iPedia Free Information Center

Information about Theatre In India

Enlarge picture
Ranga Shankara, one of the most active theatres in Bangalore
Indian Theatre is an old and variegated art form. Bharata wrote Natya Shastra (200 BC - 400 AD), a dissertation on the structure and purpose of theatre in society. Plays were written mainly under patronization of the kings and in verse form.

India has never been the permanent settlement of one culture. India was invaded a number of times and in every case a part of the invaders stayed in their conquered lands. They played a major role in shaping of Indian culture and heritage. The Medieval India experienced a grand fusion with the invaders from the middle-east.

India, as a colony of the British Empire, used theatre as one of its instruments in protest. To resist, the British Govt. had to impose Dramatic Performance Act in 1876. From the last half of the 19th century, theatres in India experienced a boost in numbers and practice.

After independence in 1947, theatres spread throughout India as one of the means of entertainment and one of the means of protest.

India, being a multi-cultural nation, cannot be associated with a unique trend and feature in its theatres.

Presently, major threats to Indian Theatre are the spread of Television Industry and spread of the Cinema produced in the Mumbai film industry. Lack of finance is another major trouble.

History of Indian theatre

Theatre in ancient India

(To be expanded)

Theatre in medieval India

(To be expanded)

Theatre in India under British rule

(To be expanded)

Indian theatre after Independence (1947-1992)

(To be expanded)

Contemporary (post-1992) Indian theatre

(To be expanded)

Improvization

Improvization is a very new art form to India. Very few theatre groups and very few public performances have been done.

A few theatre groups who practise improvization: Yours Truly Theatre

Yours Truly Theatre uses playback theatre, complete the story format, and other theatre format done in the improvization style.

Theatre in India in different Indian languages and regions

  • Bengali Theatre
  • Kannada Theatre
  • Marathi Theatre
  • Manipuri Theatre
  • Hindi Theatre
(More to be added)

Personalities in Indian theatre

Ancient Age

(More to be added)

Medieval age

(To be expanded)

Under British rule

(More to be added)

After Independence (1947 onwards)

(More to be added and ordered alphabetically)

Forms of Indian theatre

Classical Indian dance

The most orthodox and complex form of musical theatre based on the Natya Shastra. dance dance revolution rules!

Traditional Indian theatre

(To be expanded) See Guru Padma Shri Mani Madhava Chakyar, Mani Damodara Chakyar and Kutiyattam

Indian folk theatre

(To be expanded)

Modern Indian theatre

(To be expanded)

Indian puppet theatre

(To be expanded)

Indian street theatre

(To be expanded)

Other Indian theatres

(To be expanded)

Awards and festivals in Indian theatre

Awards

(To be expanded)

Festivals

Hindu-Evam Metroplus Theatre festival

Nehru Centre's National Theatre Festival

11TH NATIONAL THEATRE FESTIVAL 2007

Comprising of 21 reputed Indian plays from 9 centres in 11 languages, presented over 14 days

(This festival features traditional and contemporary plays, as well as adaptations of classical plays in several regional languages, English and Sanskrit)

From Kerala we have the privilege of having Sopanam again with the maestro Kevalam Narayana Panikkar coming with a Malayalam play Otta Mulachi and a Sanskrit classic in Kalidas’s Malavikaagnimitram. Aamchi Mumbai and Marathi boast of a duet, being Vijay Mishra’s local Choukatali Vihir, while Saish Deshpande’s Waiting Room comes from Panaji, Goa. This may well have been three if Waman Kendre had not decided to do his own adaptation of Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex in Hindustani this time, tilted Vedhapashya! Other Hindustani plays are Ekjute’s Romeo & Juliet, Devendra Raj Ankur’s Hum Tumse Pyar Karega Kaun, Dinesh Thakur’s Mitr, Sunil Shanbag’s take on Mumbai mill workers, Cotton 56, Polyester 84, Suresh Sharma’s Kaafka – Ek Adhyay, Sanjay Sahay’s take on Nikolai Gogol’s Inspector-General titled Jaanch Partal coming from Gaya in Bihar and, quite significantly for this festival, Prasanna’s very own interpretation of Mahakavi Bhavbhuti’s (also known as Bhavabhuti ) UIttara Ramacharitha.

