; jade theatre
playfully yours
Harini Aravind meets three Bangalore groups that stage plays for the sheer joy of
it. After all, when the theatre bug bites it’s a lifelong obsession…
f you were to overhear a group of
young adults discussing weekend
plans, chances are you’d hear
talks of plays or play rehearsals.
You might also run into a bunch
of youngsters, promoting their
play or selling tickets at the local
mall. For a young Bangalorean,
working with a theatre production
has become a cool thing to
do. “Theatre, offers not only
fame under the arc lights, but also an
opportunity to explore creativity and
to meet like-minded individuals,” says
Jayshree, who is waiting for her turn at
an audition for an upcoming play.
A Venture Capitalist directs the play,
134 I september 2009
the marketing is managed by a real
life Sales Manager and the posters
are designed by a Graphics Designer
employed with a technology firm. Hard
to believe? Too true in the blossoming
Bangalore English theatre circuit where
theatre professionals leverage their
professional skills for the sheer joy of
satisfying their creative instincts.
English theatre in Bangalore owes
its emergence to the Bangalore Little
Theatre Movement and the installation
of RangaShankara. While the groups
featured here are diverse in their vision,
RangaShankara is a vibrant, affordable,
inclusive platform for theatre and
theatre lovers in the city. Vijay Padaki,
who has been associated with theatre
in Bangalore for about fifty years is
optimistic about the direction of the
theatre movement, “There is a greater
pride in Indian material – original
scripts, translations from regional
languages, adaptations, and there is
a greater volume of theatre activity –
more groups, more people involved, a
wider audience base.”
In conversation with these groups,
The Bangalore Little Theatre, Version
One Dot Oh! and Dramanon, we
observe that theatre holds the potential
to morph into an institution or a
remunerative corporate or purely
an expression.
Bangalore Little Theatre Theatre), which is Theatre 101 for young Vijay Padaki has seen the group
The Bangalore Little Theatre, which adults, draws huge crowds each year. transform from a stage act to an
is celebrating its golden jubilee this It is open to all on a first come, first academy. Talking about their golden
year, was conceived with an idea to serve basis. SPOT is recognised as the jubilee plans, Vijay says, “We have
allow Indians to appear on stage, most prestigious training event in the been working on the setting up of an
alongside their foreign counterparts, in city, because of the quality of inputs Academy of Theatre Arts since 2006,
post Independence India. “With most provided. Other groups and productions we are slated to launch the academy
theatre groups lasting no longer than snap up the talent from SPOT. in 2009-10. The primary objectives of
7-8 years, the key to BLT’s longevity lies
in its professionalism – a participatory
style of functioning and a transparently
elected managing committee,” says
Vijay Padaki.
Their best known productions
include an English translation of
Shudraka’s Mrichhakatika – The Little
Clay Cart, Vijay Padaki’s Credit Titles
and Head Start and Badal Sircar’s Evem
Indrajit.
Over half a century, BLT has had a
distinguished record in not just staging
shows, but furthering the theatre
movement. They are the only English
language theatre group in Bangalore
(and perhaps anywhere in India) with
strong links to the local-regional theatre,
building bridges across language The working pattern of SPOT is to the academy are public appreciation
divides. This enhances their position devote full Sundays for the training and awareness of theatre and theatre
as a Community Theatre. They have sessions and to work on the chosen education as part of school and
been continually involved in a great deal production project through the week. college curriculum.”
of outreach activity helping schools, Since 2007, BLT has partnered with
colleges, clubs and other institutions. Dream a Dream, an NGO committed Dramanon
Their strength lies in training – training to working with disadvantaged children. Dramatists Anonymous was conceived
trainers and developing training The end production is performed as a over coffee in 2006. An offshoot of the
methodology. Their free annual summer fundraiser for them generally in student theatre movement in Manipal,
workshop SPOT (Summer Project on August- September. Dramanon has staged over twenty
september 2009 I 135
; jade theatre
shows of three plays: William Seebring’s
The Original Last Wish Baby, Hugh
Leonard’s Pizzazz and Michael Frayn’s
Alarms and Excursions. Dramanon is
now preparing to stage SIC its
latest offering.
The group’s production team
includes Sharanya Ramprakash, Sridhar
R Prasad, Sathyashish Banerjee and
Harish Seshadri. The group is unique
in that, its members are daytime
professionals who morph into actors,
set designers, production managers and
directors. About the balancing act that
theatre essentially entails, Sharanya
dismisses it saying, “Dramanon was
about pursuing something that made us
happier, and theatre truly does make
us happier.”
The group attempts to bring to the
stage freewheeling contemporary
plays replete with human and societal
quirks and a generous dose of dark
humour. Dramanon’s vision for their
group is simple – pursue theatre that
suggests possibilities, that of sheer
joy, of adventure, of the thrill of the
unexpected. As the group unanimously
agrees, “Each play we’ve done so for
has been a bit of an adventure. There is
a sense of abandonment in giving the
“Dramanon was about pursuing something that made us happier, and theatre
truly does make us happier.
136 I september 2009
whole of you to the adventure. When
there are no holds barred, you accept
failure too. It is important to keep the
fear of failure in its right perspective
and not let it limit your possibilities. This
is core to what we do and the plays
we choose.”
www.dramanon.webs.com
Version One Dot Oh!
Six years and going strong – VODO
has garnered accolades: Best Play
at the Young Directors Theatre
Festival, Centre for Film and Drama,
Bangalore, 2006 and invitation to
perform at RangaBhoomi 2007, the
50th anniversary celebrations of
Kannada Rajyotsava. VODO is easily
one of the most consistent names in
English theatre in Bangalore: ten plays,
fifty shows, staged across Bangalore,
Mumbai and Dharwad.
VODO is currently managed by a core
group of six people, each taking on an
aspect of theatre production. Vikram
Rai, Vikaram Balakrishna, Srikrishna,
Kishore Acharya, Vijay Kumar and
Yashwanth Madhusudan together
handle various functions of the group.
Among its notable productions are John
Guare’s Six Degrees of Separation, Vijay
Tendulakar’s Silence! The Court is in
Session, A Monty Python adaptation,
When the Pythons followed An Actor
and Shadows in the Dark, a translation
of a Sriranga’s Kannada play
Kattale Belaku. VODO is now working on
its next play, The Cyclist. The group lets
us in on a little secret, “We are planning
a documentary film, that’ll capture the
making of The Cyclist; our readings, our
discussions, our rehearsals and our
promos and road shows.” Now that is
something to look forward to – a behind
the scenes of a play!
Apart from theatre productions,
VODO has successfully conducted a
workshop for children with special
needs. At the conclusion of this
workshop the group staged a play. “It
was a great play put up by a bunch
of great kids; every kid was on stage
– it was a production as good as any
other,” says Yash of his experience.
VODO is working on creating custom
theatre modules for schools as part of
a ‘theatre in education’ programme.
To create awareness and to build an
appreciative audience, VODO conducts
play reading sessions every alternate
Sunday at Suchitra film society. VODO’s
USP is to bring quality productions on
stage and their vision is to mature into a
self sustaining full time endeavour.
www.vodo.blogspot.com