TWO TAGORE PIECES BY TWO WOMAN DIRECTORS

TWO TAGORE PIECES BY TWO WOMAN DIRECTORS

After a surfeit of Tagore based productions for the last two years the viewers had to some extent developed an antipathy, sort of, towards such productions. And to be candid the productions mostly did not merit much appreciation and were a ploy to acquire some kind of a dole from government agencies on the occasion of the sesquicentennial celebrations of the Bard. 

Yet another and I believe perhaps the last of the crop has been staged by Uhinee in the form of an adapted version of RAJA. Tagore himself had done a ‘stage-friendly’ version of this very difficult play and had christened it as ARUPRATAN. One wonders why this modified form of the play was not attempted by the team and instead an adaptation by Debashis Majumdar was done. This group a few months earlier had not very successfully staged a show based on different writings of the Poet (MORE OF TAGORE blog dt 5.12.12). This time, too, the production failed to impress the viewers.  Nothing seemed to click right and even director Adrija Dasgupta the pivot of the team failed miserably in performing both in delivering her dialogues as well as in singing the songs. Sheer exertion seemed to have taken its toll. She is definitely capable of better performance as have been proved in her earlier works. Her directorial work had redeeming features in the beginning though the use of the aisle of the auditorium speaks of no novelty. But the absence of any innovative elements in direction as the play progressed made the production a very dull run-of-the-mill exercise on the stage. The use of the different Tagore songs could not alleviate the plight of the viewers.

On the other hand PARULBON-E ROBI by Nirbak Obhinoy Akademi under the very able direction of Suranjana Dasgupta was a real treat for the viewers. This production, of course, is not one of the last crops of Tagore euphoria and certainly is not a result of an exercise to join in the band-wagon. I missed the earlier shows that were very limited in number, and so I made it this time. And I have been rewarded. The production may not be termed as a play in the strict sense as there are no fixed characters except that of Parul and there are no defined scenes, as such. The form depicted by Suranjana is rather a visual transcription of the correspondences that took place between an unknown young lady Parul Roy and the Poet during the last six to seven years of the latter’s life. Sharmila Moitra’s brilliant script, worked out basically from the letters together with Tagore’s other writings and different songs, brought out yet another facet of the Poet’s personality as well as the predicaments of young Parul coming from a very ordinary Bengali home with the strapping of the typical lower middle class values. She is portrayed bereft of any emotional innuendoes as is Tagore portrayed without the bogey of reverence that is usually found in such portrayals. Suranjana’s innovative powers have given shape to the script and thus an excellent production is that what the viewers are rewarded with. Every one of the actors did commendably and the co-ordination between them brought out the meaning of the moments admirably. Kathakali as Parul was superb in all respects of acting. She was so free in her deliveries, her movements, her use of space, and of course, her songs interspersed between her dialogues that viewers would certainly remember her work. The songs were executed perfectly by the actors and the liberties taken did not exceed limits. Sayan Bandopadhyay’s songs were an asset to the production as was the beautiful moments created by the director.

P.S. Theatre Workshop instituted Satyen Mitra Award for best original play for the year 2012 was awarded to Sharmila Moitra for PARULBON-E ROBI. Being a member of the jury I fully endorsed in the jury meeting  the view of the majority i.e. two of the three jury members and nominated her for the award though I had not seen the play till then. Fortunately before the date of the award giving ceremony I had the opportunity to see the play. I once again endorsed the views of the jury with a capital E after seeing the play. Though it is not a drama in the strictest sense I believe that Sharmila deserves the award for her originality in scripting the Tagore-Parul episode. So, I congratulate Sharmila Moitra for achieving this prestigious award.     

RECENT PRODUCTIONS ON THE CALCUTTA STAGE

RECENT PRODUCTIONS ON THE CALCUTTA STAGE

Of the recent happenings on the Calcutta stage a number of productions are worth discussing. Of these, in order of chronology comes Ballygunge Bratyajon’s ARDHANGINI, Ballygunge Swapnasuchona’s BELASHESE KOLAHAL, Howrah Bratyajon’s JAYOMAAN and Barasat Anushiloni’s CHHAYABRIKSHA. 

