When India went under lockdown in March, Ranga Shankara was among the first to go online with their theatre activities for World Theatre Day, which fell on March 27.
Published: 10th October 2020 04:15 AM | Last Updated: 10th October 2020 04:15 AM | A+A A-
BENGALURU : When India went under lockdown in March, Ranga Shankara was among the first to go online with their theatre activities for World Theatre Day, which fell on March 27. And yet, the city-based theatre space waited until October to launch their ‘Staged@RS’ digital streaming programme. This Saturday (October 10), they will stream their first play, recorded at Ranga Shankara’s very own stage just for this initiative, at 7.30pm. Speaking about the long wait, founder Arundhati Nag says, “It just took us some time to understand the copyright laws with regards to works that go up on streaming platforms and how to monetise it.”
Each month, a new play will be streamed for 10 days. For the inaugural edition, the theatre space is all ready with a pre-recorded version of Sankramana, which has been directed by Surendranath S. The play – which the director has also translated the play into Kannada from Kamtanath’s Hindi original Sankraman – features veteran actors Sihi Kahi Chandru, Kalpana Naganath and B V Shrunga in the cast.
“It’s not a family drama, it’s not a comedy, it’s not a Greek tragedy,” explains Nag of the play, which has been set in a typical middle-class house in any town in Karnataka and has each of the actor’s delivering a monologue. “It’s just a comment on society that each family is dysfunctional and has its own set of kinks,” says Nag, adding that they wanted to perform plays with a small cast to experiment with.
Before the play is streamed, viewers can also enjoy a short video, with quick cuts of the beloved theatre space. It starts from the entrance, moves onto the steps and the cafe, stops on the pictures on the wall and finally leads up to the auditorium and the stage. “And of course, we had to have Girish Karnad’s recording reminding viewers to turn off their phones as well,” adds Nag. Reopening the theatre space for plays, she asserts, will only happen once the coronavirus situation improves. “We aren’t a commercial enterprise. The well-being of the artist community and our audience is priority for us.”
After Sankramana’s premiere on October 10, the play will be streamed from October 11 to 18 as well, with a show at 7.30pm every day, and extra shows on Sundays (October 11 and 18) at 11am. Upcoming plays as part of the initiative include Akshayambara, which will be directed by Sharanya Ramprakash; Abhishek Majumdar’s Desdemona Rupakam and 1 Madhav Bagh, which will be a solo act by Revathy. Tickets for Sankramana (`200) will be available on bookmyshow.com
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