ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE, AND MORE

On March 27, theatres all over the globe will celebrate World Theatre Day. It was created in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute (ITI). It was founded in 1948 by Unesco and the international theatre community. Let’s peep into the nitty-gritties of the world theatre movement. He was a Telugu stage-and-film-actor and singer. He performed as an actor in about 45,000 plays and in 100 films. He also began whistling songs using his finger placed on his tongue, a feat which earned him the title Eelapata. He was hailed as the ‘Nightingale of the Stage’ by Rabindranath Tagore. Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Sarvepalli Radhakrishna and V.V. Giri were the eminent people who lauded his performance. Who are we talking about? This refers to a location found in the theatre district located in Manhattan in New York City. For a performance to be considered worthy of it, it must be held in any of the 40 professional theaters that have 500 or more seats found in this area. A performance to be held here is a mark of success that is considered to be the highest level attainable for commercial theater. What are we talking about? This iconic play has seen hundreds of productions and multiple translations. Even after 50 years, this is the most sought-after play by theatre directors. Late actor C.R. Simha, who essayed the title role for nearly three decades, had almost become synonymous with the character. In his autobiography Aadaadta

Aayushya, the playwright vividly recalls the circumstances that forced him to write the play. It was banned in Sri Lanka during the old days. Identify the play and the playwright. This type of theatre is practised in over 50 countries. Interaction and spontaneity are its cardinal principles. The first of its kind was founded in 1975 by Jonathan Fox and Jo Salas. As the show begins, the audience responds to questions from the emcee. Later, volunteers from the audience take to the stage to tell longer stories, choosing actors to play the main roles. Which form of improvisational theatre are we referring to?