Stratford upon Avon

Remembering Shakespeare

Dr. Satyabrata Rout

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Stratford upon Avon, A small Elizabethan hamlet, may be insignificant in the world atlas, but holds an important place in the art, literature and culture over the world. Situated upon a small and streaming river; Avon, this medieval countryside township of England attracts thousands of tourists over the year not to spend a weekend but to feel and experience the presence of the greatest playwright of the world, who was born and grew up here to rule over the English theatre, literature and culture; William Shakespeare.

It took me three hours to reach Stratford upon Avon from central London. The road that leads to Stratford was full of with serine natural beauty. The nature’s scenic visuals, the countryside landscapes and the gentle crystal water of the Avon River had definitely contributed spiritually in making of A Shakespeare in the pages of the world history. 

This small city, 100 miles away from London has retained its old and ethnic value in its culture and architecture. The houses on the streets reminded me the Medieval Elizabethan England, which we have read only in the books. While passing through a small old bridge above the river, an unusual excitement engulfed me. Just attached to the bank of Avon, is the world famous Royal Shakespeare Company (SRC), which campuses a huge red brick building. This theatre company is known to me for many years. They have travelled in India and presented Shakespeare many times. My curiosity of watching a play leads me inside the building. The authorities of the company were pleased to let me in and allow me to visit the theatre though no show was going on at that time. But I could see a simple fragmental design of a set installed for “As you Like it” for the evening production. I walked down on the stage, gallery, wardrobe, and their exhibition hall and moved straight to see the birthplace of Shakespeare.

Henley Street

I passed through a cobbled old road named as Henley Street. On the both side of the road there were rows of old white thatched colonial buildings. Walking on the foot on the street will definitely remain a memorable experience in my life. There were lots of restaurants; English, Italian, Chinese, Indian… and small countryside pubs crowded with people. It was a Sunday and the whole township of Stratford was rejoicing and dancing near by the river, on the streets and at the eateries. It was a colourful noon with sun playing hide and seek behind the clouds by leaving its impression on the silver water of Avon through the Willow trees on the either bank.

The old 16th Century bridge upon the river

…… I was standing in front of an old thatched mansion, the home of William Shakespeare. I was about to plunge into the history of Theatre; another world of fantasy and metaphor… into the creation of Shakespeare!!! I bought a student concessional ticket in 13 Pound and stepped inside the home where he was born 500 years ago in 1564 a.d. With my first step in to the house, everything came alive. The life and work of that great bard stood aloft in front of me. His books, manuscripts, word-robes, the model of his dream theatre; The Globe Theatre’, His fireplace, kitchen, his birth cradle, old small bed with pillow, pen, small cutting knifes, and everything was kept intact in their proper places… I became nostalgic to see some of the old 17^th century printed books of Shakespeare. Out of many one, which was in my reach…. I wanted to touch … only to feel the essence within me… With the permission of the guide I touched an open page… This was Henry Sixth; a play written by Shakespeare…

Royal Shakespeare Company

The guide told us…

“The year when Shakespeare was born, there was plague around England, which wiped out fifty per cent of the total population of the country. Prior to the birth of the poet all most all of his siblings were succumbed to death because of this dreaded disease. The survival of William Shakespeare from the mouth of Plague and to elevate in to such height was just a miracle. It was the destiny.”

The manuscript of Henry VI

The Avon River

Coming out of that two-storied small mansion; I started roaming around a nice little garden, which was once belonged to the poet… This flower garden attracted me… There was divinity in that small but beautiful garden. The tourists were gathering there to be photographed against the mansion… But I was searching for something else…. The colours of the roses, the various shades of dahlia, stalks, and pansies, took me somewhere else…. While roaming in this garden I was thrilled by seeing a small bust statue of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore; the voice of Indian literature, surrounded by Indian Rajnigandha and Jasmine flowers around…. I could not see any other poets of the world except the Gurudev.

After coming out from the Shakespeare’s home, I went to see his grave. He was buried in the campus of Trinity Church, an old 15^th century Catholic Church on the bank of Avon. I walked around the town, and enjoyed the serine atmosphere and returned back to Essex by late night.