Suren Thakar Mehul’s Mrutunjay is in Gujarati, Santanu Das’s Manush-Manushi in Bengali, Kewal Dhaliwal’s Loona in Punjabi and Chidambara Rao Jambhe’s Oh Lear in Kannada. Distance never being a problem for this festival, from the most eastern and least accessible part of India comes Baharul Islam’s Assamese offering Apeksha. Did we leave anything out? Yes, the Konkani play coming from Goa, being Kala Academy Goa’s Devchar Khelayata, Mogyank Melayta, an interpretation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Jayendranath Haladankar.

Institutional aids in Indian theatre

(To be expanded)

Major groups and companies in Indian theatre

ABOUT EVAM evam [aei-vum] adv so, also; conj and; used as a link between parts of a sentence (or people or mediums); (sl) cool; fun; enthu; young; esp positive energy evam is envisioned to be a stress busting factory – capable of conceiving and delivering an entertaining tale to its audience, in whatever medium it deems suitable– theatre, television or cinema, or delectable combinations of them all!

evam [aei-vum] adv addition; n professional Currently active in the form of live theatre content; shows for public, corporates and fund-raisers, we pride ourselves as an entertaining and engaging marketing communications media for our brand partners!

evam [aei-vum] n entertainment; adj entertaining; fig (creating) At evam, we bust your stress. ps:and have a ball doing it!

Major productions in Indian theatre

  • Neeldarpan (1875)
  • Evam Indrajit (?)
  • Pagla Ghoda (?)
  • Ghasiram Kotwal (?)
  • Madhyam Vyayog (1985)
  • Avanavan Kadamba (1975]
  • Five point someone (2007)
  • Python Hysssteria (2007)
  • Our Ice berg is melting (2007)
  • Oh God (2006)
  • Odd Couple] (2006)
  • ART (2007)
(More to be added and arranged chronologically)

Famous and/or popular stages in Indian theatre

(More to be added}

Indian theatre in foreign languages

(To be expanded)

Indian theatre in other countries

(To be expanded)

Foreign plays and/or plots in Indian theatre

(To be expanded)

Problems and issues in Indian theatre

Finance

(To be expanded)

Theatre for poor versus poor theatre

(To be expanded)

Theatre versus television

(To be expanded)

Theatre for development in India

(To be expanded)

External links

Bharata भरत (Sanskrit lit. "to be maintained") may refer to:
  • a name of Agni
  • a name of Rudra
  • name of a Manu, according to the Vishnu Purana, the one after whom Bhārata "India" was named.

..... Click the link for more information.
The Nātya Shastra (Nātyaśāstra नाट्य शास्त्र) of Bharata is the principal work of dramatic theory, encompassing dance and music, in classical India.
..... Click the link for more information.
Poetry (from the Greek "ποίησις", poiesis, a "making" or "creating") is a form of art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its ostensible
..... Click the link for more information.
Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate,") generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significant importance.
..... Click the link for more information.
Cultural heritage ("national heritage" or just "heritage") is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations.
..... Click the link for more information.
Middle Ages form the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three "ages": the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages and Modern Times.
..... Click the link for more information.
Middle East is a historical and political region of Africa-Eurasia with no clear boundaries. The term "Middle East" was popularized around 1900 in Britain, and has been criticized for its loose definition.
..... Click the link for more information.
British Empire was the largest empire in history and for a substantial time was the foremost global power. It was a product of the European age of discovery, which began with the maritime explorations of the 15th century, that sparked the era of the European colonial empires.
..... Click the link for more information.
18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1840s  1850s  1860s  - 1870s -  1880s  1890s  1900s
1873 1874 1875 - 1876 - 1877 1878 1879

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
..... Click the link for more information.
For the periodical, see .
The 19th Century (also written XIX century) lasted from 1801 through 1900 in the Gregorian calendar. It is often referred to as the "1800s.
..... Click the link for more information.
Independence is the self-government of a nation, country, or state by its residents and population, or some portion thereof, generally exercising sovereignty.

