Theatre
Photo Essay: Over 250 years since its inception, the Ramlila of Ramnagar—a ‘play’ dramatizing Rama’s story from the Ramcharitmanas—still exists as a faint time capsule of the past. by Karan Madhok
Aakash Prabhakar—who directed and acted in the Indian reimagining of Mark Bartlett’s play, Cock—speaks to Chintan Girish Modi about the complexities of adaptation, casting, identity politics, and the human discomfort with ambiguities.
‘Theatre is a collaborative art form. It has that mongrel quality. We take from everyone, and finding community is key.’ Greeny Francis discusses her calling towards the theatrical arts, crafting immersive and experiential theatre, and stories from the production process. By Varud Gupta
With viral videos like “I Come from Two Indias”, Vir Das and other modern comedians can afford to be more biting in their attacks against the ruling class, as they don’t receive direct patronage from them. But they are now bound to the attention economy, desperately pushing for extremes instead of striving for meaningful cultural critique. By Aditi Murti
“There will be laughter every minute.” From Kalaivanar to Improv, theatre to film, satire to stand-up, Padmaja Jayaraman reveals a brief history of comedy in Chennai.
‘I celebrate the ways in which queer people in the country have found ways of living with a law that hasn’t been particularly kind to their existence.’ Chintan Girish Modi interviews playwright/activist Danish Sheikh on his writing and the intersection of law, theatre, and queer sexuality.
Life during the Lockdown wasn’t easy for many Kathakali artistes, leaving the practitioners of India’s internationally-renowned ‘story play’ struggling to make their ends meet. - By Akhila Damodaran
The pandemic threatens to be the last nail in the coffin for many of India’s great circus troupes. By taking their act online, Rambo Circus hopes to keep an acrobatic balance for the show to go on. - By Barkha Kumari
A conversation with Virajas Kulkarni, actor, playwright, director, and co-founder of Theatron Entertainment: “Nobody can deny the electricity of a live performance. But we do need to keep changing what is being performed, and how it is being performed.” - by Karan Madhok.
Jurish Nath writes about using theatre to shape the lives of children and young adults in Pune
A meditation on the power of Indian theatre — and the need to keep it free of government influences. - Faraz Khan
Delivered with humour and discomfort, Jyoti Dagra’s solo performance Maas examines the politics of beauty and its intersections with social media, the public and the private gaze, and our capitalist society’s conception of female beauty. By Prerna S.