The group theatre of Kolkata refers to a tradition in theatres in the Indian city Kolkata, which developed in the 1940s as an alternative to entertainment-oriented theatres.[1] As opposed to commercial theatres, group theatre is "a theatre that is not professional or commercial",[1] characterized by its tendency for experimentation in theme, content and production,[1] and its aim of using the proscenium stage to highlight social messages, rather than having primarily making-money objectives.[2][3]
The play Nabanna in 1944 is said to be the birth of group theatres in Kolkata.[1]Nabanna was written by Bijon Bhattacharya, who also co-directed it with Sambhu Mitra. They were both active members of the Indian People's Theatre Association, the association of leftist theatre-artists.[1] In the commercial theatres at that time, entertainment was the sole purpose.[1] However, the time was tumultuous—the Indian independence movement was strengthening on the backdrop of the World War 2, and the plight of Bengal province was further worsened by the Bengal famine of 1943.[1] Activists and thinkers attempted to use the media of theatre to highlight the plight of the people, and to stage a form of artistic protest.
In this backdrop, the drama Nabanna portrayed a group of peasants as victim of the famine. The peasants had to leave their village due to famine, and they traveled to Kolkata with the hope for survival in the big city. However, they faced a series of crises and eventually got "...reduced to the most abject acknowledge poverty in Kolkata, where they develop a political awareness of their suffering".[1] Another production of the Indian People's Theatre Association was Jobanbondi.
Notion of group
Prior to the start of group theatre movement, the commercial theatre of Kolkata strived to attract audiences based on star-power. Popular actors such as Sisir Bhaduri, Ahindra Chowdhury and others were considered consistent crowd-pullers. The group theatre tried to depart from this paradigm.[4] Instead of superstars, the emphasis in group theatre was on the group—which was commonly an amalgamation of non-professional participants who identified themselves with the social motives of the movement and participated in the production out of passion for the art.[4] The attempt was to make gononatyo (people's theatre).[4]
Groups after Indian People's Theatre Association
The Indian People's Theatre Association dispersed in 1947. However, the principal members continued to carry its legacy by forming several groups with similar ideology. Ahindra Chowdhuri, Sombhu Mitra and Tripti Mitra were the leading members of the group Bohurupee. Raktakarabi, Tahar Nam Ti Ranjana, Char Adhyay (written by Rabindranath Tagore) were some of the earlier productions of Bohurupee. Utpal Dutt led another faction of artists and went to create classics like Tiner Talowar and Kallol. In 1950s and 1960s, many critically acclaimed productions were staged, which used international literature including the works of Anton Chekhov, Luigi Pirandello, Henrik Ibsen and Bertolt Brecht.[3][4] According to one critic, the productions had the "right mix of democratic politics — with certain groups drifting towards a revolutionary rhetoric — and humane ideals, based on literature drawn from the world over".[4]
Notable group theatres include the Little Theatre Group, Gandharba, Theatre Commune, Amulya Natyagosthi, Calcutta Theatre, Nandikar.[4]Ghola Kaalmukur
Prominent theatre personalities
Some notable personalities associated with group theatre movement in Kolkata are as follows:[4][5][6]
Sumit Dasgupta & Jagdeep Das: founded Ballygunge Aarushi in 2012
Avishek DebRoy, Ahitagni, Rajib Banerjee: founded Drishti Ekhon in 2013
Sanjay Chakraborty: founded Ultadanga Dashkatha in 2011
References
^ abcdefghGeir, Heierstad (2003). (PDF) (Cand.polit.). University of Oslo. pp. 39–48. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 May 2006. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
^Bhattacharya, Malini (2005). "Culture". In Bagchi, Jasodhara (ed.). The changing status of women in West Bengal, 1970–2000: the challenge ahead. New Delhi: Sage Publications. pp. 99–100. ISBN978-0-7619-3242-0. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
^ abZarilli, Phillip; McConachie, Bruce; Williams, Gary Jay; Sorgenfrei, Carol Fisher (2010) [2006]. Williams, Gary Jay (ed.). Theatre Histories: An Introduction. Abingdon, UK: Rotledge. pp. 429–430. ISBN978-0-415-46223-5. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
^ abcdefgGhosh, Parimal (2012). "Rise and fall of Calcutta's group theatre: the end of a political dream" (PDF). Economic & Political Weekly. Economic and Political Weekly. 47 (10): 36–42. ISSN 0012-9976. Retrieved 9 March 2012.[dead link]
^Kasbekar, Asha (2006). Pop culture India!: media, arts, and lifestyle. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. pp. 83–85. ISBN9781851096367.