An issue hunted me all the night…

Gurudev at the Campus of Stratford upon  Avon

How much importance we have given to our poets and philosophers, literates? How much we care for them? Have one of us ever visited the Tagore museum, his birth place at Joda-shankho, the Shantiniketan, or the Tagore’s house in North Bengal near Jalpaigudi? Have any one of us ever thought of visiting Maghar, the graveyard of the great Indian saint and poet; Kabir Das!!!! Has one ever care for Baishnav Pani of Oriya Gitinatya! or Bhikari Thakur, the father of Videsia? Indian culture is built by them and over the world the fragrance of their creation is spread. We have many things…but we never feel concerned about them. We have thousands of year history but we did not keep any record. But here in west… They have few… but they know how to preserve and market it.

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Dr. Rout is an Associate Professor of Theatre Arts at University of Hyderabad, India

And A Visiting Professor to East 15 Acting School at University of Essex, England.

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इक अजनबी रात - My White Window

इक अजनबी रात - My White Window

THE HIDDEN TEXT

Satyabrata Rout

Windows-8

Reading a play and seeing a performance are two different thing. By reading we can come across with the written words of the playwright. We imagine the events, situations and characters by reading the play but the world of imagination will be limited to the written words of the author and the personal experiences of the reader. But seeing a play is quite different. Here the spectator has to go through various layers of experiences and can share them with the writer, director, scenographer, performers, and co spectators, etc. For him these experiences are like happenings of life. In a way we always pass through collective experiences and share common understandings in theatre.

If we analysing the concept of some visionaries, we can find how their personal life experiences work as subconscious to bring out visuals into their productions. I called these visuals as hidden text; a text which needs no support to be communicated since it comes out of pure human experiences. This text cannot be transcribed into words but transcribed in the mind and heart of the spectators and helps them in sharing the experiences of others.

Ratan Thiyam has described this hidden text in his own way;

“I never believe on static design with heavy set elements. I just need a working space where I can create my visuals. My compositions are like paintings which I erase to create new, at every time. The colours, form and compositions of my narrative paintings are the outcome of the nature; the north east hills which I have observed and interacted from the day I opened my eyes in this world.   Its changing hues, moods and atmosphere always remain major source of my visual compositions.

(Ratan Thiyam in an interview with the author)

Bansi Kaul’s interaction with hills and snows of the Kashmir valley works as the hidden text for his production design. He also shared some similar experiences;

“I understand where I picked up this vastness into my design. As a child in Kashmir I have seen landscapes covered with white snow; an empty space with no colour except an endless white canvas. I have observed the birds those hopped above the snow; leave behind their foot marks as an impression on this white earth. They are like floral patterns which creep into my design time and again and remained in my subconscious.” 

(Bansi Kaul  in an interview with the author)

But from where this hidden text comes? It can never appear from nowhere and take the centre stage suddenly. It must be lying somewhere in the play that surfaced during the exploration. It must be hidden behind the written words of the playwright and lay beneath the pause in between the dialogues. The scenographer can visualise these subtexts through his personal experiences and bring them into pictures. As we understand them in the conversation of Robin Das as --psychological atmosphere.

The prime responsibility of a scenographer is not to provide locals or build a magnificent set for the play but to discover and unearth those hidden texts lying hundreds of layers below the written text and bring them into the form of psychological atmosphere.

Once you scratch the words and plunge into it, you will find a whole new world waiting to be explored. This new world can tell you a complete different story parallel to the playwright supported by your personal interaction with life. Sometimes the scenographers misinterpret this world of visuals as different from the main context of the play and work separately on the visuals. They try to mould the play into the scenographic dramaturgy they have formed independently. Here lies the mistake. The play has nothing to do with the scenographic dramaturgy that is evolved independently. This scenography has nothing to do with the play since it does not reflect through the written text. It is formed out of preoccupied and preconceived mind of the designer who wants to project his power of intellect through the production. The colour, texture, rhythm and movement of the scenographic dramaturgy created out of your imagination in which you want to mould the production remains different from the written world. This experiment may not be accepted by the spectators which keeps them away from participation and the production would remain inaccessible. In this case it would be better to write your own text and present rather than to spoil the concept of a writer. The scenographic dramaturgy which comes out of the hidden text of the play should be an extension of the written words of the playwright.

(Expert from my book “Space, performances, developing design: An Indian perspective”, waiting to be published)

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Dr. Satyabrata Rout/ Associate Professor, Dept. Of Theatre, University of Hyderabad-500046

A man of different stroke

Remembering karanth on his 10th Death Anniversary.

