Street theatre more relevant than ever, say Bengal artists(April 12 is National Street Theatre Day)

KOLKATA - From raising awareness on AIDS and child marriage to driving home political messages, street theatre has been used to telling effect over the years. The popularity of the genre continues to be on the rise, though stage personalities feel the presentation can improve.

Street theatres have become a favoured performing art form for a large number of production houses who use the medium to save the cost of hiring an auditorium. It can be performed in market places, parks and even in front of houses or offices.

On the occasion of the 22nd National Street Theatre Day Monday, prominent playwrights and actors felt that the art form has an important role to play in the current socio-economic conditions.

\”The acceptance of street theatres has increased a lot in the last few decades. There are many troupes that are performing successfully in different parts of India, both in rural and urban areas,\” says Usha Ganguly, a leading theatre personality.

Thespian Manoj Mitra, who completed 50 years in theatre last year, recalls the growth of street theatre during the last 30 years and how it was used as a potent weapon during the politically turbulent 1960s and 1970s.

\”Street theatres have an important role to play in the current socio-economic situation. In the last 30 years it has gained prominence. Common people love to see street theatre. During the politically hostile days of the sixties and the seventies in West Bengal, it was used as an effective weapon,\” says Mitra, writer of popular plays like \”Sajano Bagan\” and \”Narak Guljar\”.

West Bengal became politically volatile in the 1960s when the leftists led by the CPI-M launched a series of mass movements on various issues affecting the people and finally the United Front came to power unseating the Congress for the first time after independence. The leftist cultural groups enacted a series of street plays that were well-received by the people.

Side by side, the Maoists also utilised the medium to propagate their views, as political violence increased. After two failed United Front experiments, the Congress came back to power in 1972, and the left - which alleged state repression - voiced their protests using the form.

Socially and politically conscious cultural groups till date make good use of street plays as a popular medium of communication with common people.

\”Actually, the cost for hiring an auditorium for staging a play has gone up steeply. So most theatre personalities now bank on street theatres. This has been used by different non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to raise social awareness on issues like child marriage, woman trafficking and child labour,\” says Chandan Sen, a theatre personality.

The origin of street theatre in India can be traced back to the mid-19th century.

Utpal Dutt, a legendary Indian actor and theatre personality, was one of the pioneers in making street theatres popular. His plays \”Chalti Chakar Chande\” (rhythm of moving wheels) and \”Manusher Adhikar\” (People\’s rights) were crowd pullers in the 1960s, as they struck a fine balance between art and propaganda.

\”Being a theatre personality, I am a fan of street theatres. But I feel that the street theatres need to be rejuvenated in terms of presentation. Given the current political situation of West Bengal, it can certainly play an important role and reach new heights,\” said Kaushik Sen, a prominent theatre personality and actor.

April 12 has been observed as the National Street Theatre Day since 1989 in honour of Safdar Hashmi, one of the pioneers of the street theatre movement in India. Hashmi was born April 12.

The founder member of troupe \’Jana Natya Manch\’, Hashmi was brutally assaulted at Sahibabad\’s Jhandapur village near Delhi while performing a street play, \”Halla Bol\” on New Year\’s Day, 1989. He breathed his last the next