Ballygunge Bratyajon is a new team that together with three more groups have the brand name of Bratyajon and of course, the blessings of Bratya Basu. Their first production ARDHANGINI is an adaptation of Somerset Maughm’s The Constant Wife. The adaptation by Utpal Jha had also been staged with modifications by Meghnad Bhattacharya by a Bangaluru group sometimes in 2011. However, the present production scores its marks because of the very good standard of production on the whole as well as for perfectly bringing out the subtle nuances of the comedy of manners. Bijoy Mukherjee who has done his directorial debut in this play is an established producer of theatre with the professional touch that is not frequently found in the theatre world of this part of our country. His production of Kanyadaan under the banner of Swapnasuchona, with Bratya Basu directing the play apart from doing the bully’s role has remained a mile-stone in this world. Bijoy has proved himself in this new role though attention to details is wanting. Each member acted in their respective roles with perfect timing and almost faultless coordination. The production was able to convey the message that Maugham had given many many years before the movement for economic emancipation of the women folks had taken shape.

Bijoy Mukherjee’s Swapnasuchona, the team mentioned earlier is more a production company rather than a theatre-group. Rechristened as Ballygunge Swapnasuchona, the organisation has produced BELASHESE KOLAHAL, a play by Kajol Chakraborty and drirected by Sohini Sengupta. The play tells the story of a mundane middle-class life reaching its fag end to realise that dreams have remained unfulfilled, and in the despair finds simple reasons to rejoice and celebrate life.  The viewers at the end are thus gifted with a sense of well-being  – an experience rarely enjoyed after the curtains. Veteran thespians Swatilekha Sengupta and Biswajit Chakraborty have lived up to their names while the others perfectly worked out their individual roles. Tapan Sinha’s music played an important role in the production. But Sohini’s directorial venture did not have the finesse to deliver an unblemished piece of work. 

Howrah Bratyajon is yet another group with the popular brand-name. Their first venture, JAYOMAAN, is a play by Debashis Biswas, who is also the director of the play, and is based on a story by Amitabha Samajpati. The play portrays such a negative face of the society that one feels a sense of hopelessness till a positive character excellently played by the director comes on to the stage. But sadly this character turns to be surrealistic. Other characters are not well distributed and fail to build up a coherent storyline. However, the production can be proud of Tannistha Biswas who does a magnificent job in the role of a tormented young girl. The liberty taken to introduce obscene words in English cannot be justified and leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

Barasat Anushiloni’s CHHAYABRIKSHA is a play by the veteran Debkumar Bhattacharya and tells the story of the clandestine deeds of an organisation set up to facilitate brain-drain and leave the country bereft of intelligent persons. The play is directed jointly by Bijoy Mukherjee and Subir Mukherjee – a feat not seen in recent times. But the play itself is very weak in content and form, thus the viewers find little elements of interest to watch and viewing becomes drudgery. Acting is mediocre and even extends to amateurish performances. Production, too, is very unprofessional and that is very sad as the onus lies on no other than Bijoy Mukherjee whose earlier productions smacked of immaculate elegance. The most disappointing part is the brochure where umpteen horrible mistakes in the English language have put the credentials of the group in question. I cannot but resist from illustrating one such devil. In describing the virtues of someone who rejects devious wealth for human values, it states, “.... avaricious, honest, dedicated....”.

BRATYAJON’S INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

BRATYAJON’S INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

Bratyajon organised their second theatre festival terming it Bratyajon International Theatre Festival 2013. They justified their claim by roping in three groups from abroad. Last year they had brought in a group from Bangladesh. This year apart from that country one team from Nepal and another from Italy were invited. Then there were groups from Assam, Kerala, Maharashtra and Manipur together with one from North 24 Parganas and two from Kolkata one of which was Bratyajon themselves.  A total of eleven plays were staged in the seven-day festival held at the Star Theatre of which I saw six. The festival was dedicated to the great actress Binodini Dasi on her sesquicentennial birth celebration. It was a very aptly deserved homage to a magnificent personality of the stage, indeed.

