Street Plays: A balance of art and social change

You must have seen a group of people in similar attire - black kurtas and jeans - in the middle of the street acting out a short skit or play, for anyone who might wish to stop and watch. One might think that it’s just free entertainment. Still, in reality, it is a means for them to reach people of all strata to create an awareness of every societal issue around them and call them to change what they believe is socially unacceptable.  

A theatrical exhibition and performance that is held in a public setting without the aid of a paid audience is called street theatre. In India, an evolution from proscenium theatre to street theatre emerged as an approach for liberating the working class and strengthening their revolt against established power. But why on the street?

Street theatre was a major instrument of social and political protest in India during the British colonial era in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, partly due to the impact of European theatre and the emergence of the nationalist movement. To spread liberal ideas and inform the public about the negative effects of imperialism, the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA) organised India’s first street theatre in 1943.

For the first time in Indian history, the Bengal famine sparked such dramatic action. Bijon Bhattacharya, one of the founders of the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA), wrote the first street play with a political message. The drama “Nabanna” which depicted the miserable condition of Bengali peasants, was performed in 1944. It presents an accurate image of Bengali landlords violating their subjugated farmers. Therefore, IPTA was the pioneer theatre company in India to popularise street plays.

A society that was sharply divided by class, caste, and religion was affected by street plays that told stories and addressed topics that were directly relevant to the people, such as food, famine, poetry, communal violence, and feudal and colonial exploitation.

The 1970s saw the resurgence of street theatre, which quickly expanded across the nation. In 1973, Safdar Hashmi founded Jana Natya Manch, also known as Janam, which spearheaded the Indian street theatrical movement. He actively criticized the problems existing in society through this art. Its first of these plays, Machine (1978), is a classic; other examples of popular political theatre that combines artistry and confrontation are Aurat (1979) and Hallabol (1988). When Hashmi was murdered during a performance in 1989, the street theatre suffered an enormous change. In India, April 12, his birthday, is currently commemorated as National Street Theatre Day to honour his contributions to the early days of street theatre and to pay tribute to him.

Street dramas flourished as a popular form of entertainment and social criticism in India frequently held in public areas like college or university campuses, railway stations, slums street corners and marketplaces. The artists do not have to wait for people to enter the theatre, and unlike traditional theatres, there is no ticket queue for attendees of street plays.

Teachers and students dedicated to bringing social change make up the majority of street theatre performers who receive neither financial aid nor public recognition. A “dholak,” or choral song, is performed to draw in spectators. The play is typically held in a circular space with seats all around once a sizable group has assembled. The script is spoken or sung by the chorus. Occasionally, the actors mime while one person narrates without a mike.