THEATRE
- Feb 29, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 22, 2020
The Bengaluru way
Actor at Wemove Theatre practicing a monologue
The theatre scene in Bengaluru has been growing in recent years, regaining its spotlight it used to enjoy in the 70s and 80s in Bengaluru, Vinod Kumar, a theatre veteran from the 80s tells us. The scene is moving away from a practice that was only meant for the elite academics, wherein most importance was given to Shakespeare and Keats. Now theatre is more about everyday life, showcasing Indian play writers, actors and plays.
“Theatre is like the ocean; you go to the beach and touch the surface water and you think you have seen the ocean”
Big theatre companies like Ranga Shankara and Bangalore little theatre have always been champions of the arts in Bengaluru but more recently smaller companies like barking dog productions and WeMove productions have entered the scene to produce budget productions that cater to many different audiences especially the younger crowds who enjoy comedy, romance and short skits.
A Director at WeMove speaks about present theatre trends versus the past.
Vinay Dhruvakumar, a partner and director at WeMove productions and a theatre artist of 18 years tells us in an interview about the changing theatre scene in Bengaluru ,
“I can see a change in the way plays are performed and set up. In previous years, importance was given to set and props, plays were set up for the gallery and so that they could understand. The more contemporary plays don’t give so much importance to these things. If we need a throne, we take a regular chair and the actors performance makes it a throne. The actors and their acting are of most importance.”
Actors making costume changes
At one rehearsal session, we saw actors in a quaint studio in Jayanagar decorated with warli art, red oxide flooring and posters of plays and actors from the past. This practice session didn’t possess the scholarly, academic intimidating air that theatre is usually associated with. It was warm and welcoming. Practicing a play about an author in pursuit of a story to write, the play mixed regional languages and portrayed everyday characters like an auto driver and a working woman, with the script written in the everyday dialect.
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