^Leiter, Samuel (2007). Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre: A-N. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 260. ISBN9780313335303.
April 29, 2023
group, theatre, kolkata, group, theatre, kolkata, refers, tradition, theatres, indian, city, kolkata, which, developed, 1940s, alternative, entertainment, oriented, theatres, opposed, commercial, theatres, group, theatre, theatre, that, professional, commercia. The group theatre of Kolkata refers to a tradition in theatres in the Indian city Kolkata which developed in the 1940s as an alternative to entertainment oriented theatres 1 As opposed to commercial theatres group theatre is a theatre that is not professional or commercial 1 characterized by its tendency for experimentation in theme content and production 1 and its aim of using the proscenium stage to highlight social messages rather than having primarily making money objectives 2 3 Contents 1 Indian People s Theatre Association and Nabanna 2 Notion of group 3 Groups after Indian People s Theatre Association 4 Prominent theatre personalities 5 ReferencesIndian People s Theatre Association and Nabanna EditMain articles Indian People s Theatre Association and Nabanna play The play Nabanna in 1944 is said to be the birth of group theatres in Kolkata 1 Nabanna was written by Bijon Bhattacharya who also co directed it with Sambhu Mitra They were both active members of the Indian People s Theatre Association the association of leftist theatre artists 1 In the commercial theatres at that time entertainment was the sole purpose 1 However the time was tumultuous the Indian independence movement was strengthening on the backdrop of the World War 2 and the plight of Bengal province was further worsened by the Bengal famine of 1943 1 Activists and thinkers attempted to use the media of theatre to highlight the plight of the people and to stage a form of artistic protest In this backdrop the drama Nabanna portrayed a group of peasants as victim of the famine The peasants had to leave their village due to famine and they traveled to Kolkata with the hope for survival in the big city However they faced a series of crises and eventually got reduced to the most abject acknowledge poverty in Kolkata where they develop a political awareness of their suffering 1 Another production of the Indian People s Theatre Association was Jobanbondi Notion of group EditPrior to the start of group theatre movement the commercial theatre of Kolkata strived to attract audiences based on star power Popular actors such as Sisir Bhaduri Ahindra Chowdhury and others were considered consistent crowd pullers The group theatre tried to depart from this paradigm 4 Instead of superstars the emphasis in group theatre was on the group which was commonly an amalgamation of non professional participants who identified themselves with the social motives of the movement and participated in the production out of passion for the art 4 The attempt was to make gononatyo people s theatre 4 Groups after Indian People s Theatre Association EditThe Indian People s Theatre Association dispersed in 1947 However the principal members continued to carry its legacy by forming several groups with similar ideology Ahindra Chowdhuri Sombhu Mitra and Tripti Mitra were the leading members of the group Bohurupee Raktakarabi Tahar Nam Ti Ranjana Char Adhyay written by Rabindranath Tagore were some of the earlier productions of Bohurupee Utpal Dutt led another faction of artists and went to create classics like Tiner Talowar and Kallol In 1950s and 1960s many critically acclaimed productions were staged which used international literature including the works of Anton Chekhov Luigi Pirandello Henrik Ibsen and Bertolt Brecht 3 4 According to one critic the productions had the right mix of democratic politics with certain groups drifting towards a revolutionary rhetoric and humane ideals based on literature drawn from the world over 4 Notable group theatres include the Little Theatre Group Gandharba Theatre Commune Amulya Natyagosthi Calcutta Theatre Nandikar 4 Ghola