Contemporary Indian Theatre

Forms in Practice
Contemporaneity in Indian Theatre

• With the birth of the IPTA movement, it became

increasingly evident that the time had come to
challenge the convention of the commercial Indian
proscenium theatre that had been established from the
end of the 19th century to over a period of
approximately 70 years.”
• From then on, proscenium contemporary theatre
became – much like Indian folk theatre – more of an
art form that aimed to implement social and
political change.
Cont.
• Improvisation became more and more important as
well. While still respecting the teachings of Bharata’s
Natyashastra, artists began to feel that they needed to
find a better balance between self-expression and the
traditional, clearly structured forms of expression.
• Slowly in the last century, smaller theatre groups in the
larger Indian cities would perform their own visions.
Third Theatre
Introduction
• In the late 1960s, Badal Sircar introduced a new form of
political theatre called the Third Theatre.
• Badal Sircar’s anti-establishment experimental theatre
created a new genre of social enlightenment. He formed
his first Third Theatre Group Satabdi, in the year 1967.
• They used to perform drama written by Badal Sircar in
Anganmancha (theatre in the courtyard).
• As such, Third Theatre broke away from the strict
segregation of performers and audience and allowed a
more interactive way of performing. Bringing theatre to
the people and engaging with them.
Features
1. Unity of Rural and Urban Theatre
• Third theatre is the fusion of two theatres rural and the
urban theatre.
• Sircar had seen the inherent features of folk theatre i. e.
live performer and direct communication technique.
• And the emphasis on the performers body rather than
the set-ups and mechanical devices from the
proscenium theatre.
• Thus Sircar combined these features of the rural and the
urban theatre and made the third theatre as the
2. Emphasis on Audience Participation
• According to Badal Sircar theatre should be a collective exercise to
awaken and enhance the social consciousness of participants,
including the viewers.
• So he preferred doing theatre in the open air where audience can
participate. Sircar has said of his own theatre:
“There is no separate stage—the performance is on the floor; that is
the Performers and the spectators are within the same environment.
[...] This is intimate theatre. The performers can see the spectator
clearly, Can approach him individually, can whisper in his ears, can
even touch him if he wants.”
3. Anti Proscenium nature

• Third theatre is anti-proscenium in nature.

• In proscenium theatre elaborate stage set-ups, props,
spotlight, costume, make-up etc. are used to create
illusion of reality.
• But in the Third theatre emphasis is given on the
performer’s body rather than set, props and costumes.
In proscenium theatre raised stage is used to keep
distance from the spectator.
• But the Third theatre offers openness to the spectator.
4. Portability, Flexibility, and Inexpensive
• Third theatre is portable, because it can be moved
anywhere. As it does not require heavy set-up, spotlight,
furniture, costumes etc. so it becomes portable.
• Third theatre is flexible because plays can be performed
anywhere, it does not require stage. A theatre which can go
to where the people are – without waiting for them to come
to a specified place.
• Since it reduced the cost of theatre, and it can be offered at
freely, so it is inexpensive.
• Sircar believed in human relationship not in the buyer and
seller relationship. He believed that theatre is a human act;
it is art not the source of earning money
Approach to Acting
• In the Third theatre emphasis is given on the acting rather
than set-ups, costumes. Set-ups are made of collective
human act.
• Emphasis is totally given on the human body. For the free
flow of action games and exercises are taken in the
workshops.
• Instead of imitating certain stage voices and movements,
the performers are taught to giving more from within,
replacing the fake in theatre by a true expression of the self.
• Freeing them from the constraints of realistic depiction,
Sircar encouraged the performers to use movements,
rhythm, mime, formations, and contortions to express them
Synthesis of East and West

• Third theatre exhibits an openness and receptivity.

