In the blink of an eye, some days have passed by after 27 March, the day when world celebrates World Theatre Day while I was busy editing my upcoming film ‘Imteehan’ and forgot to wish you all a very Happy World Theatre Day!
Since the day I started publishing stories on my Journal, I really wanted to write about Theatre and how it transformed the world around me into so many exquisite art forms.
Back in 2018. Yes, I saw my first theatre show, a National School of Drama’s Production - Turandot and the Intellectuals. Something was unique in this art form. I connected with the artists, the stories and the songs. In my world, theatre didn’t exist two years before and now it shares a major part with Filmmaking.
As an audience, I’ve been a part of a lot of great and interesting plays, like Aurat Aurat Aurat by Naseeruddin Shah’s Motley Production. Gagan Damama Bajyo by Piyush Mishra. Jaat hi Pucho Sadhu ki, Taj Mahal ka Tender, Baayan by National School of Drama’s Repertory. Ghalib in New Delhi, Akbar The Great Nahi Rahe, Lal Qile ka Mushaira by M. Sayeed Alam’s Pierrot’s Troupe. Arvind Gaur’s Jis Lahore Ni Vekhiya ve Jamiya nahi. Tansen by The Trialogue Company and the list goes on.
When I sit in front of the stage and the bell rings. I’m hooked on to know what’s going to happen for the next two hours. Every second is magical. ‘This is that story I would have lived or would live in my life sometime’ is the phrase my mind speaks every time I come out of the auditorium.
I see myself in behind the scenes of making it come on stage. I am lost in the lighting, sound and the depth of one’s life being portrayed on the stage.
There’s an environment. A parallel universe that is still surviving. Be it on the life of Ghalib, Tansen. I can still see how they witnessed and discovered life. Also, theatre being a form of storytelling is also a strong medium of showcasing reality. It shares the pain of the weak, becomes the voice of the voiceless and a society as a whole which is expected to become, one day.
It’s a manifestation. I hope one day; I’ll be on stage with my story.
Here are some photographs from the plays I have seen. I’ll be writing about them in times to come. As every other play, has taught me something, and has provoked me to think that the world is too big and there’s a lot to see and witness, being a small part of it. Theatre is a different world, but it is home to me.
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