It happened exactly 10 years ago. It was 1^st September 2002. National School of drama was celebrating the 80^th birth anniversary of Habib Sahab. At around 7.30 pm, a sudden phone call made the director’s face pale. Everyone was worried to know, what was the massage that made Ankur Ji disturb and upset! To break the silence he announced; “Karanth is no more…”

10 long years has passed in between.  But the memories of Karanth remained as fresh as it happened yesterday.  I have never interacted with a person so impulsive, passionate, bohemian and creative like Karanth. He was a GURU in true sense whose presence inspires.  Much has been told about Karanth and his work but few knew about the other side of the coin. I want to share some very special moment of my life with Karanth Ji which would help evaluating his true personality. It was 1^st September 2002

He is a man so tall … and so small!!!

It happened in 1996, may be in November or December, I didn’t clearly remember. Karanth Ji was directing, “Manjari Opera” with Sriram Center repertory. He was staying at SRC guest room upstairs.  I was engaged to do the design work for that play and also assisting him in direction.  By then he felt ill and found difficult to stay alone in the guest room. So he told me to stay back with him for a couple of days. Since the room was small to accomodate two people, I used to sleep on the mattress below. Each night we spent talking about theatre, music, people, family, society and our work so we usually go to bed let.

But that day Karanth Ji was feeling very uneasy. I advised him to sleep early and put off the light. At around 12 midnight, I suddenly woke up and saw Karanth Ji sitting on the cot, disturbed. I asked for his well being but in return he insisted me to get some ice cream for him. But it was already too late and all the shops were closed in the Mandi house area. I told him to sleep quietly but he was reluctant to eat ice cream. I got irritated since I was half slept and tired. I consoled him to get ice cream in the morning but without listen he shouted at me, opened the door and rushed to the road with a lungi and a kurta. He started moving towards Bengali market, I had to follow him. Since all the shops were closed by then, he kept on walking towards Sankar Market at Caunaught place but it was in vain. No ice cream shops were opened for him at this odd hour. As he was heading towards the railway station I forced him to return back and plead him not to create scene on the road. Hopefully he realized the situation and returned back upset. On the way back to SRC, we crossed Babar Lane.  Sudden Karanth Ji jumped and said, “We can get ice cream here”. I asked, “How?” Pointing towards a marriage reception in a nearby Kothi  he said, “Let’s come and see if we can get some ice cream here!”. I felt ashamed, “if someone would recognize us?...” But Karanth argued, “Who knows me here, except you? We theatre-wala are lesser known people. We are not stars or politicians, people will care for us. So don’t worry. Follow me.” He entered inside the reception so confidently as if invited…. I shamelessly followed him.

But what is this? I saw Karanth Ji was talking to a person who was neatly dressed; Perhaps an invitee to the marriage reception! That man respectably took Karanth Ji inside the dining space and offered him ice cream. I was shocked… He also called me and a full plate of ice cream on my table! Karanth Ji smiled and introduced me to that gentle man. “He is Rajan; one of my old students at Sardar Patel Vidyalaya. His sister is getting married. So don’t worry. Eat as much as you can.” I was astonished and simply gazed at this white beard man; the towering figure of Indian theatre…. He was a child…!!!!

That night I understood one secret behind his success; Passionate willpower brings you the achievement.

Satyabrata Rout

...UNTRANSCRIBED...

(Indian Tradition)

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Bottom and Titania in "A midsummer Night's Dream"
Directed by S.B Rout  in Telugu-2008

    India is a vast country with multi-coloured lifestyle and temperament. The life is treated here as celebration which reflects in all our activities and behaviour. India has been bestowed with many natural gifts; mountains, rivers, deserts, forests, etc. In compliment to that, it gives birth to so many religions, sects and ideology. It has been witnessed the tyranny of the foreign invaders in the beginning of ancient civilization; how the Aryans entered into its land crossing the barriers of the great Himalayas thousands of years ago and how a cross cultural milieu was set up to birth to a great tradition; The Indian tradition. Vedas, Upnishads, Puranas were written and practised among the people of this land. The fragrance of the truth of life crossed the boundaries of this sub-continent and spread over the globe which transformed India as philosophical and cultural hub of the world. The influence of Indian philosophy leads our mindset to appreciate “life’ as maya; the illusion and thus the truth can be achieved when the soul meets the supreme. This became the major reason to understand life as a blissful journey in search of immortality; the result is the celebration. Our Indian art and culture every time indicates and celebrates this unending journey of life. Time and again it reflects through colours, forms and performances. It entered into our nerves and became a part of our life style. It became our culture and gradually handed over to the generations in the form of Tradition.