• Sircar was influenced by both Indian folk theatre and
western experimental theatre.
• Sircar adopted direct communication technique and live
performance from the Indian folk theatre; while open
performance and emphasis on the performer’s body
from the west theatre. Thus he combined these features
and made the Third theatre.
Alternative Living Theatre
About

• In 1977,Probir Guha established the Living Theatre (at

present Alternative Living Theatre)in Khardaha, West
Bengal, gathering around him a group of disenchanted
local youth from impoverished lower middle-class
families.
• He chose Khardaha as the location for the ALTERNATIVE
LIVING THEATRE, so that he can save ALT from the so
called urban drama and threats to its integrity posed by
the commercialism and economic pressures of the city.
• And he recruited actors form among the under
privileged class to create a theatre shaped by their own
Cont.
• The Alternative Living Theatre operates in the small
towns and villages of West Bengal and neighboring
states and abroad.
• It consistently attacks communalism, oppressive social
conventions, superstition and political apathy, while
attempting to build new ideals and sow the seeds of
change in human minds.
• The Alternative Living Theatre rejects the "problem
Theatre" of Urban intellectuals in favour of a theatre of
living feelings, i.e., the experience of hunger,
unemployment and social inequality.
Cont.
• The Alternative Living Theatre believes in the overpowering
impact of direct communication and has therefore rejected
conventional notions of dramatic form.
• The productions rarely follow a linear mode of narration. They
are violent in momentum and are almost like choreographed
variations on a central theme, emerging as extended metaphors.
• They use choral speech, ensembling movement, dance and
song.
• Undermining the role of the playwright by avoiding any
structured plot, ALT creates its own dramatic material on a
collective basis.
• The actors improvise scenes and movements based on an
analysis of their own and other responses. ALT believes that
Other features:
1.PHYSICAL LANGUAGE: As oppression has no singular
language, so physical language (body language) is
mostly used to express the feelings. Physicality has
exposed ALT to such a world where language is not just a
language. It's not through acting, but expressing, that
they perform.
2.INSTRUMENTAL LANGUAGE: ALT has successfully
experimented with musical language. Many
performances are just based on musicality and nothing
else.
3.LANGUAGE OF PROPERTIES: ALT believes that
properties are just not for the sake of drama or just for
Cont.
4.INTIMATE SPACE THEATRE: It's since 1977, that ALT has been
performing in intimate spaces and is still going on experimenting
with it.

5.IMMEDIATE THEATRE: It's a very unique process, where the

actors even doesn't knows what would become of a theme. It's
just upon improvising. taking up a recent issue, a single actor
starts developing and then the others gradually joins in.

6.ALLAP THEATRE: It's a medium through which the actors go on

to a direct interaction with the spectators. Just in the disguise of
forum theatre, ALT has developed this form, where there is a lot
Cont.
7.INVISIBLE THEATRE: ALT is experimenting with this raw form of
Augusto Boal, trying to make out something different.

8.THEATRE OF EXPERIENCE: It's a totally new process, that ALT is

working on. It's nothing but experiencing theatre, where the
audience is the expressor and the actors are nothing , but who
helps to express.

9.DIFFERENT WAYS OF STORY TELLING: ALT has always given

importance to incidents or subjects rather than characters.
Therefore the way of presenting a certain incident has always
altered with the importance and magnitude of the subject
described.
Social Action Groups (SAGs)
About SAGs
• In the 1970s, Indian theatre started showing more and
more commitment towards individual and community
empowerment.
• In this direction, there has been a considerable rise in
Social Action Groups (SAGs).
• Such groups have been operating among the rural and
urban poor, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes,
dalits, bonded labour, women and other weaker
sections of society.
• Their activities range from disaster relief through self-
reliant development to raising conscience for structural
transformation.
Theatre and SAGs
• For ‘concrete social transformation’ concerning a wide
‘section of the society’, the SAGs have increasingly felt
the need of theatre as a tool of interaction.
• They use theatre for addressing individual psychological
issues such as depression, identity crisis, loneliness, self-
esteem, as well as collective socio-political concerns
such as creating support systems, re-evaluation of roles,
positions and responsibilities in community and the
system.
Cont.

• The most common theatrical forms used by the SAGs

include Playback Theatre (practiced by ‘Yours Truly’ in
Bangalore), Theatre for the Disabled (‘Rasa’ in Chennai)
and Interactive Theatre (‘Natya Chetana’ in
Bhubaneswar).
• The TO practices also serve as popular tools, as they not
only narrate or discuss the stories of the target groups
but invite the audience to ‘enact’ their suggestion.
• Thus the spectators no longer remain mere observers,
but they are allowed to exercise their ability to think
and imagine rationally about the problems, and
Assignment (important for CAT 2 exam)
Prepare notes on the following theatre personalities:

o Mahesh Dattani
o Vijaya Mehta
o Veenapani Chawla
o Sanjoy Ganguly
o Ebrahim Alkazi
o Habib Tanvir