Backbone of theatre was once infra dig

BANGALORE: There was a time when it was considered lowly to attend company theatre, but now, senior actors and playwrights consider it the backbone of present-day theatre. Ranga Shankara hosted a seminar on the journey of company theatre on Monday that highlighted its ups and downs and intermingling with contemporary theatre. Prominent company theatre proprietors, actors and researchers spoke on the occasion.Veteran Kannada theatre actor, Yenagi Balappa, chaired the talks.
The unique tradition of company theatre involves a proprietor, actors, painters and technicians, all living on money earned from sale of tickets for a performance. They do not get any government grants or funds. This used to be one of the most popular forms of entertainment in rural Karnataka and Maharashtra. The speakers dwelt on the history of Kannada company theatre, professional company theatre in North Karnataka and Mysore and the transition to modern theatre.
Speakers observed though old company theatre was dominated by literary history, there was no visual element to it. The Mysore king supported company theatre and it was one of the few places where people of different castes and classes came together under one roof, to enjoy a performance. The secular element in company theatre hasn't been highlighted much by other writers. The famous character of Basavanna was first visualized by Shivamurthi. He brought a painter from Bombay to get the character painted for hoardings.
Malathi Sudhir, Malathi Mysore and Chindodi Bangaresh, who are part of company theatre till date, responded to the audience's questions.