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Influence
of 'Jatra' :
Theatre
in Calcutta or 'Bengali Theatre' emerged under the strong influence
of European Drama. The Bengalis had always been known for
their refined tastes and cultural pu rsuits.
Before the onslaught of the Islamic Tribes, classical Sanskrit
Theatre – the proud heritage of the Indians since aeons,
had started to deteriorate irretrievably. Thereafter, umpteen
forms of folk entertainment, popular plays etc. evolved and flourished and were tremendously influenced
by European dramatic techniques. 'Jatra' was an extremely
popular form of drama in Bengal and by the late 18th century,
the new style was completely absorbed by the avant-garde
dramatists and 'Jatra' exponents.
The 'Jatra' format influenced the theme, style, dialogue
and treatment of the Bengali Theatre which was canopied
by the occidental style. Eminent playwrights, critics and
intellectuals have accepted the 'Jatra' as a cultural medium
with immense potential. Gurudev Rabindranath Thakur had
once written in the 'Bangadarshan' in 1902, "I like the
jatra of Bengal, as there is an no forbidding separation
of the actors from the spectators. There is an easy bond
of mutual trust and dependence." In another place, Sishir
Kumar Bhaduri, the quintessential actor-director and pioneer
of Bengali Theatre, exclaimed pensively 'if our theatre
had evolved from the 'Jatra', it would have been a different
sort of theatre, a true national theatre. But our theatre
has grown under foreign influences.'
Influence
of English Theatres :
The truth, however, is that even a century before Sishir
Bhaduri's appearance on the theatrical scenario, the English
education, occidental outlook and mannerisms had engulfed
the educated elite class of the Bengali society. They detested
the 'Jatra' as cheap and parochial and had a high esteem
of the British Theatre as the fittest means for entertainment.
The first English play house - 'The Calcutta Theatre' was
constructed in 1775. (today's 'Lyons Range').
The following 80 years saw the foundation and shutting down
of innumerable English Theatres. Notable among them was
the 'Chowringhee Theatre' (1813 – 39) from which 'Theatre
Road' derived its name (today's Shakespeare Sarani). Another
remarkable theatre was the 'Sans Sonci' (1839) which had to
be closed down in 1841 and gave away to the St. Xavier's
College of today.
These theatre companies were endowed with acting prodigies, even from British Theatre viz. James Vining,
Emma Bristow, Ms. Contey, Mrs. Deacle, Esther Leach etc. Initially,
these theatres – their audience and even door-keepers were Englishmen and Indians were not
allowed admittance. But
from the early 19th century, the pan European theatres were
opened for 'natives' as well and became the haven of the
elites and Anglicised Bengalis. Prince Dwarakanath Thakur became
one of the pioneers in founding the Chowringhee Theatre
and in August 1848, Baishno Charan Adhya, a native gentleman
played 'Othello' at the Sans Sonci. However, he was sneered
at by the 'Calcutta Stars' as a real, unpainted, nigger
Othello.
The early 19th century shuffled the cultural scenario
drastically and
the evolving land owners, opulent merchants and the new
middle class, comprising salaried professionals, small scale
traders etc., took charge of the cultural arena of Bengal.
They were tremendously influenced by the English-medium
schools, English outlook, beliefs and institutions and
became
ardent advocates of English drama and Theatre. The 'Young
Bengal' generation enacted Shakespeare at the David Hare
Academy and Oriental Seminary. So, a new form of Bengali
Theatre was in the offing.
First
Bengali Plays and Productions :
There is a very interesting fact about the origin of Bengali theatre.
A gifted Russian scholar, Gerasian
Debedeff (1749-1818) ,
had staged the first Bengali play and not any Bengali
person. Debedeff adapted freely from 'The Disguise' by M. Jodrelle
and 'Amour Medicin' by Moliere with the help of
his Bengali tutor Goloknath Das. This sumptuous double-dish
was served to the audience on 27th November, 1795 and 21st
March, 1796, at 'New Theatres' in Dovimtulla (today's Ezra
Street). The auditorium with a capacity of 200 seats, was
packed up on both nights. However, these noble efforts were
fruitless as Debedeff left India very soon.
It was Prasanna Kumar Thakur, at long last in 1832, who
made a temporary auditorium at his Narkeldanga residence.
A handful of English plays were staged there. Then came
the landmark when Nabin Chandra Basu staged the first Bengali
production at his Shyambazar home theatre in 1835. The play
staged there was 'Bidyasundar', based on a story very popular
with the then prevailing Jatras.
Influence
of Sanskrit Plays :
Gradually, many makeshift private stages were built. In July, 1858, such a performance, was
watched by an odd
900 people d espite
the audience restrictions in those days. Most of the plays
staged then, were transliterations, mainly from Sanskrit.
The first play staged after 'Bidyasundara' was the translation
of Kalidasa's 'Abhigyanam Shakuntalam' by Nandakumar Roy. It was played at the house of Ashutosh Deb in Shimulia (Simla)
in 1857. Tara Charan Sikdar and Jogendra Chandra Gupta had
composed 'Bhadrarjun' and 'Kirtibilas' respectively in 1852.
But these plays were never staged. Ramnarayan Tarkaratna's
'Kulin Kulasarbasya', published in 1854 and enacted in March
1857 on a temporary stage at Ranjoy Basak's house, was the
first play to receive this glory. It was a satirical play
on contemporary social evils like polygamy, untouchability,
caste system etc. unlike the popular mythological plays
in those days.
From the point of view of importance, two private theatres
are worth mentioning. The Belgachia Natyashala, built by
the refined Rajas of Paikpara was a notable one. It was
inaugurated on 31st July, 1858 staging 'Ratnabali', adopted
from a Sanskrit play by Ramnarayan Tarkaratna. The other
remarkable theatre was set up by the Thakurs at Jorasanko
which continued for a few decades. Rabindranath Thakur's
early play 'Balmiki Pratibha' was staged here for the first
time on 21st February, 1881.
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