All the world is a stage, but too few rehearsal spaces in Bengaluru Premium

Producing some of India’s finest directors, writers, actors, musicians, producers and performance spaces, Bengaluru has had a strong and rich theatre culture over many decades. In the last two decades the theatre scene, both professional and amateur, has not just evolved with great plays being produced but also the kind of audience who enjoys theatre.

Producing some of India’s finest directors, writers, actors, musicians, producers and performance spaces, Bengaluru has had a strong and rich theatre culture over many decades. In the last two decades the theatre scene, both professional and amateur, has not just evolved with great plays being produced but also the kind of audience who enjoys theatre.

Just as theatre has been evolving over the years, the rehearsal process has also been evolving simultaneously. While the very process of rehearsal and what it costs has changed much, many theatre persons bemoan that finding rehearsal spaces was easier earlier compared to what access to spaces is like today.

There were days when theatre troupes would easily have their drama rehearsals at a director’s home, huge sheds or backyards, grounds, open air theatre spaces, auditoriums and many such spaces. However, with the drastic growth of Bengaluru over the last two decades, and the number of theatre troupes increasing, and with the costs also sky-rocketing, finding affordable spaces for rehearsals has gotten harder.

Many Kannada, Hindi, and English amateur troupes perform anywhere between 20-100 shows in a year. Most teams make it a habit to rehearse for a couple of days before each show, and reserving a theatre space even for a short time is among the most tedious and expensive parts of showcasing a production for a troupe.

According to the database provided by the Nataka Academy, Bengaluru has more than 350 registered and un-registered amateur and professional theatre troupes. With 350-plus troupes performing regularly, there are very few identified spaces for rehearsals like H N Kalakshetra, National College Basavanagudi, Suchitra Film Society and Trust, Kappanna Angala, The Untitled Space, Vyoma Art Space and Studio, Lahe Lahe, Alliance Francaise, Yuvaka Sangha, Our Theatre Studio and WeMove Theatre.

Senior theatre practitioners say that even the very few theatre spaces in Bengaluru in the 70s and 80s were affordable only through a letter seeking permission or at a very nominal fee. In the late 2000s the spaces started getting a little expensive and charged anywhere between ₹200-300 for a whole day or for 3-4 hours. However, even these popular spaces have become difficult to afford or have a long waiting list, say senior practitioners.  

Sreenivas G. Kappanna, one of Bengaluru’s senior most theatre artistes who is known for his stage design, lighting, and production work, says the whole process of rehearsal was different back in the 70s and 80s. “Forty years ago, Kannada theatre did plays by well-known writers like Adya Rangacharya (Sriranga) and T.P. Kailasam. Back in those days rehearsals were not very intense. Later, when directors started coming from the National School of Drama (NSD), Delhi, the process got more intense, each movement of an artiste was very important. By then plays by the likes of Girish Karnad and P. Lankesh, were being produced.”