In the tune of nature:

Our ethnic tradition is the reflection of our life which is guided by the ecological and climatic conditions, dialects, customs, and rituals of the particular region in which it is nourished and flourished. It is strongly observed that, a tribal form is more dramatic, expressive, elaborate and bright while the folk and village based performative tradition bears the testimony of lyrical and subtle expressions; poetic, soft and intricate. Is it not the environment of the region, which decides the form? Who taught the artists to follow a definite pattern? A definite stroke! It is the nature who tuned our mind and body for a definite style and form. This specific dynamism of working tradition is different in different regions which levelled them as different schools of Arts. In this way different traditions are the outcome of the native behaviour which I called- untranscribed (Can’t be translated)

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Dr. Satyabrata Rout, Associate Professor, Theatre Arts Department,                                                      

S .N School of Arts and Communication, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad-500046

                 SCENOGRAPHY IN INDIAN THEATRE

Dr. Satyabrata Rout

A Scene from Karnakatha Directed by Rout

(Copyright reserved)

A performer creating the scene through Abhinaya

......Bharatmuni has provided enough materials to understand the detail pictures of Prekshagriha—Theatre-- in Natyashastra. Accordingly he has also codified the performances and their presentations in different types of theatre houses. Out of four types of [i]Abhinaya—acting— one major aspect is dedicated to Aharyabhinaya also, which means performance with the help of other external elements. It broadly includes; makeup, hair style, costumes, ornaments and jewelleries, stage props and other scenic elements. While he has discussed about all these things with specific descriptions along with their designs, he didn’t talk much of scenography and scene making. In the context of Indian theatre we only know about an empty space. It is true that Indian theatre performance never allowed external scenic elements in the performance. Neither any set nor any hand props were used to communicate the story to the audience in Sanskrit drama. Bharat has given emphasis on a neutral space where all the scenes can happen. But the stage which seems blank from its outward look is really empty? The answer is no. Bharat has never indicates towards an empty space.

We all know that modern theatre is segregated into many disciplines; acting, stage-design, costuming, light-design, makeup, choreography, etc. This is a western concept which we have adopted from the British. This division requires specialization in each field to achieve perfection in that discipline. But Natyashatra never discussed on these compartmental divisions.   It indicates towards a wholistic theatre which can be achieved in its entirety. Scenography is also a segment of this wholistic performance theory. The speciality of Classical Indian drama lies in its performance which is presentational in its style of presentation rather than representational, a common practice in Occidental culture. An Indian performance never adopts life in its true form. It never perceives life from its external viewpoint. In theatre the life is presented through metaphor and symbols. Stylisation in the presentation is a common practice in Indian theatre. The principle of presenting a [ii]patra- character- on stage is also applied to the spatial presentations and scene makings. The Aristotelian concept of space- unit of space- can’t be implemented in Indian theatre. The space and the locals are constantly established by the actors’ performance ability along with the power of the text and their physical expressions. An existing local can be transformed into another by a ritualistic performance of the actor- [iii]parikrama-in front of the audience as per the demand of the text. The performance never carries out anything with it; be it a space, character or a plot. For that reason there are many locals, events and characters exist in one given time and space in a single performance. Everything is expressed through the actors’ way of presentation in an allegorical and symbolic approach.

Paul Kuritz in his legendary book on “The making of theatre history” analysed;

[iv]“The Indian stage used little scenery. The makeshift nature of the performance required few scenic items; it exploited instead the Indian love for symbolism, imagery, and costume. Sanskrit texts didn’t even indicate scenery, though female stagehands may have changed the yavanika to suggest various rasas—white for erotic settings, yellow for heroic, a dull colour for pathos, multicoloured for farce, black for tragedy and red for violence. The Indian ranga was, like the world, a neutral place where many different locations existed simultaneously. Indian theatre thus aimed for less illusory imitation than the Greek theatre.”

