THE STAGE IS OPEN
Opened last July a stone’s throw away from the Qutub Minar metro station in Chhatarpur, New Delhi’s OddBird Theatre & Foundation resides in a converted warehouse with white brick walls, high ceilings, French windows and an informal vibe. It was founded by Shambhavi Singh, a former advertising and marketing professional and Akhil Wable, a software engineer. The duo envisioned the space as a place to break out of the straitjacket of cultural ‘enrichment’, where they could encourage experimentation and collaborations across various genres of art. Over a period of time, it has hosted performances by Mumbai-based theatre group Jashn-e-qalam, classical dancer Aditi Mangaldas, martial artiste and performer Aditya Roy and actor Vidushi Mehra.
OddBird is only one of a crop of new performance spaces. Like-minded impresarios are setting up small, intimate, alternative performance spaces all over the country in a bid to break away from the fusty old cultural centres that have dominated the scene for decades. Courting a younger audience and showcasing experimental work, they’re adding another dimension to the ongoing resurgence of theatre across the country.
1. CONFLICTORIUM
Conflictorium, the Museum of Conflict, was set up in April 2013 by Avni Sethi, a student of interdisciplinary design, in collaboration with Janvikas, Centre for Social Justice, and Navsarjan, a human rights organisation. Located in an ancient Parsi building in Mirzapur, Ahmedabad, it is an interactive space that addresses the nature of conflict through art and culture. “The idea was that people only talk about ‘conflict resolution’, but never about the conflicts,” says programme co-ordinator Shefali Singh. “In order to resolve conflicts, you need to talk about them too. So, we started this museum. We wanted people from the newer, developed areas of Ahmedabad to come to Mirzapur, which is conflict prone.” Since its inception, it has hosted several workshops, such as one in which women from Mirzapur made comics based on their personal experiences of conflict. It has also screened documentaries, hosted readings and staged performances by artists from diverse communities in Ahmedabad. Organisations that stage plays about communalism, such as the National Peace Group and Akshat Drama Group, appear regularly. Last year, Vadodara-based Rollie Mukherjee, whose art focuses on the Kashmir conflict, also opened her exhibition, ‘To Stories Rumoured in Branches’ here.
2. STUDIO TAMAASHA
Since Studio Tamaasha opened in a cosy Mumbai bungalow this April, it has hosted more than 40 performances, ranging from a celebration of traditional storytelling to a Kathak dancer’s interpretation of the poetry of Kabir, Chokhamela
and Janabai. Founders Sunil Shanbag and Sapan Saran say they wanted a venue where they could stage smaller, idea-driven productions—as well as a non-traditional space that would appeal to a younger audience. Danish Husain’s Qissebaazi, for instance, was a celebration of multilingual traditional storytelling. Kathak dancer Sanjukta Wagh’s Jheeni presented the works of poets such as Kabir, Chokhamela and Janabai in a contemporary avatar. And actor Manish Chaudhari’s Rewind, Reverse, Repeat was an exploration of space and time. “Sometimes you want to do things that are not necessarily performanceoriented,” says Shanbag. “So, we decided to test out the idea of a neighbourhood art centre.”
3. WANDERING ARTIST
Located in the heart of Chennai, the 6,000 square foot Wandering Artist theatre opened in February 2017 and has already hosted over 30 performances of classical music, theatre, stand-up comedy, dance and other events like lecture-demonstrations and film festivals. Spread over three levels, it boasts two dance studios, a music room, a fine arts studio, a pottery studio, a coworking space, a café and more to cater to every type and size of performance. The ceiling is decorated with real musical instruments and the vibe is informal. “The idea was to start a space where we could teach arts for children. But, we stumbled on this great space which was much larger than we imagined,” says co-founder Sriram Ayer, who also runs NalandaWay Foundation, a non-profit that works with underprivileged children through the arts.
4. HARKAT STUDIOS
Mumbai’s Harkat Studios is a multi-disciplinary boutique arts studio and alternative performance space that was founded by filmmaker Karan Talwar, journalist Michaela Strobel and Susan Dias in January 2016. With an outside courtyard and an air-conditioned space inside with a small green room, the beauty of Harkat Studios is that it can be either a black box, a living room or a stage as per the performance. It’s a community centre that started off as a coworking space and has gradually evolved into a neighbourhood arts space where artistes can experience, create and interact with each other. Over the last 18 months, it has hosted some 60 shows, as well as curating unusual events. ‘The Museum of Ordinary Objects’, for instance, was an exhibition that celebrated everyday objects. ‘Queen Size’ was a choreographic response to Section 377. And ‘Kasak Masak’ combined Kathak with storytelling.
Alternative performance spaces are springing up across the country