June 2021

For some time now, this reviewer has wondered why most local troupes cannot make theatre out of the living drama that stares at us daily on the streets of this […]

Two old warhorses of the Calcutta stage appeared among Anamika Kala Sangam’s Four Square Critics Choice at Gyan Manch last month. Anil De’s dramatization of Upendra Kishor Raychaudhuri’s Gupi Gāin

Some of Brecht’s short plays are perfect little gems of world drama. Two are currently running in Bengali versions: The Measures Taken as Samādhān by Open Theatre (Academy of Fine

A wave of children’s theatre swept through the city recently, soaking young audiences normally parched of such fare. Max Mueller Bhavan’s ongoing Grips Project (which originated in Berlin) involved one

There is no question about it, Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle is one of the most beautiful plays written in this century—said at the risk of offending Bertolt’s ghost, for

There’s hope for Bharat Dabholkar and Burjor Patel’s Theatre Arts Production yet. Compared to the repetitive tripe that they keep regurgitating in their Bottoms Up and Bumbay revues, It’s All

The short compendium of scenes from Moliere, titled Jeu de Roles, compiled by the Association Chatillonnaise de Theatre Estival from Paris and presented by Alliance Francaise (Gorky Sadan, March 26),

Manoj Mitra seems to reserve his sober writing for his own group Sundaram, while his lighter works are available for other groups. Bohurupee in particular has put on successful stagings

Alyque Padamsee’s much-hyped production of Death and the Maiden, presented by Spandan at Birla Sabhagar on April 10, turned out quite a damp squib. This recent London hit certainly does

The three-day festival of plays by Aaj from Udaipur (presented by Sangit Kala Mandir, March 26-28) further stirs the continuing debate over the mixing of rural and urban performing styles.

The December riots jolted many out of their complacency about the tolerance of Calcutta. Some artistes took one step further and decided to act upon the strength of their convictions.

Soumitra Chatterjee has been trying for some time now to bridge the discrete worlds of commercial and “group” theatre in Calcutta by grafting the serious concerns of the latter with