हणजे एक कॉल रे कॉर्ड करून प्रत्ये क ठिकाणी
दाखवला जात नव्हता.तसे प्रयोग लाइव्ह व्हायचे जिथे प्रेक्षक आपल्यासमोर
असायचे आणि आपला त्यां च्याशी एक सं वाद असायचा किंवा आपण त्याच्यासमोर
लाईव्ह परफॉर्मन्स करायचो. पण नाटक ऑनलाइन पाहताना ते बघण्याची मजा आणि
अनु भव नाहीसा होतो. कालचा डिजिटल प्लॅ टफॉर्म मु ळे लोकांना त्यां च्या पर्यं त
जाण्याचा कंटाळा ये तो, आणि जे कन्टे न्ट आपल्याला मोबाईल वरती घरी बसून बघता
ये त जसं की Amazon prime, hotstar, Netflix इथे पाहिजे तसं कन्टे न्ट मिळतो आहे
म्हणून नवीन पिढीला नाटकाचं आकर्षण कमी आहे . आणि नाटक ही ऑनलाईन
व्हायला लागले तर नाटक राहील की नाही याचा अस्तित्वाचा प्रश्न उभा
राहतो.माझ्यातरी दृष्टीने नाटक हा प्रत्यक्ष आपण नाट्यागृ हामध्ये जाऊन बघण्याचा,
तो खे ळ बघण्याचा, तो आनं द घे ण्याचा एक प्रकार आहे आणि त्याला जर ऑनलाइन
स्वरुप आलं तर ते यशस्वी पणे चाले ल की नाही? जरी ही गोष्ट विचारात बाजूला

Page | 73
ठे वली आणि आपण जर विचार केला, माझ्यासाठी एक नट म्हणून तरी ती व्यवस्थित
नाही.

5) कोरोना सं पल्यावर प्रेक्षकांचा कल नाट्यगृ ह आकडे किती असे ल?

आता आधीचाच प्रश्न होता की ऑनलाइन जर नाटक आलं तर ते यानं तरच्या

गोष्टींना बाधक  ठरे ल असं मला वाटतं . जे यु वा लोग आहे ते नाटकाला नाट्यगृ हात
पाहण्यासाठी पूर्वीच वसं ती दे त नव्हते , त्यातली काही बोटावर मोजण्याएवढे यु वा लोक
थिएटरमध्ये जाऊन नाटक ही पाहायचे , त्यांची में टॅ लिटी ओटीटी मु ळे बदलली आहे ,
घरात बसल्या बसल्या मिळत असतील तर बाहे र कशाला फिरायचं वगै रे. प्राथमिकता
तर यु वक नाटकापासून वे गळा जाईल. मागचा काळामध्ये मोजकेच लोक थिएटरकडे
जात होते जर सामान्य प्रेक्षक आहे त्यातले मोजकेच लोक नाटक बघत होते . आत्ताचे
जे सरकारचे नियम आहे त त्यामु ळे काहीच अं दाजा लावू शकत नाही की ते कधी
सं पतील. आधीच कमी क्षमते चे नाट्यगृ ह मुं बईसारख्या ठिकाणी आहे त तर तर
त्यामध्ये मीटरचा म्हणजे म्हणून त्याच्या मध्ये च छोटे छोटे उभरते कलाकार आहे त
उपस्थित दिग्दर्शक वगै रे आहे त ते करायचे क्षमता असे ल ते थे साठ-सत्तर लोकांना
घे ऊन ते करायचे असायचं , काही ठिकाणी नाममात्र शु ल्क तर कुठे मोफत प्रयोग
व्हायचे अशा ठिकाणी जर ही परिस्थिती अशीच राहिली आणि तु म्हाला सोशल
डिस्टं सिंग या सगळ्या गोष्टी तर करावाच लागणार आहे . जे अशे ठिकाण होते होते
आणि ज्या मोठ्या रं गमं चावर नाटक केले जायचे त्यांना ही नाममात्र प्रेक्षक
मिळतील आणि कारणाने नाटक थांबतील की काय असे मला भीती आहे . हे नाटक
आधीच अगदी मोडकळी वरती होतं आणि टीव्ही आणि ott ह्या सगळ्या प्लॅ टफॉर्म
मु ळे त्या नाटकाची दुर्दशा होईल की काय त्या प्रेक्षकां च्या मु ळे मला या काळात
वाटते आणि वारं वार याची भीती जाणवते .

प्रवे श प्रक्रिया आणि प्रतिसाद या मध्ये काय बदल पाहायला मिळतील आत्ता
सगळ्यात मोठा प्रश्न आहे की या गोष्टी सु रू कधी होतील प्रयोग सु रू कधी होती
किवा त्यासाठी परवानगी कधी मिळे ल. सरकारकडून साहजिकच सगळे नियम आपल्या
सु रक्षे साठी आहे त लोकां च्या हिताच्याच आहे त पण याचा मधे , नाटकाचा स्ट् रक्चर अस

Page | 74
बदलून जातं य की काय याची भीती आहे . मागच्या जाने वारी फेब्रुवारी मध्ये काही
ठिकाणी नाटकाचे काही प्रयोग झाले ही आणि त्यालाही अगदी नाममात्र प्रतिसाद
मिळाला भजी त्याच्यावरून त्रास वाटते की ये णाऱ्या काळामध्ये प्रेक्षकांचा नाटकाला
प्रतिसाद किती असे ल मध्यं तरीच्या काळामध्ये जे पाहिलं त्याच्यावरून जर एक
विचार केला तर नाटक हे नाटकां च्या निर्मात्यांना झे पेल की नाही, कारण पहिली चा
प्रयोग सोडले तर त्याच्या नं तरचे प्रयोग होता त्यामु ळे या प्रयोगामध्ये अमु क
अमु क असा नफा झालं पाहिजे अन्यथा ते नाटक थांबवतात.  कलाकारांचे मानधन
असतात आणि बाकी सगळ्या गोष्टी असतात त्याच्या मध्ये बदल असा होईल की
प्रयोग प्रक्रिया ह्या सगळ्या गोष्टींना मॅ ने ज कारण, कारण earning जर कमी झालं
तर सगळ्या गोष्टींमध्ये बं धनं ये तात. हे बं धन पाळू न प्रयोग करना आणि प्रेक्षकांचा
प्रतिसाद या दोन्ही गोष्टी एका पट् टी वरती बसवण हे एक आव्हान आहे . यामध्ये
बराच काळ जाऊ शकतो. हा दीड वर्षांचा काळ खूप मोठा आहे जे व्हा लोकां च्या
सवयींमध्ये बदल झाले ले आहे , त्या सवयींमध्ये परत बदल घडा हे अवघड आहे .

Page | 75