The one production that stood out amongst all that were presented in the festival and one that would remain for long in the minds of those who were fortunate to see it was the inaugural presentation, Imphal’s Chorus Repertory Theatre’s ASHIBAGEE ESHEI, a play created de novo from Henrik Ibsen’s When We Dead Awaken by one of the few geniuses of the modern Indian stage, Ratan Thiyam in 2008.  Ibsen’s theme and not his form was what Ratan had taken his inspiration. According to him, “….this piece of work concentrates only on the thematic content. It does not follow the concept of either realistic plot or normal structure. The performance is designed to express the internal entanglement of characters without distorting the original idea in a different plane with selected dialogues without a change from the original text. In this piece of my work, I just wanted to feel a different Ibsen with imagery, fantasy and ecstasy which he had created in this play; far away from realistic conventional mould where the performance becomes more subtle, symbolic, suggestive and stylized according to the demand of the content. It was not easy for me to prepare a performance text for this. ” Yes, this was a very difficult task and Ratan excelled. It was simply a magnificent magic, as though, was being performed on the stage. Meitei language was no bar for the viewers to be struck in awe. The designing of the play with each of the departments like dress, make-up, lights, ambient music, and stage was perfectly executed. Apart from these it was the utilization of space on the stage that a student of theatrics should have gained a lot if they had chanced to witness the presentation. ‘Thematic lighting’ was interpreted on the stage and it was a fresh experience for the Kolkata viewers.  

It was my first experience to see a Nepalese production, and I was impressed. Majipa Lakhe, presented by Shilpi Theatre from Kathmandu is a mythical play based on a Newari folk character that in the myths happens to be a demon. Every year a festival in the form of Indrajatra is held in the streets of Kathmandu to celebrate this demon as he is believed to help people in distress. The play has been presented in the form of a street show and the director Yubaraj Ghimire used a number of dramatic elements that help the viewers to grasp the happenings on the stage as the language of the play is foreign. And the viewers enjoyed the presentation. Music played an important part and Nepali folk with modern Western brought out the perfect effect.

The group from Naples, Italy – Teatro Stabile di Napoli – received the maximum of fan-fare and coverage in the press as the director Cristina Donadio is a familiar name in Italian cinema. Her troupe produced I CLYTEMNESTRA – THE VERDICT (lo, Clitemnestra - il verdetto), written by Valeria Parrella, a very talented young playwright of Italy. Based on Agamemnon one of the tragedies written by the Greek tragedian Aeschylus in one of his trilogies, The Oresteia,.  She has transported Agamemnon and Clytemnestra to modern day Naples and portrays Agamemnon as a Mafia boss. But whatever, nothing was intelligible from what was presented on the stage for the Kolkata viewers except for those few who knew Italian. A totally verbose drama with almost no other theatrical skills was, in fact, a very big disappointment for the audience. Language is, of course, a very important element but not the most if one creates a form that is able to convey to a foreign viewer what the play wants to tell.  This Italian production failed totally to communicate with the viewers. The only gain was to see Cristina act on the stage as she is that famous actor who worked with Fellini in one of his films and also had walked out of the film as she (she was in her teens, then) did not like to sit through the shooting and listen to the man’s directions.

Theatre Platform from North 24 Parganas presented two short plays – SOMOYJAN and KHAJANA AAMI AAR AASBO NA, both written by Bratya Basu. The first one tells a story of a young man on a tour of the past with his girl-friend in a time-machine. And in the process they get to know the hidden and sacrilegious past of their parents. The play had very little theatrical elements and a very inapt and unimaginative handling by the director Debashis Roy made the production a very mediocre one. The second production, though a forty minute one, was engrossing more because the playwright had introduced a number of psychological twists that made the viewers to get themselves involved in the situation presented on the stage. This once again demonstrates the powerful dramatist in Bratya. The story centres round an author and her reader whom she involves in building up her latest story. The actors did their parts justice. Debashis did his directorial job earnestly following the playwright and so was successful in this production.

Ramajit Kaur and her The Creative Arts presented an all-woman production BAAWRE MANN KE SAPNE as the concluding presentation of the Festival.  According to the brochure this group from Kolkata focuses on ‘Theatre as Therapy’ with the actors building up their characters from their personal experiences. Ramanjit had associated the characters in a story-line with whose help they interact with one another and thus express their angst, distress, jealousy, secrets and such other states of mind. But what strikes the viewers is the way she had used the theatrical elements like lights, music, stage, dress and such other to build up the play on the stage. The play ended with the cast distributing laddus that were a part of the props to the viewers. This viewer presented the laddu he had received to the director for a commendable job.

The last day also saw one of the most popular stage actors of the present times, Debsankar Halder speaking on acting as the Bisnu Basu Memorial Lecture. Those who missed the lecture did miss a very important speech that came extempore from within the thinking actor.

