Shakespeare in Bengal Checklist.pdf

IPRODUCTIONS IN ENGLISH (A) PRE-1850: UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED, Ry LOCALBRITISH COMPANIES ATIACHED TO THE THEATRES IN QUESTION 23-30 December 1780. Othello. Catcutta Theatre Advertiscment The Bengal Ga.ete, no_ 49 'The Managers of the Theatre having generously offered ro give a Benefit play ro Mr Soubise, towaids the compterion of his Manage, h men{, Mr Soubisc will ftar night in appear on rhe character of Othelto ...The part of Iago wi bc ruemptcd by rhe Al1hot of The Mo not atd desdenotn lrr.l byMrH ! a gendenran of doubtfut gender. IScn Gupta Apdl, l8 November 1784. Itarrr€, Catcutta Thearre lsen Guptat Ahmed givcs date of firsl performancc as 23 April 13 l8 t oI Ue ice. Calcura Theatre The Calcutta Gaze e,2) Octot('t ti84 'On Monday €vcning thc comedy ol lhe Merchanr of Venice was performed here to a very full lhcal.e. Shylock never appeu-ed to greater advantagc and the other cha.aclcrs werc in general wefl October 178,t. The Mer.ha supported.' lA. Mirra 23 Octob€r U84. Roneo and lutiet. Catcutra Theaar€ lsen Guplai Poddar states lhat thetrerformance was hetd on 23 August 15 PRODIJCTTONS SHAKESPEARE ON l6 TI'E CALCUTTA frofi The Calcuto Cazette: deference to the with infinile though suggeslin!, 'Wc canflot avoid :Ihealre' in the depatiis indefatigabl€ who Director,of the [Calcutta] ment which he so ably fills. lhat the Tragedies of Hamlet' Zara. Venic€ 7 Decembe. 1786: Excerpi Preserved, and Macbeth. staod very high in public estimation, and thal thcy,anxioutly hope 10 seehim fiU some ofthe principal characters in these TragediEs dunng the continuance of,the cold season' more correctly exhibiled than any we have seen this season. The house was $in: scarce any ladies. and oi the few who did honour ihe rcprcsentalion wilh thcir presence, several quilted the house before it was half ovcr, Irom which il may be presumed thc "Fat Knight" is no favou.itc of lhe fair.' lcal 19 Nolemb€r 1788. The Mercha IPoddar I 25 Februsry f88. Richa III- C'lcutta ^Ienuarr, k<m rf{E Calanta Gd.elre, 5 Feb l78A: Theatrc 'we agr6e i6 ,the gensrd 64ra ion diat the whole perfonnance went off ,vith l idl ilrerited €dat. 'Thc p!'1 of Richad was given in 'lh[l masterJy style which all the characrcrizes 'oln Roscius- atd though the character r'equires possessio' of every full perf(rmer in lhe exe{ions o{ a ffrst-rarc the to observe ffirical eye facujty, it was impossible f6r the mosr nolwith_ srarllest want of activitv, even in the mosl ti{$ iog sceics. sQnding the lale severe illness under $'ltich the genll€'nan who of which represented il, had so long labourcd and fIonl the elIecls ." he is yei but imfJerfeclly recovered. 'Thc eldest of the Princes spoke distinctly and collcctcdly but general the youngest was rather too young to be heard. The scenery in pavilion was excellent, particul.rty the camp-scene in whichRichard's was Yery ingeniously contrived.' [Das Guptai Sen GuPta gives dale of premiere as 24 Jan, 22 Gaz 28 Feb 1788. See Das Gupla t of Venice, Calcutla Theatre [Sen Oupla 1189. lulius C&sat, Brisfow Th€atre Frcm The Calc a Ca.ette,7 May 1789: Mrs Bristow won acclaim in the role of Lucius. FBncis Rendell The key figure of the Calcu(a lheatre world al lhat limc was Dr Francis Rendell, who had ahcady earncd somo reputation in London as a foUower of Carrick. This handsome young phys;ciar in the scrvice of the Company. thc first to introduce acresses on lhe Calcutta slage, organized several shows oI Hdrtler, Ki,tg Leat, Othello, He t-\ lV an(' Richa lll. lsen Gupra WiUiarn Hickey records lhal williarn Burkc considered Rendell the eqlal of Garrick jn the presentalion of Hamlet, though nol ()t othello. citing Cal Caz of 3l lan 1797. Catherine and Petucrrio IV Pa l. Calcu'la Theatre February fiAa. Henry IV Part 2. Calct't^ The'tre 8 Febr$ry t1 IN ENCLISH STAGE 1788. Henry 'The representalion of such a characler as FalstalT requires vely uncom,non and eccentric powers .. The gentleman who perfornred the part on Friday nighl, though he gave it almost enlircly Yery after a manncr of his o*n. conveyed the humour of his author irresislibly... 