Kolkata, Dec 16 (IANS): The Bengali adaptation of an African play, performed at an ongoing forum theatre festival in West Bengal, raised questions on patriarchy and encouraged audiences to add their own interpretations during the enactment.
Inaugurated Dec 13 in Kolkata, the sixth chapter of the biannual international forum theatre festival, Muktadhara, brings the form of interactive theatre to the masses in various gram panchayats, including those in the remote Sunderbans region.
The adaptation "Gaanyer Swapno" (A Village Dream) is based on a play by Mesgun Zerai and is centred on a mythology from the lesser known African nation of Eritrea.
"In the play there is a series of interactions between the men and women through which they come to understand that the foundation for a just society is a balance of power between the two sexes," said Sanjoy Ganguly, director of the Bengali version that was showcased during the opening ceremony.
It has been co-directed by Ralph Yarrow, Emeritus professor, University of East Anglia, UK.
To weave it as a part of an interaction with the audience, the enactment is paused at different points and spectators are invited to answer questions posed by the play.
In this form of theatre, the real spectators become actors by participating in the play which does away with the stage, curtains or other barriers between actors and spectators.
"Hence, they are aspectactors," explained Ganguly, founder-director of Jana Sanskriti, Centre for Theatre of the Oppressed and organiser of the festival.
The organisation promotes the concept of theatre as an effective means of social change and to establish a dialogue with the masses.
Explaining the need for translating an African play, Ganguly said: "Among several reasons, one is that we tend to look towards West for our subjects so much so that we neglect the existence of the other world. So I chose this play from a small African country of Eritrea for the first time in Kolkata."
The fest will run till Dec 19 and forum theatre plays scripted by international participants of Ganguly's workshop will be performed in the rural areas of West Bengal.