Surabhi theatre pins hope on online shows

HYDERABAD:  After shutting down permanently earlier this year, Surabhi theatre is now conducting online shows at their stage in Serilingampally. The move was necessitated due to a family dispute and the financial burdens of the pandemic. “It was closed during the first lockdown.

Later, the set-up was removed, and now there is nothing but the skeletal remains of the open-air amphitheatre,” P Krishna, who works at Public Gardens said. “I was a fan of their work. The illusionary sets and realistic scenes were the real charms of Surabhi theatre.

The actors created magic on stage with their prowess,” he recalls. Without the theatre’s set-up, Lalithakala Thoranam at the public garden in the city is wearing a woeful look. The theatre’s performing space is now buried under dry leaves and grime. “In the last one-two years, very few people have attended the theatre.

ALSO READ | Hyderabad unlock: Theatre spaces open up but plays will take time

Even if this pandemic did not happen, the theatre would have closed down anyway due to lack of patrons. The lockdowns just hastened its end,” said Surabhi Theatre’s prominent actor and Padma Shri awardee, Sri Baji, who is now running online shows at their stage in the Serilingampally area of the city. Baji said performing at Lalithakala Thoranam was a source of fond memories.

“I have spent most of my career performing there. I can never forget it. The group is 137 years old and the theatre set-up at Public Gardens was around 100 years old. It is one of the oldest open theatre spaces in the city,” Baji said. “It had to close.

There were some family issues but the real blow was the pandemic and low response from spectators before the pandemic,” Rekhander Jayanand, organiser and actor at Surabhi Drama Theatre, said. “For the time being, Surabhi Group has started its shows online. A total of 29 plays have been successfully completed. We may hit the live stage soon at Serilingampally, but we are not sure when,” he added.