Stage not set: lack of space hurting theatre in B’Luru?

BENGALURU: When actor Naseeruddin Shah visited the city last week, he talked about its theatre-literate audience, a motivating factor for many actors. However, despite the mushrooming of theatre groups in Bengaluru, artistes and directors rue the lack of performance venues.   

Theatre activists were even prompted to stage a protest on Monday to demand restoration and re-opening of Kalagrama, which was gutted last December. According to Abhishek Iyengar, co-founder of WeMove Theatre, about 600 performances are held in a year. The number of venues, however, is a handful.

“There are just a few options – Rangashankara, Jagriti, Alliance Francaise, ADA Ranga Mandira and KH Kala Soudha,” Iyengar says. “While Ranga Shankara is reasonably priced, bookings have to be done much in advance. Prices at ADA Ranga Mandira vary – `6,000 for a Kannada play and a whopping `21,000 for an English play. Ravindra Kalakshetra does provide an option, but there’s always the uncertainty of the booking getting cancelled since programmes are held at short notice in the government-run space,” he explains.    

With cost factors coming into play, Kalagrama was a popular option despite its rundown condition, marked by exposed wires, broken seats and unclean restrooms. But after a fire gutted the place a few months ago, no measures have been taken to restore it. “Everyone knew it was coming. At one of my shows in 2016, some seniors fell off the seats,” Iyengar recalls.

Veteran theatre person Girish Karnad feels there are never enough theatre spaces, and they need to be created. “Ranga Shankara was created and then an audience came up,” he says, adding, “Why isn’t Kalagrama being run properly despite funds? At Ranga Shankara, salaries have been paid for 15 years.”
However, actor-director Prakash Belawadi feels the city has many untapped spaces like Bal Bhavan in Cubbon Park, Gubbi Veranna theatre in Gandhi Nagar, AV Varadachar Kalakshetra & Memorial Hall in Seshadripuram, and Town Hall.

He doesn’t agree that Bengaluru lacks performance spaces, but pins the problem to lack of a performance practice and culture. It’s up to the theatre groups to popularise existing unused venues. “If I were part of the government, I would have said we have enough because many are unused. How did Chowdiah Hall become popular? Initially, only music shows were held there, but when Ravindra Kalakshetra stopped letting out space for English language performances, the latter started performing there, and it became well-known,” he says, adding that even schools and colleges have good auditoria that are not let out to theatre groups.   

However, many independent artistes are turning to alternative non-stage spaces, which reduces costs and other hassles. According to Dipankar Panth, creative director, Shoonya-Centre for Art and Somatic Practices, much has changed since they launched it in 2014. “Now, it’s booked months in advance and is available in September,” he says about the single open space with floor seating. The place can be hired for `1,000 per hour, with the cost rising during performance hours.

(With inputs from Simran Ahuja)