THE TRADITIONAL structure of theatre hierarchy is undergoing a strange shift. Usually when we talk of plays or theatre groups, our imagery is dominated by the director. Ebrahim Alkazi, Ratan Thiyam, Habib Tanvir, have all been the dominant chieftains of the various theatre tribes. The structure was simple — a director was the overlord; an actor got the fans, but is replaceable; the producer counted the losses; the backstage team, no one cared about; and a playwright was someone who sat in a cafe dreaming of his/her words being uttered on stage — fully aware it was wishful thinking.
However, things-they-are-a-changin. The “playwright” is making a strong bid for a hostile take-over and is charging up the pecking order.
This is partly to do with the fact that as a theatre culture we’ve exhausted the “masters”. Earlier doing a play meant first going to the library to find an unperformed Brecht, Miller or Shakespeare. Now the first step is a conversation with a playwright.
Recently Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal happened to watch a play at an IIT drama competition, and immediately commissioned the young playwright to create a new piece — Lift Karadey.
This upgrading of status might also be because a “play text” is the only thing physically tangible thing that endures after the performance is completed.
Badal Sircar, one of the nation’s great geniuses, passed away recently.
But all his eulogies talked more about the plays he wrote, rather than the significant artistic contributions he made to the form.
Audiences too have evolved, preferring to have “real” connection with the characters.
George, Joseph and Majorie are too culturally and emotionally distant for an audience who now want to hear stories about Ganesh, Junaid and Maithili.
The recent spate of initiatives to encourage playwriting has begun to deliver rich dividends: Writer’s Bloc workshop and festival is now in its third edition. Each time more playwrights have developed and more plays staged. Thanks to the festival, the playwright’s pipe dream has become a tangible reality.
Writing awards have also become commonplace; often with hefty purses attached.
The Shymanand Jalan National Youth Theatre Award for unproduced plays by playwrights between 18 and 35 gives `25,000 to the winning entry.
Then there is the `1 lakh prize for the annual Hindu Metroplus Playwright Award for new English plays. Past recipients have included Abhishek Mazumdar for Harlesden High Street, Prashanth Prakash & Kalki Koechlin for Skeleton Woman, Neel Chaudhari for Taramandal, and this year’s winner Aditya Sudarshan for The Green Room.
Most recently the Sultan Padamsee Award was reintroduced after a 40 year hiatus. Ram Ganesh Kamatham, walked away with `1 lakh cheque for Ultimate Kurukshetra. But two other playwrights Chanakya Vyas and Sabina Mehta Jaitly were given `10,000 each as special mentions.
Play writing has suddenly become the most lucrative aspect of the theatre.
What is more surprising is that this is just the tip of the iceberg. A quick look down the calendar of plays being staged in August finds that over 80 per cent are newly written.
That means another 40 odd playwrights other than those already mentioned above. Staggering!!!
Suddenly a new canon of Indian literature is being built. Bookstores and libraries will soon need a whole section dedicated to “Indian Plays”.
And in the cafe the round of cappuccinos can now be on the playwright’s tab.