KaalmukurProminent theatre personalities EditSome notable personalities associated with group theatre movement in Kolkata are as follows 4 5 6 Ajitesh Bandopadhyay first president of Nandikar Anirban Bhattacharya worked in Chetana Bratyajan Founded Hatibagan Sangharam Arpita Ghosh mainly works in Pancham Vaidik Arun Mukherjee founder of Chetana Badal Sarkar known for Street Theatre Third Theatre Angaanmanch theatre Bibhash Chakraborty founded Anya Theatre Bratya Basu founder of Kalindi Bratyajan Chandan Sen worked in Indian People s Theatre Association People s Little Theatre and Chena Mukh Chinmoy Roy actor at Nandikar Chitra Sen actress in Swapnasandhani Debasish Dutta founded Institute of Factual Theatre Arts in 1998 Debesh Chattopadhyay authored and directed many plays Debshankar Haldar worked in Nandikar Rangapat Natyaranga Sudrak Gandhar Bratyajon Sansriti and Blank Verse Dwijen Bandyopadhyay worked in many plays Goutam Halder worked in Nandikar Naye Natua and Prachyo Kaushik Sen founded Swapnasandhani in 1992 Keya Chakraborty actress at Nandikar Kumar Roy worked in Bohurupee Manoj Mitra authored directed and acted in several plays Mohit Chattopadhyay authored many plays Paran Bandyopadhyay acted in Indian People s Theatre Association and Shrutee Rangam Poulomi Basu daughter of Soumitra Chatterjee Director and actress Ramaprasad Banik worked in Bohurupee Founded Chena Mukh and Theatre Passion Reshmi Sen works in Swapnasandhani Riddhi Sen works in Swapnasandhani Rudraprasad Sengupta associated with the group Nandikar Saumya Majumder founded Sandarbha in 1977 Shaoli Mitra worked in Bohurupee Sombhu Mitra founder of Bohurupee director Soumitra Chatterjee authored directed and acted in several plays Swatilekha Sengupta actress of Nandikar Sohini Sengupta actress and director at Nandikar Suman Mukhopadhyay director at Chetana Sujan Mukhopadhyay actor and director at Chetana Surangana Bandyopadhyay works in Swapnasandhani Tripti Mitra wife of Sombhu Mitra Sangeet Natak Akademi Award winner was mainly a worker of Bohurupee Usha Ganguly founded Rangakarmee theatre group in 1976 Utpal Dutt authored directed and acted in several playsArun Kumar Sarkar founded Green Amateur Group in 1961 Arindam Saha founded Natyachetana 03 Theatre for mass education in 2002 Srideep Chatterjee founded AKTO in August 2013 Nilkantha Sengupta founded Theatre Commune Biswarup Chattopadhyay founded Dum Dum Biswarupam in 2013 Chandra Gupta founded Aghraner Nabanna in 1999 Deep Gunjan Dipankar Bose amp Gunjan Ganguly founded Ghola Kaalmukur in 2012 Pinki Ghosh Dastidar founded Sampan in 2011 Sumit Dasgupta amp Jagdeep Das founded Ballygunge Aarushi in 2012 Avishek DebRoy Ahitagni Rajib Banerjee founded Drishti Ekhon in 2013 Sanjay Chakraborty founded Ultadanga Dashkatha in 2011References Edit a b c d e f g h Geir Heierstad 2003 Nandikar Staging Globalisation in Kolkata and Abroad PDF Cand polit University of Oslo pp 39 48 Archived from the original PDF on 12 May 2006 Retrieved 9 March 2012 Bhattacharya Malini 2005 Culture In Bagchi Jasodhara ed The changing status of women in West Bengal 1970 2000 the challenge ahead New Delhi Sage Publications pp 99 100 ISBN 978 0 7619 3242 0 Retrieved 10 February 2012 a b Zarilli Phillip McConachie Bruce Williams Gary Jay Sorgenfrei Carol Fisher 2010 2006 Williams Gary Jay ed Theatre Histories An Introduction Abingdon UK Rotledge pp 429 430 ISBN 978 0 415 46223 5 Retrieved 9 March 2012 a b c d e f g Ghosh Parimal 2012 Rise and fall of Calcutta s group theatre the end of a political dream PDF Economic amp Political Weekly Economic and Political Weekly 47 10 36 42 ISSN 0012 9976 Retrieved 9 March 2012 dead link Kasbekar Asha 2006 Pop culture India media arts and lifestyle Santa Barbara California ABC CLIO pp 83 85 ISBN 9781851096367 Leiter Samuel 2007 Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre A N Westport Connecticut Greenwood Press p 260 ISBN 9780313335303 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Group theatre of Kolkata amp oldid 1143732191, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
