Only Plays or Some Theatre Too?

The Hindu Theatre Fest, Chennai, August 2007

It has been nice to have something to genuinely look forward to for so many evenings in a row. It was nice to know that a few hundred people were heading for a hall with a common purpose. Nothing compared to the thousands who head for cinema halls to see The Boss, but still…

The challenge of open spaces

What theatre workers and theatregoers have been doing over these 11 days is sharing an open space created by the Metro Plus Theatre Fest, a kind of Theatre Commons. The organisers deserve our thanks. We have to remember, though, that a common space has to be looked after, tended and even expanded by all who use it. Space, whether physical, intellectual or artistic, is a scarce resource and one has to be prepared to share it. Otherwise it loses that very special quality of openness. The wonderful thing about being in a space over a period of time is that its contours and its uses become sharper and thoughts and questions arise about how to nurture it and use it better. Here, for what it’s worth, are some of the things I’ve been thinking about.

A particularly enterprising film society in Kolkata started its own international film festival a few years ago. The event took root, grew popular and soon became the official Kolkata International Film Festival. So sharing has its rewards. Who is to say that the Metro Theatre Fest will not become the Chennai International Theatre Festival? And what can the stakeholders do to prepare the ground, as it were?

Without meaning the slightest disrespect to those who take responsibility for it now, does it make sense to appoint a Festival Director to design the event, choose the plays and mount other related activities? It needn’t be the same person every year, needless to say. It’s futile to try to put together a list of the year’s ‘best’ plays. No such list can ever be possible. So why not let the audience share one knowledgeable, sensitive, committed person’s vision instead? Would it help to organise the programme under broad themes- say 12 plays, 3 themes?

A launch party is all very well. Everybody loves a Big Bash. But does it say ‘5 Star Entertainment for the Chennai Elite’ too loudly? Would a daylong seminar with well- prepared papers set a more appropriate tone? Surely there’s a whole host of issues theatre workers should be discussing. And what better occasion than this? Can discussions, exhibitions, film shows be facilitated during the course of the Fest with the help of other organisations such as the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, the Alliance Francaise, the British Council, the Goethe Institut? In other words, can the Fest be about more than just putting on and watching plays? Over time, can it ground itself in the larger context of theatre?

And then, of course, there’s the seemingly intractable question of representation. The Fest is about theatre in English, even though it doesn’t say so explicitly. Is there a special reason for foregrounding this segment? Is it truly representative of theatre in Chennai or in Tamil Nadu? And are English plays from Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai truly representative of theatre practice in these centres? Would the inclusion of Indian language plays (yes, yes I know that we think of English as an Indian language too!) spread over a larger number of venues broaden enthusiasm and participation? Or would it just compound the logistical problems? Is it possible to learn from the experience of multilingual festivals elsewhere in the country?

Theatre as process

Speaking of the larger context, one question that has puzzled me for a long time is: What constitutes an English theatre group in this city? Is it commitment to a certain ideology, a certain process, a certain way of doing theatre? No offence meant, but I haven’t seen a great deal of evidence of this. Or is a group defined by a particular person- a director, a producer or a writer- with actors flitting about from group to group like honeybees in a field of flowers? It is true that individuals of extraordinary stature have invested groups with unique significance. Utpal Dutt, Habib Tanvir and Badal Sarkar come to mind, as does Arianne Mnouchkine, from very different fields of theatre practice. But, seriously, is English theatre in Chennai ready for this?

Unless theatre workers reflect on the meaning and integrity of groups, shall we be able to move up from merely putting up plays to doing theatre? Do we tend to use the ‘amateur’ status of English theatre as an excuse? Amateur is not the same as amateur-ish and the difference between amateur and professional is often in the mind, in the attitude and understanding, not in the money available.

Do we understand that theatre is anchored in a continuum? Do we ignore the importance of learning- of theories, traditions and texts? Does the energy we devote to theatre as process match the enthusiasm that we have for turning out a product, for staging a play? Above all, can we replace the notion of theatre as entertainment with the notion of theatre as engagement? Entertainment is such a tiresome, one- sided concept. Engagement is so much more exciting. It means that you see the audience as partners in the experience, that you involve, mystify and provoke it.

Enter the Audience

That the audience is willing to be engaged was demonstrated by the Stages Theatre Group’s forum experiment. There is a notion that the English theatre audience is affluent, elite, interested only in a good evening’s entertainment. Changing one’s class character is not easy and you can’t really be expected to carry a copy of your Income Tax returns when you buy a ticket. But the contribution of the audience is vitally necessary to push the boundaries of the Theatre Commons. There seems to be one good place to start: demand more, not in quantity but in quality, relevance, innovation, experiment. Do not be passive or polite in your criticism. Be willing to see theatre in basic, even uncomfortable spaces, so that you can relieve theatre groups of the burden of finding money to hire luxurious, air- conditioned halls. Without the audience as enthusiastic participant, there will be no worthwhile theatre.

Curtains

That’s about it then. There’s neither time nor space to discuss individual plays…but there will always be a next time. Suffice it to say that I value whatever friendships I have in theatre more than any foolhardy notions of frank and fearless theatre criticism.

Whatever else the audience may or may not take away from this Festival, one thing is certain. The vital statistics of a particular brand of car will be scored indelibly in their collective memory. Is there any truth in the rumour that, at the next Festival, we shall have the privilege of actually seeing this car, or its successor, on stage, embedded skillfully in various scripts?