Features

Of colours, textures and visual narratives on stage




Dr Ajay Joshi



A young theatre group named Dhyass is making inroads into the experimental theatre circuit in Pune. Their journey thus far is marked by their emphasis on non-verbal presentations against a rich tapestry of colours, textures and movements. Spearheaded by commercial artiste Shrikant Bhide who has turned to theatre, the group brings a new sensibility via-a-vis the verbosity often found in Marathi theatre.

DHYASS
PARWANA

Moving with calculated steps, Dhyass has been a regular winner at the State Level Drama Competitons since 2010, and yet again, in 2015, it topped the list from the Pune centre, with their production ANDHARACHA BET,( Island of Darkness) walking away with the coveted prizes for best play, direction, lights, acting and sets. Their initial productions HOTA CARA (2011-2012), AIK RIKAMI BAJU, MEE...PANI...SAWALYA, PATRA NIMITTA MATRA did the local rounds, but with PINJAR, THE LAST COLOR (A comment on the depleting Tiger reserves), PARWANA ( Based on the novel ''The Bread Winner'' by Deborah Ellis, translated into Marathi by Aparna Velankar), they came centrestage, receiving critical acclaim and numerous awards at the drama competitions. THE LAST COLOR has toured India and was invited to festivals in Ankara and Sri Lanka.

Their latest production THE TRANSPARENT TRAP, a non-verbal production, exploring the abuse of plastic, apart from doing the local rounds, has been invited to the Shantipur Theatre festival( Kolkatta), Janabheri Young Directors Theatre Festival ( Thrissur, Kerala) and this year to the Bharat Ranga Mahotsav ( NSD, Delhi).

Today they are important stake holders in taking forward the experimental theatre in Maharashtra. What caught my attention was their deviance from insistence on the spoken word, choosing instead to explore body and space, accompanied by brilliant use of lights and set design. A chat with Shrikant was a must to understand the kind of theatre he is doing, that departs from the more conventional production.

Shrikant spoke of how he started doing theatre. 'I was introduced to theatre in Pune, after my graduation from Abhinav Kala Mahavidhyala, a Fine Arts college, through the Firodia Karandak competitions. This platform suited me fine, as it stressed on showcasing multiple arts woven into a storyline. This illustrative form and my training in fine arts, made me lay emphasis on aesthetics and compositions on stage. I also realised that it went well with the audience who cringed at the verbosity of plays and especially those who had language issues. To me visuals are very important, and have inadvertently percolated down to my present work.'

He added : 'I hail from Kudal in the Sindhudurg area and have lived very closely with nature, something that has crept into my themes. Probably a reason for my fascination with textures and colours too. I have used installation art in my productions backed by strong compositions through set design. This is out USP, I think, and it is attracting people to our theatre. Not that I am averse to the written text, but I feel the need to balance it with the visual, which becomes more meaningful and open to interpretations. I realised people started enjoying the visuals and that has kept us going strong. Except for PARWANA, which was based on a novel, in all my productions, the story and the visuals run parallel to each other, none superseding or influencing the other. Apart from installations and repeated use of props, I use a lot of the cyclorama, silhouettes and shadow play. Recently we have started exploring physical theatre movements and the use of body in space. Expressions, emotions, psychological undercurrents, crafting empty spaces attract me. I don''t saturate and don''t allow my plays to saturate; there is always continuity in both narrative and visual expression. During my training as a commercial artiste, I had taken photography as my major subject. Being introduced to the concepts of the Golden point and Golden section there, it has helped me in designing my stage space, creating vibrant compositions rich in design, texture and colour. In my work I rarely use complicated technology, but rely on my sense of aesthetics, which till now has worked well in our favour.' Their audience is eager to watch the plays. A healthy amalgamation of text and texture is what Dhyass stands out for in their milieu.

*Dr Ajay Joshi is a practicing dentist with an M.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication. He also holds a Ph.D. on the role of Critics and Criticism in Marathi theatre. Ajay has contributed to the Prithvi Theatre Newsletter (PT Notes) and writes on varied topics ranging from theatre to travel for newspapers like Indian Express, Maharashtra Times, Sakal, Mid-Day, etc. He is based in Pune.


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