Theatre has been a certain fearlessness in its choice of subjects and an enduring commitment to artistry and passion. The idea has always been to celebrate theatre in all its diversity whether it is teleplay, digital theatre or live performance. The world is evolving like it always has. We are at a turning point environmentally, politically and culturally. Theatre will mirror these winds of change as it always has.
Theatre is a resilient medium and it has survived the wide popularity of cinema and television but during the pandemic, it needed a little space to call its own in the absence of a live audience. Digitizing plays for both television and online audiences across geographical boundaries has undoubtedly increased its popularity. Even those who have never been to see a play are now tuning into teleplays because, as they are discovering, theatre offers a range of stories and themes that you don't see in mainstream entertainment. Also, classic plays are like time capsules of a certain era and they reveal so many interesting insights into the past.
‘Teleplay’ is a concept which aims to take theatre beyond the stage into people’s living rooms. Shailja Kejriwal, Chief Creative Officer - Special Projects, ZEEL says, “By curating and digitizing the best of classic and contemporary plays, we are trying to not just strengthen theatre in India but also connect the current generation to their literary heritage. During the pandemic especially, teleplays have kept theatre exponents busy, helped them to transcend all barriers, and taken their stories to a worldwide audience. Digitization also undoubtedly helps in preserving theatre for posterity.”
Though teleplays lack the thrill of a live performance before a buzzing, responsive crowd. But Kejriwal argues that it was never meant to replace theatre in its purest form but to augment its appeal and to make it more accessible to the audiences that are not traditionally habituated to watching theatre. She says, “A lot of people now have discovered the wonders of theatre and this would not have been possible if it was restricted to live performances only. Now they have something new to watch at their own pace and time and they are liking it.”
Theatre artist, director, playwright and writer Mahesh Dattani explains that indeed theatres did come in handy. National Theatre London aired all its documented plays free of cost during the lockdown. Andrew Lloyd Webers musicals were also telecast under the title “The Show Must Go On”. He says, “When I saw The Phantom of The Opera at home during the lockdown, there were about five million viewers. But they have yet to gain popularity in India because people need to be made aware of this new format.”
Digital theatre too found centre stage during the pandemic when the in-person theatre was not possible. This is different from digitally capturing a theatrical performance with an audience present in the same space. Dattani adds, “I do believe that this is a new medium that relies on the performance abilities of a live theatre artist, combined with the technical skills of a film-maker, software innovators, tech support, editors, sound designers, etc. and a combination of audiences watching it live (at the same time as the performance) and a perpetual audience who may, theoretically, have the digital performance accessible at any time anywhere.”
Teleplays have grown in popularity in areas where there are no theatres. Also, one gets to see a diversity of stories on TV whereas maybe a far-flung theatre in a rural area or small town gets an occasional performance once every few months. Actor and popular theatre artist, Raghubir Yadav says, “The number of people who want to watch theatre has increased but the infrastructure for staging plays has not kept up, hence teleplays cater to not just existing theatre lovers but also expand viewership to include those who have not made the effort to see theatre. After watching a play on screen, they may even want to watch a live performance. For practitioners too, the logistics became easier as they only had to record a play rather than look for a hall, book it for a certain duration and do all the toil that is needed before one can stage a play.”
But what theatre artists are missing is the fun of breathing, laughing and crying together with the audience. Theatre is a performing art. Actor Joy Sengupta says, “Theatre has to be performed live in front of people who respond to the energy of the actors and to the power of a story as it unfolds right before their eyes. Theatre involves a live interaction with the audience. That interaction cannot happen if one is sitting at home in front of the screen. The basic difference between electronic art, cinematic art, and theatre is that in those arts, you are watching a finished recorded product or craft or spectacle, but you are not able to interact. It’s already been done. So, you have to take what is being shown to you. But this is not the case in theatre, because here the audience is a protagonist too and participates with their energy, their responses.”
The actors, while performing in front of an audience, are also more alive, more improvisational. So, there is a tremendous dynamic of energy exchange and improvisation and facilitation of art and craft that happens, which is not possible when one is watching a recorded performance. Pointing out the disadvantages of stage shows theatre artists feel that they miss out on the thrill of performing live on stage and the audience too cannot experience the energy and the magic of live theatre. But theatre artist Makarand Deshpande says that during a pandemic or during any other time when an individual can’t really go out and is missing out on live theatre, teleplays can bridge the gap. “With plays like 'Sir Sir Sarla’, on Zee theatre, audiences can access theatre whenever they want and even rewatch a play any number of times, enjoy listening to a favourite line or revisit the moments they like, without having to watch the entire play.”
Theatre is not just an ordinary medium of entertainment. It holds up a mirror to society and is one of the finest and greatest arts. No matter how much technology progresses, the spirit of theatre must be kept alive because it tells stories in the truest and most honest manner. Teleplays have the advantage of being accessible just like an OTT series or anthology and they do not need the infrastructure that a live performance needs. That is why, during the pandemic, so many theatre practitioners started performing in their homes and streaming the proceedings.
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