Before signing off, a word about Star Theatre – it is absolutely not fit for theatre viewing. It is a typical cinema hall with high back rest and reclining seats. One has to strain especially in the front rows to view the happenings on the stage. It is sad that a heritage theatre hall that had been restored and renovated has not been made compatible with theatre viewing. In the inaugural speech the Convenor of the Festival Bratya Basu who also happens to be the State Education minister appealed to the Mayor of Kolkata to name the theatre after Binodini Dasi. This proposal everyone present was happy to support. In this connection another piece of information would be quite inspiring for all theatre lovers. Cristina Donadio announced to undertake a project to film the life and times of Notee Binodini Dasi. The society and her male consorts deprived her from everything a successful person desires and even had maligned her for her social background but never having paused or falter to take every possible advantage from her. Bratyajon should be given its due share of indebtedness, too, for having focusing this great thespian to the world at large. 

BHAMKIRTAN: A satire by Chandan Sen

BHAMKIRTAN: A satire by Chandan Sen

Chandan Sen, one of the playwrights whose plays were important ingredients of the theatre-cuisines on which survived the theatre-hungry people like us in the late ‘60s and early 70’s still remains one of the most important dramatists of our times. When in those days almost every group was trying out apt as well as inapt adaptations/translations of works of dramatists from different lands like those of Brecht, Pirandello, Chekov, Moliere, and even Greek tragedians, a few groups tried to survive on desi fares. HaJaBaRaLa survived fifty three years in this fashion and this is a feat by itself as it is a group coming from the mofussils. This group with Chandan Sen as the nucleus did never suffer from a want of a play for production. They staged Sen’s recent satire, BHAMKIRTAN being their fifty fourth production. Strangely, to a query Sen could not recall the total number of plays he had penned. And that is what one calls prolificacy! 

Sen like in his most other works has put in powerful dramatic elements to capture the imagination of the general viewer as well as very strong retorts to questions on social problems that would give the viewers food for thought. The play highlights the epidemics that plague our society today – denying one's roots and fishing in troubled waters, as the saying goes. He has used two very attractive forms in this latest comedy of his. He has used rhyming dialogues that the viewers enjoy a lot. One also finds a very intelligent use of the folk format in the dramatic form.

As for the production the first and the foremost credit should go to the musical ambience created by Subhadip Guha. Dulal Santra’s make-up needs a special mention. Ranajit Chakraborty’s stage and Manoj Prasad’s lights did not have any pretension so viewing the happenings on the stage was comfortable. 

It was interesting to observe the creative conflicts between the dramatist Chandan Sen and the director Chandan Sen. The production had both the parts of him strongly present. So in the first half while some editing was required it was felt, the last climactic part could have been elaborated to some extent in order to highlight or rather focus on the bottom-line of the matter. 

Sayak’s DHRUBATARA & Meghnad

Sayak’s  DHRUBATARA & Meghnad

[Have been busy with writings on two very different subjects, so have not been able to post my blogs since more than a month. But have been seeing a number of theatres from different parts of the world as well as Bengali ones. Today I share with you one such from Sayak]

The senior thespian Meghnad Bhattacharya is certainly one of the very few present day leading stage actors to whom the younger generation of stage actors look up to for a guidance to interpret a character on the stage. The Bengali theatre owes a lot to this great actor-director. He once again proved himself in Sayak’s latest production, DHRUBATARA. Here he plays an intellectual who tries to balance between two worlds of his making.

In one of his classes the great thespian Natyacharya Sambhu Mitra while speaking on silent acting had pointed out that when the actor has no dialogues to utter for a long time and others are doing all the talking, he has to remain silent throughout but he must do something in order to attract the viewer’s   attention or rather compel the viewer to acknowledge his presence on the stage. As an illustration he mentioned about a very common scene in the zoo – that of a slumbering tiger in the cage on a hot afternoon. The rise and fall of the tiger’s stomach was enough to show-off its strength, it did not need to roar. This was beautifully demonstrated by Meghnad in the play.

Ujjwal Chattopadhyay’s play has all the ingredients of an engrossing drama where very mundane issues as well as very exceptional psychological issues that transgress the line of morality are dealt with in a somewhat melodramatic structure. There are many characters in the play and all of them contributed to the building up of the play. But what stands out in the production is that each of the characters was handled with care by the director so as to give the play homogeneity and a perfect balance. The two young talents that the Bengal stage would remember for long for their performance in PINKI BULI – Bhaswati Chakraborty and Rimi Saha did commendable jobs in this production, too, with the former taking a greater load.

