News about a couple of nationally successful productions preceded their arrival last weekend. Yugpurush: Mahatma na Mahatma celebrated its 300th (not a misprint) show — counting all three versions in Gujarati, Hindi and Kannada so far — in Kolkata, courtesy of Centre Stage Creations. Having opened just a few months
Disability representation has had trailblazing exponents in Kolkata theatre history, and new productions follow in their wake. The standard approach involves a regular troupe depicting the story of a differently-abled character sympathetically. On the other hand, we have a few groups comprising disabled member-performers expressing their diverse artistic impulses. Sohan
British genres of stage entertainment drive the new productions of two recently-formed city groups led by veterans. After debuting with Joe Orton’s subversive bedroom comedy What the Butler Saw, Dramatics Calcutta picks a whodunit, whereas The Ultimate Theatre does the reverse, regressing into West End sex farce after having adapted
Politics continues to engage the committed Bengali theatre, in original drama that reassures us that the flag of secularism and freedom of speech shall remain fluttering in this apparently no-longer-significant corner of the country. In at least three new plays, an artist/writer/intellectual forms the fulcrum upon which the conflict and
Happily, as women join theatre groups in larger numbers, drama becomes a liberating experience for them and a platform for presenting gynocentric material. On the flipside, several productions use the fashionable technique of patchworking their scripts from diverse origins, which often dilutes the intensity with which one play can develop
Calcutta Performers springs a most unexpected surprise with their latest production, Hrotsvitha. I cannot imagine any Indian troupe deciding to stage a biographical play about a tenth-century Saxon canoness — notwithstanding her dual importance as the first known dramatist in medieval Europe, and the first woman dramatist in the world
Bohurupee celebrated its 69th birthday this month with its customary annual festival, featuring a new production (which always premieres on this occasion) and two invitees from neighbouring states. We hope that next year’s unprecedented milestone receives worthy preparations well in advance on a grand scale, spotlighting the group’s pioneering contribution
Youth initiatives that outlast the first flush of enthusiasm deserve commendation if they keep growing with their years. 4th Bell Theatres, born in 2011, establish themselves among new Bengali groups with their latest, Chorus, which demonstrates their maturity while not leaving behind the exuberance of youth theatre. Whereas a fresh
Simple, straightforward narratives of the victimization of women in Bengali village life mark two productions based on the older work of famous authors. The new group Bahuswar embarks on its journey with the Ismat Chughtai story Chauthi kā Jodā (1946), translated by Sanchari Dasgupta as Chaturthir Jor, and co-produced by
Invitations to premieres rarely go out to proverbially grouchy critics, but I happily get my share. Yet I have forgotten the last time I received one to a preview — a much scarcer privilege. Broadway and West End traditionally call critics to previews and quiver in trepidation for their reviews,
Sima Mukhopadhyay has developed a deep interest over recent years in drama on matters of health, especially that of the mind, reflected in her two latest directorial ventures. For her own group, Rangroop, she revives Mohit Chattopadhyaya’s Takhan Bikel, one of the finest Bengali productions of the 1990s, adapted from
Poignant approaches to children encountering real-life trauma and disaster characterize two new plays in English and Bengali respectively. Young people’s theatre typically features fairytales, folklore or fantasy. But The Creative Arts’ When We Go Sailing struck me as one of the grittiest “children’s productions” in a long time because writer-director
