Stages in the evolution of English theatre

Talking of the progress of English theatre, one must admit it can't be viewed in isolation with the gradual evolution of the English stage in the country. Post-independence, English theatre in India had to struggle to survive.

Surge of regional language theatre, lack of facilities, changing times and mindsets posed a problem. As time flew past, films and television posed a deterrent.

Mumbai’s date with the English stage goes back to the 1940s. Its only competitor in vintage terms is The Madras Players, a theatre group from Chennai, often credited with being one of the oldest Indian English theatre groups in the country to still function. Mumbai is also perhaps the only city in India with the maximum number of theatre productions across four major languages, English being one of them. With as many as 2,000 performances are held in a month.

Under veterans like Ebrahim Alkazi and Alyque Padamsee, the English stage inched towards prominence with some noteworthy productions. Alyque Padamsee's direction of Tarantula Tanzi (based on Claire Luckham's Trafford Tanzi) featuring Karla Singh in the lead role, which was inaugurated at the NCPA Experimental Theatre in 1984 was a runaway hit.

Bobby Sultan Padamsee, Alyque Padamsee, Pearl Padamsee, Ebrahim Alkazi, Deryck Jefferies, Gerson Da Cunha, Mary Sethna and a host of others like Sabira Merchant and Vijay Crishna, were closely associated with Theatre Group, the oldest English theatre group in Mumbai founded in 1941. Together, they churned out, shaped and chiselled the Mumbai English stage.

As for the modern day, playwrights, directors and producers like Mahesh Dattani, Vijay Padaki, Rahul Da Cunha, Rajit Kapur, Akash Khurana, Cyrus Mistry, Meherzad Patel, Vikram Kapadia, Shiv Subhramanyam and Ashwin Gidwani are helping the English stage maintain its niche with varied themes and innovative experimentations, despite its path being dotted with teething odds.

Initiatives like Thespo and the Writers' Bloc have introduced young people like Ram Ganesh Ramanathan and Anuvabh Pal (The President is Coming) to the English stage, the future of which seems bright.

New age, shifting paradigms
The English stage has offered constant scope for new trends, both in terms of form and content, to thrive and thereby etch out its identity, the contours of which, critics say, are still blurred. The identity crisis, most said, emerged out of adaptations. Allegations of poor imitations of the West End / Broadway farces and bedroom comedies were levelled.

Adaptations gained prominence in the early and mid-nineties. Rahul Da Cunha's I am Not Bajirao, adapted from Herb Gardner's I am Not Rapport and Naushil Mehta's A Suitable Bride, adapted from Madhu Rye's novel Kimball Ravenshood had great runs.

Since long now, theatre groups like Rahul Da Cunha's Rage and Naseeruddin Shah and Benjamin Gilani's Motley have been staging significant plays which have impacted audiences’ psyche. Class of '84, Chaos Theory, Poona Highway, Me, Cash and Cruise by Rage have been widely appreciated in recent times.

Motley too, although now known for its Urdu and Hindi plays, made the English stage proud with productions like Waiting for Godot. However, it has often been stated that despite original plays now increasingly being written by gifted playwrights like Ramu Ramanathan and Mahesh Dattani, among others, the English stage in Mumbai is yet to equal rare theatrical treats like Krishna Mohan Banerjee's The Persecuted (19th century) or Erna Vatchanghandy's Asylum, which dates back to the 1940s.

‘Variety is the need today’

Ashwin Gidwani’s theatre company, Clowns “R” Us India Pvt. Ltd (CRUIPL) has produced plays like Circus, Oh No! Not Again, Monkey Business and Funny Thing Called Love. He says, “Variety is what the English stage needs. I put Double Deal on stage when no one dared to experiment with thrillers. The audience wants splendid production values. Theatre lacks funds. So, we created unique models for corporates to invest and use new ideologies to drive theatre across India.”

'Quality, not glitz must’

Ramu Ramanathan has survived the English stage for 25 years now and has written acclaimed plays like Mahadevbhai, Cotton 56, Polyester 84, Jazz and the BBC award-winning Collaborators. He says, “What matters is how one can assimilate and give the new crop of talent a platform to showcase their skills. I admire the fervour of the proponents of commercial theatre. However, I feel quality is being compromised. The audience can't be taken for granted.”