| Thespians reminisce about tricity theatre struggle |
10th Aug 2013
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A scene from the play Court Martial
he once moribund theatre scene of Chandigarh has received a shot in the arm, thanks to the various festivals and productions. Guardian20spoke with a few theatre personnel about this renewed interest in the form.
Sudesh Sharma, director, Theatre for Theatre and secretary, Punjab Sangeet Natak Akademy says, "Theatre was on the verge of extension in the city towards the end of 1990s. During this phase, we, a group of theatre enthusiasts, formed this group and after 5 years held the first festival with three plays. I remember we used to gather people from schools, colleges, parks and roads to come and see our plays. Today, I feel elated that our efforts have paid off." Today TFT organizes five festivals throughout the year. Its famous play Court Martial has crossed 400 mark and is still attracting more and more audience.
Constructed nearly fifty years ago, the Tagore theatre is one of the oldest theatres in Chandigarh. Kuldip Sharma, its director, says, "Our aim is to encourage art and the local theatre groups. To maintain the interest of the regular audience is the greatest challenge and to overcome this challenge we keep organising theatre festivals on various themes. Recently, we initiated the Munshi Prem Chand theatre festival based on his stories. Extreme weather conditions notwithstanding, people gathered in huge numbers to watch the productions."
"People won't believe that after hours of dedication and commitment a theatre artist earns merely Rs 33 on a daily basis, which is awful. The administration spends a fortune on artists while organising gala events but the worth of theatre artists is not equally recognised," says Chakresh Kumar, president, Alankar theatre Group. Toeing the same line, Kamal Tewari, a prominent theatre personality, says, "The future of theatre artists is not very bright and is a matter of concern for the authorities. There's no policy for safeguarding the future of theatre artists. The administration as well as the government should come forward and encourage these artists with more performances and fees, at par with the commercial artists."
A retired doctor from PGI, theatre artist Dr. S. K Punia, who has directed more than 100 plays and has written 35 plays, says, "There was a time when we used to organise 5-6 plays in a year and an audience of 50-100 was considered massive. It's awe-inspiring when we see 1000 people watching a play under one roof today. The credit for this achievement goes to all the theatre artists who have contributed a major part of their lives and to people like Dr. Ram Niwas who took special initiatives for the betterment of theatre."
Parvesh Sethi, a veteran stage actor who received the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award recently from the President of India says, "During the initial days of our play Court Martial, the audience numbered less than the characters. But now the auditorium remains full and the response of the crowd is overwhelming, even after the 400th performance."
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