Theatre renaissance in Kolkata after two Covid years as crowds stage a comeback

KOLKATA: With Covid figures taking a sharp dip, the audience is back with a bang at theatres. Inaugurated on Wednesday at Academy of Fine Arts , ‘Purba Paschim Theatre Festival’ began with playwright Ujjwal Chattopadhyay and director Soumitra Mitra’s ‘Pagal-para’ based on Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay’s two short stories.The protagonist was played by eminent theatre personality and actor Debshankar Halder.Wednesday’s play was part of a five-day theatre festival, from March 2-6, which is being organised by Purba Paschim theatre group along with the ministry of culture and eastern zonal cultural centre. “The theatre festival was scheduled in January but due to the third wave it was postponed to March. The festival saw back-to-back housefull shows on Wednesday and Thursday, which is a sign of hope for theatre amidst the grim times,” said Mitra, adding that all Covid protocols, from sanitisation to allowing audiences with masks are strictly being followed.The theatre festival will stage Purba Paschim’s ‘Keranir Bou’, Paikpara Akhar’s ‘Mathur Palakirtan’ on March 4 at Academy of Fine Arts and Kabyakala Manan’s ‘The Kite Runner’ on March 6 at Girish Mancha. Apart from this, a discussion session will be held on March 5 at Kolkata International Book Fair.Debshankar Halder, who played the protagonist in ‘Pagal-para,’ also essayed the role of Girish Chandra Ghosh in Purba Paschim’s ‘Ek Mancha Ek Jiban’, staged on Thursday. “ Artists need canvas to express themselves and for us, theatre is that canvas where we express ourselves freely. It is beyond any success or failure, it is a way of life and living for us. The pandemic has stopped everything around us, but as life is limping back to normal, theatre, an art form very close to life, is also getting back its rhythm.People are making an effort to watch theatres in auditoriums again and it is one of the most satisfying experiences as an actor,” said Halder.According to actor and theatre personality Kaushik Sen, it’s a positive sign that theatre lovers are back to auditoriums. He said, “During pandemic, many believed that the theatre would go online and that’s where its future lies. But it was a wrong assumption because a theatre loses its charm in such cases. Theatre was and always will be about live performances. So, when people are getting the scope to watch Debshankar Halder’s brilliant performance at auditoriums they want to utilize it and hence, we are witnessing housefull shows at theatre halls.”Education minister and theatre personality Bratya Basu feels that efforts like organising theatre festivals is good because it will help theatre to bounce back.