Theatrically Yours
Societies evolve. Civilisations flourish. People progress. Children grow. Saplings bloom. Clothes change.
And this continues. This continues to an extent where looking back becomes imperative for any progress, any change. Minds evaluate the equilibrium between sacrifices and gains. Sometimes over pristine wines. Sometimes, over stale newspapers. Then occurs a metamorphosis to justify what’s irreplaceable, what’s undoable. People tell stories of why it should be done ? Why it shouldn’t be done ? History goes under numerous transformations to beautify past, to create integrity with ancestors and respond firmly to occasional future. Then some vouch for authenticity in union and strength in understanding thus, define norms and give context to what’s understood and content to what’s seen. Theatre is therefore that organic creature which has roots in society’s capacity of acceptance and denial. Like any other medium of social emancipation, it is fundamentally created by circumstances, situations and social zest to either change them or adopt them in a manner which brings frowns and smiles with equal attention. The withdrawal of direct protest or solidarity to any happening which disturbs the conventional comfort of any society gives an affirmation that theatre is an appeal, when performed and an art when not performed (since deliberations on how and what theatre should be performed is not an absence of theatre but a little artistic prelude before the stage is lit).
People amuse and imagine what they could have done before they could do it. Theatre minimizes this gap hence diluting fiction into reality and imagination in to existence. So, a newly made theatre enthusiast shall always find ways to loosely imitate gestures of stage and language of green room in his private life. This also empowers theatre to vehemently speak of virtues and vices. So, a Greek civilization would confront the establishment with heavy make up instead of creating a total revolution on streets. Theatre essentially is a dialogue between different Geographies unlike conservative social fabrications. For instance, the communist wave in the Soviet Union could very well court attention of the socialist fervor in India. Its an exchange of intellectual property viz a viz maintaining the local flavor of social address.
The conventional form of theatre broadly had been an extension of a vigilant social literature with entertainment. The conventional form of theatre (mainly seen in the Habib Tanveer school of theatre) traveled, habituated and localized the social ethos and aberrations yet did spread a condensed approach to political, economic or social opinion of exhausted revolutions, tired ideologies and starving attempts of change. This theatre had also given firmness to roots what we loosely see today in the form of cinema and performing arts. The conventional form of theatre was an outcome of social need for change of the order and preference. This characteristic gave a different perception to theatre and it became a colorful source of social mobility and opinion making beyond hollow entertainment. Initially, theatre was done in an unorganized manner with an improvised stage and mainly thought to be a jovial source of local entertainment speaking of regional and private adjectives and kept changing the subjects with Geography. There was not much scrutiny done to it and no political red tape or attention was dedicated to it. The structure changed when people with opinion and intellect began to get involved. These people had an opinion , its justification in a firm ideology and considered theatre and its goers to be potentially limitless in terms of energy and enigma. This theatre started taking interests in politics, economics and questioned the status quo behind it. The stage became heavily satirical, strongly scripted and more meaningful. The reactionary forces in turn, became uncomfortable and acted back on the behest of power and resourcefulness. This phase was darker for theatre makers to usurp and resurrect especially when theatre had become a strong agenda of political and social identity. Stage was heavily guarded, scripts were forcefully edited, actors were checked upon multiple times.
With the advent of more liberal political set up and flow of economics to arts, theatre emerged as a strong force of entertainment for those who reluctantly patronized issues and a vehement food for thought who took arts as a viable medium to be heard. This happened because of two reasons. A, the oligarchic set up was at its downfall and public participation in decision making was turning into a reality and secondly, the structure which has hither to, played the politics of ‘silence the oppressed’ began to believe that the system of checks and balances’ in the longer run shall give their recognition a new longevity.
The contemporary theatre is completely a new line of approach. From ‘broadway to ‘borderways’ , theatre has brought a new school of thought, a twilight and a reaffirmation of ideas and beliefs. It has integrated with technology, science and arts to a different level. So, a theatre show no longer remains a redundant or rudimentary hopping on stage but it also includes advanced support of lights and visual effects. Sounds effects have gone more appealing and scripts bring in more realism and connectivity than mere magic. Dedicated professionals are being hired for jobs and research goes behind in what is to be presented. The fourth wall has also been amazingly broken with large and large participation of the audience in improvised and unscripted form of theatre. People partake and get involved in the story building. They needn’t be a simple swallower of sorts instead they beautify and bring in more authenticity to whats being shown. Celebrities associating in casting, online expansion in marketing, involvement of camera work etc has given a new dimension to theatre today. It no longer exists as a mere medium of social change or entertainment but has now transformed into a communicating tool of expression and visibility. The entertainment value has improved with wit and humour and information has become more accurate with research and realistic endeavors.
So, to conclude it succinctly, theatre has always been an approach to bind civilizations together. Today, it has grown into an independent method of exchange and sensitization between humans and humanity.
