April 1994. Editor: Anjum Katyal
Augusto Boal's, pathbreaking book Theatre of the Oppressed has been an important source of ideas for theatre persons for twenty years. Born in Brazil, Boal has a history of practising theatre in the underdeveloped countries of his home continent of South America, under repressive regimes which have, at various times, imposed strictures and bans on his work.
Boal's concept of theatre of as opposed to for the oppressed empowers the audience, turning them from passive spectators into what he calls 'spect-actors', an audience which intervenes, redirects and reinterprets the 'play'.
Boal's theatre concepts and techniques contain a tremendous potential for application to our own country; in fact, there are at least two organizations working independently in two widely separated parts of the country, who are using his ideas and methods in their theatre work.
When we heard that Boal was to interact with Indian activist theatre workers in a four-day workshop, STQ requested permission to meet and talk with Boal, and to participate, through a representative, in the workshop.
B.V. Karanth's long involvement with theatre has spanned milestone productions like Tughlaq, Hayavadana and Ghashiram Kotwal, as well as administrative and directorial positions of tremendous responsibility: In a special session organized by STQ, he talked at length to Samik Bandyopadhyay about his career and the influences that shaped him.
Nemai Ghosh is better known as the photographer associated with Satyajit Ray; but he is also an accomplished theatre photographer. A glimpse of the rich store of pictorial memorabilia he has in his possession is provided by the selection of photographs in this issue.
CONTENTS Moving from a Monologue to a Dialogue Anjum Katyal ...The Dialogue Continues Using Boal in India Purna Chandra Rao, Sanjay Ganguly The Theatre Games Of AUGUSTO BOAL: A Workshop Diary Jhuma Basak On Workshops Anmol Vellani, Lokendra Arambam Linking the Arts Chitra Palekar, Zubin Driver NEMAI GHOSH: Portfolio Samik Bandyopadhyay 'Hey, Sutradhar, Wait, Let me give you the right note...' B.V. Karanth Theatrescapes Samik Bandopadhyay Theatre Log Women Directors' Theatre Festival Rajinder Kaur and Ramanjit Kaur A Seminar on Theatre Neena Guha Notebook Letter Download the complete issue here