The Myriad of Drama that Shaped Bengal's Theatre Culture

When the stage is set, skilled actors turn up to enact a lively version of a written text, enabling the audience to float to distant lands through the perception of the visuals and profound performances, nothing can come close to the joy of watching a play. Bengal has been the heart of this mesmerising theatre culture for centuries. This is a story of how it all began and how it evolved through generations.

A typical modern theatre | Source: Wikimedia Commons

Back in the days of the spiritually revolutionising Bhakti movement, somewhere in the 15th century, the culture of theatre reached a peak in Bengal through a specific medium called the Jatra. While not very rich in cultural aspects, Jatra marked the beginning of the profession of acting and singing before an audience.

A male Jatra actor dressed up as a woman | Source: Wikimedia Commons

A Jatra performance typically included men, who also played the roles of women, dressed up in colourful garbs, enacting stories from mythology and Indian folklore, of which some of the most popular ones were the legends of Krishna. Interestingly, even before the Jatra culture, the theatre played a crucial role in the lives of Bengalis. It all began with the invasion of the Gupta dynasty during the early centuries of A.D. They brought about a host of elements of Aryan culture into the Bengali minds, including the idea of theatre. Sadly, this idea got lost in the mayhem of the Mughal invasion, and only Jatra survived the ordeal.

A proscenium stage | Source: Wikimedia Commons

All things that start, however, are meant to end or decline someday. Bengali theatre in the form of Jatra was unceremoniously overthrown from the hearts of the civilised Bengalis, especially in Kolkata, when the British arrived. They brought in a different style of theatre with them, called the proscenium. In theatrical terms, this means that the stage had to be separate from the audience. In contrast, the Jatra style had no stage and the spectators were often involved (formally or informally) in the performance.

The elite class of Bengalis in the 18th century loved this new European style of theatre and banished Jatra further into the rural areas of Bengal. Jatra was soon termed as a filthy way of acting and found no place in the city-based theatre lovers’ circles. The Bengali intelligentsia even went so far as to cherish European plays over ancient Sanskrit works.

Closer to the end of the 19th century, commercial theatre was established in Bengal. Professional actors were hired and tickets to the shows were made available to the public. The public, however, comprised only the British and the higher class of Bengalis. The masses could not afford the exorbitant ticket prices and stuck to Jatra, whenever they could access them. By this time, the Jatra culture was fading. The old style of singing and dancing in front of an exalted, participatory audience was rebuked. Theatre in Kolkata turned classist.

An actor preparing for a show | Source: Wikimedia Commons

Eventually, some notable playwrights of the 19th century realised that the European style of theatre might be too dry. They were, perhaps, missing the sentiments aroused by the sheer presence of music and rhythm. But going back to the Jatra style, for them, was inconceivable. So, they fetched the best of both worlds and created a new style, called Gitabhinaya, which roughly means the combination of acting and music. This style was more similar to the opera of the West than to the Jatra.

It was around this time when some playwrights began to rue the absence of women on the stage. Realising that the roles of women are best played by women, theatres set out to hire women actors. However, society would never allow women of esteemed families to enter into a career in drama. And so, the casting specialists had to be content with allowing outcast women to act on stage. This created a major rift among the regular Bengali theatre audience. While some claimed that such women should stay out of the vicinity of civilised people, others appreciated their acting skills.

Contemporary play | Source: Wikimedia Commons

When India inched closer to independence, the theatre scenario in Bengal took a different turn. An alliance called Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA) came into existence and worked diligently toward ending the era of commercial theatre. Theatre, they proclaimed, was a work of art and free expression, and should not be up for sale. Their inclusive attitude won the hearts of thousands of Bengalis, who were otherwise shunned by the upper-class theatregoers of colonial times. And this is when group theatre was born in Bengal.

From the 1950s up until well into the 70s, group theatre thrived in the state. Many of these dramas were politically motivated and were often influenced by the works of Russian playwrights. Ideology trumped business in the theatrical circle during this age. The middle-class Bengalis found their voice again through the everyday life portrayed within these plays. The theatre culture of Bengal boomed with a more idealistic sense of purpose during the late 20th century until it faced a decline with the advent of television in most middle-class homes.

In contemporary times, the theatre has somewhat lost its high stature in Bengal. Not just the TV but the arrival of smartphones and OTT platforms have reduced the number of theatre aficionados in Bengal to a mere handful. The original style of Jatra has also suffered in the name of progress but in certain remote areas of the state, it still prevails as one of the few sources of entertainment. Meanwhile, the intelligent class of Bengal that is still passionate about theatre is constantly on the lookout for plays that express the artistic side of theatrical performers, a show of skill that cannot be replicated by on-screen actors.