Drapes of glory
On World Theatre Day, as the deadly Covid-19 outbreak has us all in lockdown, we pay our tribute to the stage
We are living in a weird time right now — stuck in our homes due to a pandemic that is slowly eating us up. But if you shift your point of view a little, humans clapping on utensils, screaming to save their lives from the unseen enemy, looked nothing less than an episode of Black Mirror. If things were normal, we would have been celebrating World Theatre Day today, with a lot of plays and stage performances, to feed theatre lovers.
Talking about the origin of this day, International Theatre Institute (ITI) in 1961 initiated to celebrate World Theatre Day across the world to value the importance of theatre. On this day, ITI hosts a yearly message, spoken by a chosen famous theatre performer, to share their views about the art of theatre and its future. In 1962, the first message was spoken by Jean Cocteau.
MUMBAI, THE FAVOURITE STAGE
Anupam Kher, whose last play, Mera Woh Matlab Nahin Tha was staged all over the world, says that it’s difficult to get a slot in Mumbai. “Whenever we ask for a slot, it’s always house-full. So, I am guessing that it’s getting better and people are coming to watch the play. But I do feel that we could do better in the writing department of Hindi plays. We do a lot of translations from Marathi and Gujarati,” he says.
Another senior actor, Lubna Salim, known for longrunning plays such as Gudamba and Humsafar, says that she can see a lot of youngsters in the scene. “It is vibrant. It definitely has to be because of the youngsters who have taken over the scene. Having said that, the depth and finishing is missing somewhere.”
COMING TO LIFE
Ira Dubey, daughter of actor Lillete Dubey and known for various intense roles in plays such as Devika Rani, Dance
Like A Man and many more, says that theatre is the perfect learning ground for an actor. She says, “I think theatre is ana actor’s medium. It helps you get in touch with your craft, your body, your vocational skills. Once you get on stage, you really are in charge.”
But senior actor and National School of Drama (NSD) graduate, Kumud Mishra, says that he is yet to get there. “I always liked bein ng on stage. The smell of the auditorium, those evenings when we are standing on stage, rehearsing, making mistakes, looking for depth, I cherish all of them. I have grown up watching my grandfather and father act on stage. So, that can also be the reason why stage is so important to important to me,” he says.
ART STAYS UNITED
This year’s World Theatre Day message — Theatre as a Shrine, was written by Pakistani playwright Shahid Nadeem. He wrote, “In today’s world where bigotry, hate and violence is on the rise, our planet is plunging deeper into a climatic catastrophe, we need to replenish our spiritual strength.”
The message is usually rea ad out on World Theatre Day, in n theatres across the world, before the commencement t of a play. However, this year it was only shared on the International Theatre Institute’s (ITI) website, as theatres are closed amid measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.
Anupam Kher: In 1973, Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah had come to Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, to work in a play titled Bhookhey Navik. I was a college student, at that time, and they were professionals from the NSD. After watching them perform, I was sure that this is the kind of actor I want to be, which is what this training does to you.
Ira Dubey: I have lots of memories of acting from my childhood like playing various animal parts. But, performing solo in Nine Parts Of Desire was one of my most fulfilling experiences.
Lubna Salim: I couldn’t be luckier, as I am one of the few people for whom plays have been written, right from Sunte Ho, which Gulzar uncle adapted from Rabindranath Tagore’s story Streer Potro. That is my favourite.
Kumud Mishra: There are so many plays that have influenced me. Skandagupta is an amazing play by Jaishankar Prasad. I had goosebumps just watching that. Alaknandan’s play called Chandaberni, is also my favourite. The play that challenges you the most, becomes your favourite.
Costumes tell a story and we are listening. Theatre, over the years, has been a platform for many stories and each character is defined by the costume he or she adorns. This World Theatre Day, we celebrate costume designers, who tell us why every stitch counts.
A FAABRIC TALE
Ther re is a lot that goes into aking a a costume, as it has o be impactful. So, when a classic like Mughal-e-Azam was brought to life on stage, the expectations were high. Fashion esigner e Manish Malhotra, ho h completed 30 years as a stu ume designer n Bo ollywood, shares that he has aalways been a fan of the origi nal Mughal-e-Azam. Malhotra, who designed costumes for the play adaptation of the movie, shares that his mum would often tell him that his entire childhood revolved around his fascination for Hindi films. “I still admire those creatively saturated sets and the sync chrony of the dancers in the back k. So, costumes, sets and the over rall grandiose of cinema lw ways fascinated me,” says Malhotra, adding, “There is no post-production here. So, your choice of colours, fabrics, embroidery and tyling of the outfits needs o be sharp.”
In today’s world where bigotry, hate and violence is on the rise, our planet is plunging deeper into a climatic catastrophe, we need to replenish our spiritual strength. SHAHID NADEEM, PLAYWRIGHT
IL LM V/S THEATRE
The outfits for theatre witness a lot of wear and tear due to cons stant changes. So, Malhotra used velcro openings for every outfit that could help the entire process.
Malhotra believes that the main difference is that all the outfits for theatre need to be ready well in advance. “In movies, there are scenes, and one can work accordingly, but in theatre A to Z needs to be ready. We needed to make double outfits for every principle character because the costume designer Indrakshi Pattanaik Malik, who designed for the film Mahanati (2018), is of the opinion that there are more challenges in theatre, as compared to a movie. “As costume designers, we also have to think of the [actor’s] comfort and freedom in costumes. Film actors spend hours in their costumes, with a team of 10 people fixing them every time before a shot. But stage actors have more changes in the duration of a single play,” says Malik.
A CHANGING ACT
According to National awardwinning costume designer Neeta Lulla, the stage has evolved in terms of its ease and flexibility of wearing garments. Lulla, who designed for the musical Jaan-e-Jigar, believes that even a three-minute song sequence can be tiresome. So, the technique of costume designing must be very well thought of.
Similarly, she shares that the jewellery that you make has to be stitched onto the garment so that accessories don’t fall off or hurt another performer. “There is a lot of thought that goes into costuming — right from understanding the entire structure of the show to starting from the last costume going backwards to the first so that the progression from the first to the last has a distinctive change that is required for the play,” adds Lulla.