Vinay Sharma has been with the Kolkata-based theatre company Padatik since 1981. He has acted in several productions and in 1991 he made his debut as a director. Vinay Sharma is one of the leading theatre people at Padatik, having been its former Artistic Director too. Padatik is staging five of its plays at Prithvi theatre from 2nd to 5th April 2015. We take the opportunity to talk to Vinay Sharma about his relationship with Padatik and his work which includes directing Kulbhushan Kharbanda in Mahesh Elkunchwar's play AATMAKATHA. Vinay Sharma also talks about CAMERA OBSCURAS, their recent production, that is part-scripted and part-improvised. Both plays are part of Padatik's run at Prithvi.
By Deepa Punjani
Deepa Punjani (DP): Padatik is one of Kolkata's oldest and reputed theatre companies. There is also a dance wing I believe. When you started, what drew you to it?
Vinay Sharma (VS): I grew up watching a lot of Bengali theatre because my father used to act in the North Calcutta commercial theatre circuit. We also had a very active drama circle at school, so I guess plays were already an obsession by the time I answered Padatik's call for auditions in 1981. Sometime before that I had seen Shyamanand Jalan's production BICCHU with Jayant Kripalani in the lead that had quite blown my mind. So to a youngster fresh out of school, Padatik seemed a great place to go to. Though ironically I joined on the 1st of April, whatever that means
DP: What was it like working with Shyamanand Jalan?
VS: Though I didn't know it then, in retrospect, it was a blessing to be under the tutelage of one of the all time greats of Hindi theatre. He worked in an environment of friendship and equality but was also a strict disciplinarian. His ability to make the actor think for himself, his incisive textual work and his emphasis on the emotional communication of character and relationship made every rehearsal a demanding and stimulating experience. He was also unique in that he encouraged group members to take up direction and design, to experiment with freedom and without any interference whatsoever.
DP: You have had a long association with the company. How do you think Padatik has fared over the years?
VS: The fact that since 1973, Padatik Theatre has produced 75 plays, directed by 25 directors from across the world speaks for itself. The group has been consistently exposed to some of the best practitioners in both theatre and dance- like Satyadev Dubey, Fritz Bennewitz, Wlodzimierz Staniewski, Guru Kelucharan, Birju Maharaj, to name just a few. The emphasis has rarely been on chasing commercial success; it has always been more about actualising individual vision. Padatik has also been a hub where all visiting artists have been welcome to interact and perform.
DP: How any resident actors and dancers does the company have?
VS: Padatik Theatre and Padatik Dance Centre are two separate entities now. Currently we have 18 resident actors.
DP: On an average, how many shows does Padatik do in a year in Kolkata? Do you have any specific venues in the city where your company's work is staged?
VS: We hold theatre performances every alternate weekend through the year at our in-house studio theatre spaces and at the Shyamanand Jalan Rooftop Theatre (SJRT). These spaces are also made available selectively to visiting groups and theatre groups within the city.
DP: You act as well as direct. Do you have a preference for one over the other?
VS: I took to direction in 1991. For some years I enjoyed both, but of late I definitely find direction far more satisfying.
DP: Which is the most memorable production you have acted in?
VS: That has to be JANTA KA SHATRU- an adaptation of Ibsen's AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE by Shyamanand in 1985. For an actor in his early twenties to be asked to play Dr. Stockman was very challenging. We worked for about 8 months with the objective of discovering the motivation behind every movement, each gesture. It was a mind-breaking and mind-making experience.
DP: A production that you have been most satisfied directing...
VS: Nirmal Verma's monologue Weekend which I worked on intermittently over three or four years from 1997-2000. I was dissatisfied with existing conventions and wanted audiences to be able to view a performance from several vantage points at the same time. One may call it a theatrical take-off on Cubism. So the play was designed only for intimate spaces. On a ring of light stands around the performing area I hung twenty mirrors and twenty large torch lights. Two additional, non-speaking actors were introduced as shadows of the monologist. They used the torches to light her movements through a set of wooden frames which changed configurations constantly. Viewers could choose to see any of the images which bounced off the mirrors. The text was spoken without emotion and fractured by a soundtrack which questioned and commented on the play. The actor's performance was treated like a workout or a 'floor exercise'- a prescribed set of 'functions' to be fulfilled.
DP: People who have inspired your work, your thought-process...
VS: At different periods of time I have been inspired by the writings of Erwin Piscator, Brecht, Gordon Craig, Beckett, Derrida, Barthes, Foucault; the films of Michael Haneke and Jim Jarmusch; composers like Harrison Birtwistle and John Zorn to name a few.
DP: How is the contemporary theatre scene in Kolkata? Which are the biggest challenges that theatre in Kolkata faces?
VS: It is definitely prolific. I am unable to comment on the quality as my own commitments keep me from viewing too many plays. I would say the biggest challenges are 1) a lack of affordable, alternative performance spaces; 2) Most of the older auditoriums are in a state of disrepair and in urgent need of up gradation; 3) Kolkata theatre needs to be shaken out of a certain insularity and brought on to a common platform. Something like a Mumbai Theatre Guide may help. There's an idea for you to explore.
DP: Yes...we have been thinking of expanding to other cities. But we need funds and good partners. Tell us of a significant production that you may have witnessed in the last few years in Kolkata.
VS: From the few I have seen in the recent past, Kaushik Sen's MACBETH impressed me because of his own dynamic, sexually-driven performance in the lead role.
DP: You have directed Kulbhushan Kharbanda in Elkunchwar's AATMAKATHA. How was the experience?
VS: Kulbhushan ji is an ideal director's actor. He carries no baggage of stature or seniority into the rehearsal space and is entirely open to new ideas. It was a pleasure working on the nuances of characterisation with an actor of his experience.
DP: Tell us a little about your process with CAMERA OBSCURAS, which you have scripted as well as directed.
VS: I do not follow any one method. In this case, I guided the project and the actors to evolve their own modus operandi through a free-wheeling process of familiarisation with each other and thematic elements. The play was half-scripted when we began work but only random scenes or lines were given to the actors to work with. They were asked to interpret these lines while internalising words like Play, God, Violence, TV- which seemed key ideas. I encouraged them to work with 'found material'. For instance we discovered a stick in the rehearsal space. They 'played' with it. In the production the stick has become a major 'performer' in its own right with many avatars. As 'languages of performance' started to take shape, more text was written and introduced and a multi-layered beast emerged. Because of its nature it was called CAMERA OBSCURAS.
Deepa Punjani (DP): Padatik is one of Kolkata's oldest and reputed theatre companies. There is also a dance wing I believe. When you started, what drew you to it?
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