Footloose and Fancy
Free/ Frank Krishner
He stands with arms held aloft, his face dripping with
sweat. Strewn around him are bodies,
still and silent. He cries out in a loud voice, “Main Nahin Chahta Yeh Nafrat
Ka Dangal ,Yeh Jalta Shaher, Yeh Maut Ka Mangal… I don’t want this dance of
hatred, this burning city, this festival of death…” It’s a pleasant day in
February, just following a week of uncertain and inclement weather. The man is
a performer, plying his art in the pleasant warmth of a pre-spring afternoon,
in front of a cluster of people of all ages on the historic Gandhi Maidan of
Patna.
The audience, some sitting on the ground, others standing,
are engrossed in the performance. It is a street play about violence fanned by
religious bigots, reflecting harsh realities of life. The show is part of a
three day festival of street theatre, being held in memory of Jacob Srampickal,
a Jesuit who devoted a lot of energy to studying and revival of the ‘theatre of
the people’ in Bihar. Twenty five years ago, Srampickal held the first ‘All
Bihar Nukkad Natak Festival’ at Ravi Bharati near Sadaquat Ashram. The festival, an annual event, continues to
this day.
“Street theatre is people-friendly. The dynamic and mobile
nature of street theatre makes it possible to go to people where theatre is not
accessible: like streets, markets,
slums, villages, schools, office complexes, parks, residential areas. It is a
free show for everyone: paan wallah,
officer, labourer, housewife or student. Therefore, it never has a limited or
‘repeat’ audience. With actors moving at the same level as the audience,
there’s no hierarchy . The simple and direct performance gives it power to
reach people. There are no tickets as the aim is not to make profits. Rather,
the audience is asked for contributions,” explains Prabha, a social activist
from Buxar who has used the humble ‘nukkad natak’ (street corner play) to raise
awareness among women on issues of income generation.
How has street theatre changed over the years? Birendra
Kumar, a trainer with Ravi Bharati points out that television and reality shows
have had an impact on the form and content. The format has evolved. Today some
street theatre groups use costumes and basic make-up, he says. This isn’t
necessarily a bad thing, because street theatre reflects the situation of the
people, and today, the common man is highly influenced by the idiot box. Street
Theatre reflects the idiom of the people, and raises contemporary issues.
Some trace the history of street theatre to the 19th century when labourers and party
workers wrote and did plays during the Industrial Revolution in Europe. Women produced plays like "how the vote was
won" during the suffragette movement in London in the 1900’s. The Soviet Revolution spawned its own kind of street
theatre to reach the unwashed masses. During World War II, street theatre
played a role in fanning anti-war sentiments.
The history of ‘modern’ street theatre in India can be
traced to Indian People's Theatre association (IPTA), formed in 1943, the first
organised body to adapt the form to a more political end raising issues of
imperialism and inequality. IPTA is regarded as the pioneer of the people's
theatre movement in India.
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| HOW DEEP IS YOUR COMMITTMENT TO REFLECTING LIFE... OR ARE WE JUST PAWNS OF ESTABLISHMENT? |
Shamsul Islam, a prominent theatre activist and writer notes
that he first of the street theatre troupes came into being around 1967 in
Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi. Many of these troupes are still alive and
active. He says that street theatre came into being at a time when India was
beset with decline and degeneration in political, economic, social and cultural
institutions. Street theatre appeared and questioned the rot.
Hassan Imam, who needs no introduction to theatre enthusiasts
in Bihar once told me that street
theatre as a genre was a reaction to the established theatre of the time. This
new theatre emerged as a platform for the anti-establishment forces, providing
opportunities to experiment and to express their dissent. The nukkad is more than mere alternative
theatre. It has a political message; to change the world, to encourage
plurality, to promote an egalitarian society.
The establishment struck back. Shamsul Islam maintains that
in Kerala, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh street theatre was banned; performers like
Prabir Dutta, Rajan and Safdar killed while performing. In the mid ‘80s at Basti in Uttar Pradesh, a
woman street theatre activist was picked up by the police from the midst of a
performance and raped in order to teach her a lesson. In most of the cases,
state repression was let loose in the name of combating Naxalism, he says.
Today, street theatre is a recognised art form and has
gained legitimacy. Groups like Asmita and Bihar Art Theatre regularly attract
youngsters who enthusiastically take to street theatre as a stepping stone to
careers on stage or on television. Some old timers complain that the
multinationals and the government have turned this form of protest into a new
form of propaganda, but that is a topic for another day.
In the meanwhile, at the Gandhi Maidan, some 150 street
theatre artistes and trainees have converged from several districts to raise
contemporary issues: rising prices, intolerance, domestic violence, patriarchy,
the unequal distribution of wealth, and so on.
The beat of the street goes on and on…