The term independence is used in contrast to subjugation,
..... Click the link for more information.
19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1910s  1920s  1930s  - 1940s -  1950s  1960s  1970s
1944 1945 1946 - 1947 - 1948 1949 1950

Year 1947 (MCMXLVII
..... Click the link for more information.
Entertainment is an event, performance, or activity designed to give pleasure or relaxation to an audience (although, for example, in the case of a computer game the "audience" may be only one person).
..... Click the link for more information.
A nation is a form of cultural or social community. Nationhood is an ethical and philosophical doctrine and is the starting point for the ideology of nationalism. Members of a "nation" share a common identity, and usually a common origin, in the sense of ancestry, parentage or
..... Click the link for more information.
Trend may refer to:
  • The process of getting others to follow/copy, of their own free will your actions and/or style.
  • A fad or fashion trend (see Fads and trends)
  • Trendsetter (or early adopter). A person among the few who start a fashion or technology.

..... Click the link for more information.
Television (often abbreviated to TV, T.V., or more recently, tv; sometimes called telly, the tube, boob tube, or idiot box in British English) is a widely used telecommunication system for broadcasting and receiving moving pictures
..... Click the link for more information.
Industry (from Latin industrius, "diligent, industrious"), is the segment of economy concerned with production of goods. Industry began in its present form during the 1800s, aided by technological advances, and it has continued to develop to this day.
..... Click the link for more information.
Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects.
..... Click the link for more information.
Mumbai (Marathi: मुंबई Mumbaī
..... Click the link for more information.
Finance studies and addresses the ways in which individuals, businesses, and organizations raise, allocate, and use monetary resources over time, taking into account the risks entailed in their projects.
..... Click the link for more information.
Bengali theatre means theatres in which the dialogues are in the language Bengali. However, there are some Hindi theatres as well which are widely accepted by the Bengali people (e.g.
..... Click the link for more information.
Bharata भरत (Sanskrit lit. "to be maintained") may refer to:
  • a name of Agni
  • a name of Rudra
  • name of a Manu, according to the Vishnu Purana, the one after whom Bhārata "India" was named.

..... Click the link for more information.
Dinabandhu Mitra (Bengali: দীনবন্ধু মিত্র) (1830-1873) the Bengali dramatist, was born in 1830 at Chouberia in Nadia, and was the son of Kalachand Mitra.
..... Click the link for more information.
Michael Madhusudan Dutt

Michael Madhusudan Dutt
Born: 1824
Sagardari, Jessore
Died: 1873
Kolkata, British India
Occupation: poet, playwrite

Michael Madhusudan Dutt (Datta), (Bengali:
..... Click the link for more information.
Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore in Kolkata, c. 1915
Born: 7 May 1861(1861--)
Calcutta, British India
Died: 7 July 1941 (aged 80)
Calcutta, British India
..... Click the link for more information.
Ebrahim Alkazi is a famous Indian theatre director who was the founding head of the country's National School of Drama. He is associated with training many well-known actors and theatre personalities including Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah and Rohini.
..... Click the link for more information.
Safdar Hashmi (b. April 12, 1954 in Delhi - January 2, 1989, Delhi) was a Communist playwright, actor, director, lyricist, and theorist, chiefly associated with Street theatre in India.
..... Click the link for more information.
Utpal Dutt (Bangla: উত্পল দত্ত) (March 29, 1929 – August 19, 1993) was an Indian actor, director and writer. He studied English literature at the St. Xavier's College.
..... Click the link for more information.
Girish Karnad (Kannada:ಗಿರೀಶ್ ಕಾರ್ನಾಡ್) (born May 19, 1938), is a contemporary writer, playwright, actor and movie director in Kannada language.
..... Click the link for more information.
Kannada}}} 
Official status
Official language of:  India (Karnataka)
Regulated by: Various academies and the Government of Karnataka
Language codes
ISO 639-1: kn
ISO 639-2: kan
ISO 639-3: kan

Kannada
..... Click the link for more information.


This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.
Herod_Archelaus


page counter