Sayak believes, it seems, that viewers should get their money’s return and so they talk straight and never pretend to go through an intellectual exercise that remains incomprehensible for the general viewers.  

DOLES TO THEATRE GROUPS

DOLES TO THEATRE GROUPS

         One of our foremost theatre personalities, Shri Bratya Basu who also happens to be the state Education Minister, yesterday announced from the Writers’ Building that 100 theatre groups from different districts would be doled out an amount of  ` 35,000/- each. This benefit, as announced, would be given to those groups who are under financial constraints. For such groups who are finding it difficult to meet both ends, this will be a one-time grant. Subsequently other groups would get the assistance in the following years. This project of the government surely would demand kudos from one and all. But there is a Catch 22 situation it seems to comprehend the announcement, as previous such doles to infuse financial stability to clubs had made the intention of the government for such projects suspect.

        The process of selection of the groups to be given this financial help has not been announced and, at least according to reports in the press, the state Natya Akademi seems to know nothing of this project, let alone the selection and the procedure of distribution of the money. Basu said that advertisements regarding this was released in press and those who had applied would be given this assistance. But the question that comes to one’s mind is in which press was this advertisement published? And on what basis were these applications made? Was this done based on announcements notified by the Akademi last year? There was one which asked groups to submit applications for productions that would help to project the different social and other programmes taken up by the government; and another where artistes who are financially weak were invited to apply for help.

         With the Panchayet elections in the offing people would naturally question the timing of the announcement of such a project, and more so as the beneficiary groups are all from the ‘fringe areas’, that is if spelt out means regions that fall under different Panchayets. Such questions may seem a ‘tirade’ against any ‘benevolent ‘project the government takes up. No the intention of this blogger is not to prick the air out of any such balloons that soar up to brighten up the sky above us that had gathered some gloomy clouds of despair since long.

         These State grants to groups were once in practice but the LF government had discontinued it for quite many years. The Central government has been granting quite handsome assistance to groups and this increased a few folds on the occasion of the Tagore celebrations. But not all groups are lucky to get this help.  Monthly salaries have also been initiated. Though the sum is meagre and is given to senior distinguished persons, they are certainly stamps of recognitions to personalities who have spent their entire lives for the sake of theatre.

          Let us hope this initiative of the State government would help the groups to work out productions that would enrich the Bengal theatre world.

INDRASHIS LAHIRI: A PLAYWRIGHT EXTRA ORDINEM

INDRASHIS LAHIRI: A PLAYWRIGHT EXTRA ORDINEM

[It has been more than a month that I have added anything in my Blog. I have not seen any theatres during this time as I have been occupied with some other very important personal matters that had to be attended urgently and this is taking a lot of my time. But today I came across a piece of news that has compelled me to document my thoughts about a dramatist who has contributed a great deal to the Bengali theatre in a way that can never be emulated by any other playwright. This is my tribute to Indrashis Lahiri, a brilliant dramatist of our time, who has expired after a multi-organ failure at the SSKM Hospital.]

Indrashis Lahiri was a dramatist who seemed to have that rare ability to pen dramas that did not attempt to override the intellectual threshold of the general viewers/readers in spite of dealing with very important and serious themes that identify with the urban to semi-urban middle-class to lower middle-class society.  Indrashis had been quite consistent in his writing of dramas but had become sporadic in the last few years, perhaps due to ill health. He had his own language with which he could communicate very strongly with his viewers/readers who in their turn were comfortable in reciprocating. But what made his plays successful as stage-productions was his deep sense of the theatrics and that helped the director to adapt his plays on to the stage. Two of his latest dramas were presented by two foremost groups of Kolkata. SEI SUMOULI, a very significant political drama based on the change of the political baton in West Bengal, was produced by Swapnasandhani ; and PINKI BULI, a semi-fantasy based on a story by Amar Mitra but written afresh, was produced by Sayak.   

It is sad that not many competent directors, and there are many in today’s Bengali theatre world, have tried him out. Meghnad Bhattacharya and his Sayak have had done a few of his works. He was awarded the prestigious Satyen Mitra Award for the best playwright for the year 2011 of Theatre Workshop. And I take pride in the fact that I was one of the judges for this award and have had the opportunity to honour this introvert, self-effacing giant of a playwright.

It is a sad day for Bengali theatre which has once again been impoverished after the deaths of Badal Sircar and Mohit Chatterjee.

6 February 2013