THRISSUR: Adoption of street theatre by NGOs and projects funded by international institutions have resulted in the blunting of the radical edge of political theatre in India recently, said Delhi-based theatre researcher Arjun Ghosh.
Presenting a paper on `Political theatre of India - history, contemporary characteristics and challenges in the globalised era’, organised as part of the ongoing International Theatre Festival here on Friday, he said that developments in the recent years have provided a ray of hope as the improved networking among theatre activists holds much promise for developing new directions for political theatre in India. Ghosh said that the history of political theatre in the country began with the freedom movement. However, it was with the formation of the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA) in 1942 that an identifiable tradition of political theatre came into being. Other than being instrumental in aiding the growth of the Left movement, the IPTA and its allied organisations could be credited for the revitalisation of traditional performance forms in various parts of India. Despite its glowing legacy, IPTA suffered from ideological and organisational drawbacks that led to its demise after independence.
The anti-emergency movement of the late 1970s and the civil society movements of the 1980s gave birth to the street theatre movement. But since the 1990s the pressures brought in by globalisation have affected the character of theatre activism. While more and more theatre groups have taken to open space performances, pushed by the increasing costs of production, theatre activism itself is facing a crisis due to the pressures on livelihood.
BJP stages protest
The BJP activists led by district general secretary B Gopalakrishnan staged a protest demonstration at the International Theatre Festival (ITF) venue here on Friday where the drama troupe from Pakistan was about start staging their play `Bullah ’. On blocking the agitators by police at the entrance of the venue, Gopalakrishnan presented a hand out to the director of the drama, Madeeha Gauhar, in the presence of Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi chairman Bharat Murali.