... Evolution of Theatres (Beginning to Indian Context) ...
Theatre is an art concerned almost exclusively with live performances in which all actions are precisely planned so as to create coherent & significant sense of drama. The history of theatre documents the development of theatre over the past 2500 years beginning in classical Athens in the 6th century BC.
Historically, theatres were all about enacting historical incidents like battles. Theatres of the West in the classical times began during the Greek civilization and became much more advanced during the Romans. The Hellenics used the already available hilly terrains to make amphitheatre seats. Modern theatre has its roots set deep in ancient Greece. One of the largest of them is the Theatre of Epidaurus and it has a circular orchêstra instead of the more common semi-circular. There are different types of arena theatres:
1. Stage with 180° gallery,
2. Stage with 270° gallery and
3. Stage with 360° gallery.
Ancient Greek Theatre of Dionysus, Athens.Epidaurus Theatre
The artistes would ascend to the stage using passages which are sometimes located in the lower tier of seats. These theatres were further developed during the time of the Romans. The earliest non-formal theatres were in the form of street shows. More often than not, road shows were held in the open areas (parish) conjoining churches. Road show themes might or might not have been consistent. Slowly, theatre gained popularity in the world. The audience sat or stood in covered galleries around the other sides or in the open courtyard. All the performance took place in daylight.
When the Romans left Britain, the theatre culture died out until being reintroduced in the 10th century. This medieval theatre was presented on elaborate temporary stages inside great halls, barns or in the open courtyards of galleried inns. The audience sat or stood in covered galleries around the other sides or in the open courtyard. All the performance took place in daylight. Interest in theatre increased during the Stuart period. Many rich courtiers and aristocrats hosted touring theatrical productions in their homes. After the execution of Charles I in 1642, theatrical performances were outlawed owing to the threat of civil unrest. Theatres closed and many were demolished. Following the restoration of the monarchy twenty years later, interest in theatre resumed. By this time, theatres were roofed with stages for changeable scenery. The Licensing Act of 1737 tightened censorship of drama. Only patent theatres were able to perform drama known as Legitimate Theatre. Theatres had mainly wooden interiors. In 1794 the Drury Lane Theatre, London introduced the first iron safety curtain. By the end of the century the façades of many city theatres were built in the more imposing classical style. In the early 1800s, theatre attendance lessened, owing partly to economic decline and poor standards of acting and
production. The Industrial Revolution resulted in the decline of rural theatres. In 1843, the Theatres Act removed the patent monopoly. By the middle of the nineteenth century theatre building was becoming a specialist architectural discipline, led by architects such as J. T. Robinson and C. J. Phipps. In the auditorium, rectangular galleries began to be replaced by Horseshoe shaped balconies that enveloped the stage and provided better viewing. The beginning of the twentieth century saw the introduction of a new component in variety bills. The films were silent, but accompanied by music, usually an organ. A further initiative at the time was repertory theatre. It evolved in the regions and was sponsored by rich theatrical benefactors seeking to introduce audience to a wide variety of theatre. Theatre evolved further and was now characterised by- realism, play of ideas, romanticism, poetic plays, history & biographical plays, Irish movement, comedy of Manne. British theatre was what inspired the Americans to start their own theatre and they were all modelled after the same. But the American theatre achieved notoriety when John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln in Ford’s Theatre, Washington D.C.
Commedia dell’Arte became a famous form of theatre in Italy in the 16th and 17th centuries. A lot of props and costumes were involved and the performances were free to public and were essentially street plays. The themes of this theatre also made its way to the French & British theatres. The earliest recorded African theatrical event dates back to 2000 BC with the "passion plays" of Ancient Egypt. The story of the god Osiris was performed annually at festivals throughout the civilization. However, much of African theatre is still in the dark as it fell into discrete historical and national patterns. Some of them are also lost due to colonial rule and the transatlantic slave trade. Currently, African theatre is predominantly written and performed in English, French and Portuguese. Chinese theatres are square or rectangular structures with a small square stage at one end covered by a roof that was, in turn supported by four corner posts. Some of the audience sat on benches along the sides of the space, and sometimes there was a gallery level above for seating. The bulk of the audience, however stood in entrance area in front of stage. The current form of Chinese theatre has been in existence since the 19th century. Japanese kabuki theatre makes extensive use of costumes and make up. After women were banned from performing in the 17th century, male actors continue to play the roles of both genders. This form of theatre showcases the Japanese historical events. Kabuki made extensive use of Japanese music and drums which was not a favoured combination prior to this. Kabuki theatres, made entire of wood, had intricate architecture and engineering. It was also the first theatre form in Asia that started using trapdoors, rotating sections, footbridges and stage lifts and all of this was present before the time of Shakespeare. It is also the only form of Asian theatre that took no inspiration from the West and instead built and continues to do so in its own traditional style. No is another form of theatre in Japan and drives inspiration from dengaku, a rice planting & harvesting ritual and sarugaku, a popular entertainment in the form of acrobatics, mime, juggling & music. The Balinese theatre is the representative for the smaller South-East Asian countries like Thailand, Kampuchea (Cambodia), Laos, Malaysia, Vietnam & Philippines since, these forms of theatres are dance based. This form of theatre is mostly performed in front of temples or pavilions used by communities. The audience sits on
three sides of the performers and the musicians, called gamelan, sit behind the performers, at one end of the stage.