Abhinaya through hasta mudra

The Scenography in Indian theatre follows the strong concept of make belief in which text plays an important role. The actor establishes the scenes with the help of narration and the expressions which can be achieved through Chari- foot movement and Mudra -gestures, postures and mime. For example if a performer wants to establish a scene inside a forest, he has to enact the atmosphere of the forest through his physical gestures and body movements. By the power of his presentations and the subsequent narration, the audience would understand the situation. To have a clear understanding on Indian scenography  we can exemplify a scene from the classical play [v]Abhijñānaśākuntalam, where [vi]Dushyant the great Indian king enters the stage on a chariot following a deer inside the jungle,. As we have already discussed, the performance area is a neutral empty space where the whole world can be created out of imagination and this particular scene is not an exception. The performer who is holding the patra of Dushyant would enter into the stage with elaborate foot movement – Chari- showing as if coming on a chariot. He would establish the horses and the cart by his hasta mudra and Natya. After establishing his entry with the help of movements, he would create the environment and the scenes (jungle) through his body movement and text. In the similar way the deer could be created out of hand gestures and movements. For the entire performance where scenograpgy is an integral part would be well received by the audience, whom in Indian term is called Rashika- A person who is able to receive the rasa (sentiment). In the whole episode of performance the audience mental participation to imagine the scenes is essential. In other words the Scenography in Indian theatre is the outcome of the imagination of the audience which can be established by the ability of the performance.

Performance of Kathakali

Classical Indian drama is full of with this kind of imaginary visual practices which are created with the help of text and performances. In another example of establishing the war field in the beginning of the play [vii]Urubhangam (Breaking the Thigh), a chorus of three soldiers enter into the stage and establish the atmosphere of war field through narrations and mime. In the similar situation in [viii]Madhayam vyayog the fight between Bhima and Ghatotkacha (Father and son) was established by pantomime and natya. The scenic visuals of the dense forest and mountains are well established by the actors’ physical presentations. In other way round, emphasis is given to costuming and makeup. The imageries are so intricate and spectacular that puts Indian drama as one unique performative practice in the world platform. With the exploration of costume, makeup, headgear and natya, Indian theatre is able to establish aesthetics of performance tradition over the years.

We can’t completely deny with the fact that Indian drama completely rejects the scenic elements. There are few properties used by the actors in the name of scenography. In the ritualistic practice of [ix]Purvaranga- prologue befor the play, the performers enter the stage with Jarjara dwaja and fix it on the up stage near vedika. This colourful flag, visually enriched was placed on the stage to mark the performance as a celebration, since the colours in the flag represents the colours of life. Rangapatti is another symbolic prop which was used for the entry and exit of the characters in different scenes. The entry of actors behind this colourful curtain provides visual elevation to the actors which add to the grandeur of the performance. There are evidences of using some hand props by the subordinate characters like; paricharika- female attendants and servantsor chatra dharini (who holds the royal umbrella).

The scenography in Indian drama is more related to the spiritual experiences than the bodily visual experiences. It flourishes by the power of choreography and Natya. With the help of all the elements the performance is able to transmit Rasa (sentiment) to the audience.

(Excerpts from my underwritten book "POETICS OF SPACE IN PERFORMANCE"

Notes....

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[i] Aharya abhinaya: Chapter-XXI, Natyashastra

[ii] The literary meaning of Patra is container. An actor in Indian theatre is always compared with a Patra, means a medium which can carry any ranga (colours or emotions) and can be able to reflect the colours in its purity. Broadly we can compare Patra with characters.

[iii] Parikrama is a ritualistic practice of the Hindus. The Hindus encircles the temple yard three times while visited the deities. Probably the concept entered into the theatre practice where an actor changes his locale by encircling the stage as a ritual.

[iv] The making of theatre history by Paul Kuritz, Pg: 79

[v] A play written by the great Indian poet Kalidasa.

[vi] A mythical king and the father of Bharata on whom the name of the country Bharatavarsa (India) is adorned.

[vii] The play is written by Mahakavi Bhasa in 2^nd century BC. Thirteen number of plays written by Bhasa has been discovered yet.

[viii] Another play written by Bhasa.

[ix] It was a ritual, performed before the Ranga (play). It consists of certain activities which includes Jarjara sthapane, Nandi patha, Vishkambhaka etc.