Theatre shows get customised open spaces

The pandemic has forced many creative artistes to rethink the way they present their work. Taking a cue from the need of the hour, a theatre group in Bengal has come forward with an innovative concept of presenting plays.
"Our group Bisargo started work back in 2007. But after April 2013, we didn't perform any play in enclosed spaces. Till 2017, all plays were staged in open spaces.After that we innovated the spaces too — be it garages, fields, terraces or other places. Eventually, we started to engage in Home Delivery Theatre. But as we stepped into lockdown, we ran out of work. On March 17, 2020 we staged our last play. Then again, we reinvented ourselves from May 17, 2020," said Dwaipayan, the director-actor and playwright of the group.

The lockdown saw them out of work for almost two months before they could think of a new method of taking their work to people's chosen open spaces again. "The biggest problem during the lockdown was getting conveyance. So, we decided to get help from the cycling society and used two-wheelers and cycles as our conveyance," Dwaipayan said.

The theatre audience has accepted the neo normal setup with open arms, according to Dwaipayan. When asked how do they manage to carry props, set and costume, he said, "Of the 19 plays from our group, we consider two of our plays as elaborate ones. One has TV actor Manish Chakraborty's involvement, who is usually very busy. Another play involves around five actors. Rest of the plays require only two-three actors and minimal props. Besides, we carry some handmade craft items, bags, clothes and books for display alongside the open stage. When not acting, our group members make them."
The team doesn't do any ticketed show. They place a piece of cloth at the end of the show and are happy with whatever the audience puts inside in cash or kind. They have been performing from Sunderbans to Bolpur recently.