World Theatre Day

World Theatre Day is on 21st March every year. It is an initiative of International Theatre Institute in 1961 (see history). Their main publication in The World of Theatre. Bangladesh centre of ITI has a history of ‘long-standing dedication’ since 1991.

“What is familiar to us becomes unseen. Doing theatre throws light on the stage of daily life.” Wrote Augusto Boal in his message for Theatreday 2009. Jean Cocteau wrote the message for first Theatreday, 1961.

A consortium of theatre groups in Durgapur are producing Red Olienders. (Source: Manu’da)

In Kolkata, Usha Ganguly’s Rangakarmi is producing Bhor (The Dawn), unrelated to Theatreday. See write-up in ABP karcha, 22 Feb 10

Theatre and film

The intersection of theatre and film is sometimes blamed by theatre-activists (like that dada in Satyajit Ray’s Nayak), but it has also been very useful for progressing the cause of theatre, viz. reaching to a greater numbr of public. Since the days of Nabanna, artists like Sambhu Mitra and Tripti Mitra have been attached to films like Dharti Ke lal. Later we have seen Utpal Dutt doing comic roles in Hindi commercial films (Bharucha calls baffonery). Ajitesh acted in films as well as Rudraprasad, later on. Manoj Mitra collaborated with Tapan Sinha in his filmatizing the drama Sajano Bagan – written, directed and acted in by Manoj Mitra himself – into Bancharamer Bagan, the film; he later wrote a monograph on that transition.

The latest generation of theatre workers, most famously Suman Mukhopadhyay, is working full-time in films. See The Telegraph, 7 Feb 2010. Link.

Upside down?

On the one hand, great find: Enact, Natya, Theatre India, & Theatre International are available at York U.
On the other, great too: Charbak is staging ‘Chalo Patol Tuli’ – written, directed, produced by some Ganguli. Is GT dead already?

Urban Space

The problematic of urban modernity must be an important factor in GT; in deed, in anything related to theatre. Proscenium or street – theatre is a business in urban life. Calcutta / Kolkata is the main player in GT.
Great! See works of Sumanta Bannerjee, Ranijni Mazumdar, Emma Tarlow, Gyan Prakash.

For theory: see Lefevbre.
Elden, Stuart. 2004. Understanding Henri Lefebvre. Continuum International Publishing Group. Elden will lecture at MCIS 108N on 09 Apr 2010, 2-4PM Link

See also reading list on Urban South Asia

Suman Mukhopadhyay

b. 1966; actor, director, playwright, filmmaker; worked with Chetana; founded Tritya Sutra in April 2000.

Tritya Sutra: 18/1/14, Uday Shankar Sarani, Kolkata 700 033; 6/7 AJC Bose Road, Kolkata 700017. Ph: 9133 – 24144090; e: titiyosutra@yahoo.co.in

Source: Bharat Natya Mahotsav, NSD, 2006, p. 208-212.
Websources:
His interview with STQ 2001. (in public domain)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suman_Mukhopadhyay
http://www.sumanmukhopadhyay.com/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2655736/

European research initiatives

Thanks to Rini for drawing my attention to Dr Christyna Nygren’s book Boundless Bengal on folk theatre of Bangladesh.
Swedish scholars are taking interest in Bangla theatre. The SASNET website tells quite a story of U of Stockholm collaboration with Indian and Bangladeshi scholars in studying theatre of both Bangaldesh and West Bengal.
Norwegians are not far behind either; Geir Heierstad’s dissertation on Nandikar is in public domain.
What about the BFG anthros? Elke Mader of U of Vienna is working on ‘Sharukhology’; what about theatre?

Theatre Journals

from India:

1. Kolkata – Group Theatre Patrika – ? – active
2. Kolkata – Anustup – ? – active
3. Kolkata – Bohurupee Patrika – Bohurupee – ? – active
4. Kolkata – Seagull Theatre Quarterly (STQ) – Seagull Foundation for the Arts – 1994 – Qtly – active
5. Kolkata – Theatre International – Avantgarde Press – 1994 – semiannual – active
6. Kolkata – Ruchi – University of Calcutta – 1982 – nk – active
7. New Delhi – Enact – Paul’s Press – 1967 – monthly – active
8. Delhi – Sangeet Natak – Sangeet Natak Academy – 1965 – ? – Active
9. Delhi – Theatre India – National School of Drama – 1999 – Semiannual – active
10. New Delhi – Natya – Bharatiya Natya Sangh – 1956 – annual – nk
11. Pune – Vrittya Vidya – U of Pune – 1965 – ? – ?
12. ? – Mayurpankh – Prestige Publication – nk – ceased
13. ? – National Centre for the Perofrming Arts – same name – 1972 – Quaterly – suspended
14. ? – Pareekshan – same name – 1972 – nk – ceased

From outside India

1. Modern Drama – University of Toronto – 1958 – ?
2. TDR – The Drama Review – MIT Press – ?
3. Asian Theatre Journal – U Hawai Press – ?
4. South Asian Popular Culture – Routledge (UK) – 2003 – active

Not including newspapers and related magazines such as Desh (Kolkata)

Source: Ulrich’s Periodical Database (keywords: theatre, India); and various

UTL+ Resources

Indices and databases:

1. Indian Periodical Index AI 10. I6. G8
2. Index to Indian Periodicals Z7164. S68 .I53 1987
3. MLA International Bibliography – online
4. Center for Research Libraries – online – STQ hard-copies are available?
5. UTL Research Guides – South Asia – DSAL
6. Bibliography of Asian Studies – BAS

Journals:

1. Asian Theatre Journal
2. TDR – The Drama Review (from MIT, ed. Schechner)
3. Seagull Theatre Quarterly – STQ (Kolkata, ed. Anjum Katyal)

Subject librarian at UTL for SAS, Felicity Pickup, helped me on 11 Jan 10 in searching over the resources available. RACER coordiantor Jane Lynch is so helpful in procuring STQ copies from Chigago & Waterloo.

Nepal – alternative theatre

Asesh Malla’s group Swarwanam (Website) – “goes Global” – like Nandikar?

STQ articles of interest

Theatrescapes – column by Samik Bandyopadhyay

Specific:
Year – Issue – Title – Author
1994 – 1 – Twenty Five Years of Alternative Theatre – Ipsita Chanda
1995 – 5 – Bangalore Little Theatre – Thirty Five years of community Theatre
1996 – 11 – Bhramyaman – Traveling Theatre of Assam – Bhupendranath Saikia
1996 – 12 – Bengali Theatre – The End of Colonial Tradition? – Samik Bandyopadhyay
March 1997 – 13 – Search: A Seminar on the Future of Alternative Theatre – Bansi Bhattacharya, Paramita Bannerjee
June/Sep 1997 – 14/15 – The New Karnas of Manipur – Samik Bandyopadhyay
*Dec 2000 – May 2001 – 27/28 – Introduction – Samik Bandyopadhyay
*June 2001 – 29/30 – ‘My Kind of theatre is for the people’ – Kumar Roy; Minority culture, Universal voice – Rudraprasad Sengupta; Falling in Love with Theatre – Arun Mukhopadhyay; Conversations – ?
*This two issues are dealing entirely with Group Theatre in Bengal
Sep 2001 – 31 – Articles by Veena Naregal, Sudipto Chatterjee and Theodore Bhaskaran
2002 – 32/33 – Gujrat carnage special (including a short write-up by Aijaz Ahmed)
Here after STQ goes audio-visual….