Kolkata Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Theatre in Kolkata was a sudden occurrence. It wasn't a natural, or gradual, evolution of the public form of entertainment that had existed in proximity, which one might consider cultural proximity in a more informal situation, but an adaptation of sorts, that wasn't completely, if at all, intrinsic to the region before the imposition of Modernity through colonial rule. This paper will try to chronicle the history of 19 th century proscenium plays in erstwhile Kolkata and the surroundings, up until, and a little beyond, the establishment and initial success of the Public stage in 1872. Following that, it will try to compare the effect of the proscenium on social standing and how it fared in perpetuity in comparison to other, supposedly more indigenous, forms of art. It shall try to understand the importance of the stage as a modern influence in a societal circumstance that is perhaps not in the same temporal plane, and how that defines the artist and the art of the theatre itself. The history in Kolkata The history of Bengali theatre, defined by the presence of Bengali as the linguistic medium through which the characters communicate began with the intervention of a Russian Indologist, Gerasim Stepanovich Lebedeff. In 1795, he decided to set up a stage for the Bengali audience in order to fill a void which had existed in the form of public entertainment. So he, as an expert in Indian languages, translated two English plays, namely 'The Disguise', and 'Love is the best Doctor', to be presented to a Bengali Audience. He showed the translations to a few language experts trying to gauge the paucity of his translation and claims to have been pleased with the effects it produced on them. Following that, his language trainer Golaknath Das approached him with the suggestion of actually staging it with Bengali actors which he could provide. Following this, he designed and erected a public stage near Dome lane, and advertised in the Calcutta Gazette on 5 th November 1795 and again on 26 th November, the day before the performance. The play was staged the following day to apparently undocumented success, which is hinted at by another advertisement by him, thanking the audience and a declaration of a repeat show. 1