Kabuki Theatres
In India the earliest record of theatre is found in the Sitabenga cave at Ramgarh hill in the district of Chattisgarh, it was built between 300 and 200 BC. It is a small theatre carved into the rock at the mouth of a cave facing out over an uncovered area just large enough for a small temporary scene building and stage. The second oldest theatre in India is in the Udayagiri-Khandagiri hills of Orissa. It was built during the last half of the Hellenistic period, sometime between 200 and 50 BC, and it includes a large scene building, with an upper stage, cut into the rock. The seating area, however, was of wood, like the ikria of the Greeks, and only some marks in the stone, where support beams were likely held in place, survive. The earliest form of properly organised theatre was the Sanskrit theatre which emerged sometime between the fifteenth century BC and it is one of the earliest forms of theatre. Indian theatre is traditionally defined by the concept of Natyashastra written by Bharata and comprises of dramatic narrative, dance and music. This concept made Indian theatre so famous that its influence spread beyond its borders. For Bharata, drama was the perfect means of communication, he was also the first person in India to start the concept of and enclosed area for drama. During this time, theatre was used to depict heroic tales & Indian mythologies. During the time of Buddha & Mahavira, drama was used to communicate the principles of the new religions. This was when short skits and long plays with multiple chapters became popular. Till the tenth century, the language used for these enactments was Sanskrit. Then came a time when old empires were broken and new ones built. Hindi and other regional languages were introduced in theatre from the beginning of the fourteenth century.
In the context of drama, two types developed:
1. The classic drama, which had intricate themes and stories of the religious, mythological & classical literature.
2. The folk drama, which was spontaneous, used local dialect and was
accompanied by local music and dance.
In West Bengal, these folk dramas and theatres were called; Jatra and Kirtania Natak. Instruments like dhol, kartal, manjira, khanjira were some props used in folk theatre. The traditional theatres of India have nine shapes. Square, rectangle & triangle in three sizes. A medium rectangular theatre could hold up to 400 spectators and was roughly 29m*14.5m in dimensions. The auditorium was one half of the space and was enclosed to improve acoustics. Theatre in India is heavily influenced by religion however the theatre architecture remains same all throughout.
The need for permanent theatre is because of the need of both the audience and the actors. While permanent theatres allow greater comfort for the actors, it also allows for greater development and sophistication in the production. The most important function is to contain the audience within a space thus allowing actors to control their attention. This was understood very well during the advent of the British which in turn changed the character of the society. In the eighteenth century, the first colonial theatre of India was established in Calcutta by an Englishman. The Act of the Dramatic performance was established in 1876 which focused the superiority of colonial rules in India. A Russian named Horasim Lebedev founded a Bengali theatre which marked the dawn of modern Indian theatre. English dramas, especially Shakespeare influenced theatres at this point. The stages evolved beyond this point were different from traditional open-air theatres. The stages nor had rolling curtains and there was a change in scenes, meaning that the plays written from this point had multiple acts and some of these acts were subdivided into scenes. A Parsi company in Bombay showed that theatres could be used for commercial purposes. Plays began depicting tragedies, comedies and the complexity of life. Dramas were now written in different regional languages alongside folk theatre like Jatra, nautanki, khayal etc. Masters in different fields made it their aim to use their arts as a medium for serving the cause of the common masses. Thus, a lot of the traditional theatres reached out and adopted a more relaxed form of expression and they began merging with folk styles. Western influences were also very visible in the works of Shambhu Mitra, Feisal Alkazi, Badal Sarkar, Vijay Tendulkar and others.
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
At present, the different types of theatres still found in India are:
1. Stage theatre,
2. Radio theatre,
3. Nukkad or Street plays,
4. Mono drama (one man show),
5. Multi actor show
5. Musical theatre,
7. Short skits &
8. One act plays,
9. Multi act play.
In twenties, two points of views emerged on Indian Theatre:
1. Commercial professional theatre
2. Non-professional or other theatres.