'The Prince o[ Wales's veNatility was well-portrayed' Hotspur was the character lrc represeotei:l and i0decd the whol€ play was (Garrick's adaptstion otThe Ta,ni g of the Shrew). Whe€l€r Place Thealr€ lchakrubari, KLLLkatar NotJachLlft ha 1812-1814. The same. Athenteum Theatrc lal2-tau. He r! IU Athenaeum Th€atr€ l.irst Beek of Aprit 1814. Macbeth. Cho$ringh€e Theatre The llrst significan! Shakespcarc performance of the cenlurv in SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STA6E 18 PRODUCTIONS IN ENGI-ISH Calcutta. The critic of the Calcu a Go<ette pftised practicallv all the actors, and was speciaUy impressed by thc night scene' scene it is impossible !o give a j usier commendalion by saying thai i! rominded aU lhose who had seen Mrs Siddons 'Ofthe niSht ftan rn rhe pafl oi lhe magic loJchcs uI hcr rr' "' 'We shall not forget the marked efltct and dcep silcnce produced in the audience during the scene in which, after ending ihe bloody deed. lMacbelh] camd before them admirablv picluring thc horid workings of a mind unaccustomed to guilt, and terrorslruck at i1s own cvil acts. trf the truth of the picture could be judged by the elfccl it produced, it was here tully declarcd by (he elecric ttcling which ran through the assembly. .. '...all who like ourselvcs wenl 10 thc Theairc with no small apprehcnsions of a failure in the undertaking. left it with a conviclion ;;1 it is at lasl possiblc for a deep tragedv to be attempted without being murdered by a bodv ot anuteurs in Clllurtra'' rcal Aa.] LPt iSl4 See A' Mitra 23 Jr 1814. Henry IU Chowringhee Theatr€ lDas Gupta 1815 (dare uncertain). Cath'erine possession 1816 (datc uncerlain). of the slage.' la Theatrc ilies of soldicrs killed or nlaimed at [Sen CuPla 25 September 1818. The Theatre 1819. He'|ry Iu. Chowringhee Theatre (sce also above,23 July l8l4) been so fiequently pcrlormed al lhe Chowdnghce Theatrc, thal splendid and powcrlul as the exhibilion wus, no particular degree ol intercst was cxcitcd by ils announcernent lor rcpresentation on Friday Iast. Therc was another reason why it 'The play ol Henry Mefft Wives of Witdsot Chowringhee Mas was not hailcd wilh pleasurc. The Falstaff we have been accustomed 10 see, and whom critics admired, was to be supplied by another person. eminent indeed in other walks ol drama, but whose success in rhis particrlar character could not bc imagined even by those who knew his talents the besl- ... The King was repilsented by an amateur who had distinguished himself in olher characters of a widely different dcscriplion..-. 'OfFalstafTmuch nright bc said. Thc conception of the charrcter dillcred in some degree from lhe one given by the lb ner representative. He was less a laughter loving knighl. and lhere was lcssjollity in his composilion. His predecessor lvas remarkable fo. his clear cnunciation. .-. The Falstafl ol'last Friday night had not this natuml advantage. but he undelstood thc characrer pcrfeclly, and in spile of indisposition went though Ihe most conspicuous sccncs oi thc play wilh admirable success. Nor a single point of wit was losr.' lThe Cdlcuttu Jo al 15 May 1819. quoting the Covernment Gazette ot' 13 May ITiI 1833, the so rce 18 January 1824. Il?no lz Chowringhe€ Bencfit performance for the the Batlle of waterloo. Mry a il Peiuchio Chowringhee The' Frcm The Cabutta Mo thb Jol' aL' March l8l5: oi 'Wc cannot say, that we have any great rclish or respect for trny poel which seem rhcse mangled cditions of thc works ofour immorlal to have obtained 7 fot the foUowing formation is Se Guptaj CorioA rs. Chowringhee Thcatrc 27 February 1824, Macbeth. Chowringh€€ Theatre 19 December la2a. Riclnftl II. Chowringhe€ Theatre 2 January 1829. The Mercha t of Ve ice. Chowringh€€ Th€atre 27 February 1829. Othe o. Chowringhee Theatre The cast included Mrs Esthcr Leach rnd J. H. Stoquelcr. lDas Gupla 1830 (date uncedain). also Nvicc morc between 1830 and 1834, Ma.,erl' ChowriDghe€ Theatrc accordin!' to Ahsan. PRODI CTIONS IN CALCUTTA STAGE SHAKESPEAI{E ON THE 10 {,:il}H: t ff 'i)"ii #il l:;;,ii -itti:" v) rAct ,lii. ru'.-i,* IIlilT". "*r'sr Lcach (Tilinru Lotr tr" ",nr incluried Mrs Pro\nero) Mlrvorio sharrow ilJ;, ;;;;;". Theatrc 2 November l&13. The Matchant of ue"ica Sans Souci commcnded tbr his James vining. newly arliled frcm England, was cast wcrc MLs Dcrcle o I Shylock. Other membcrs of lhe iiii cho\tnnshcc interprctltio; Mclnotte (Por;ia). Miss Cowlcy (Nerissa), Mrs Leach (Jessica), Claudc (Gmriano)' Mr Brilon as Lntonio. Captaio Copp (Bussanio). Colonel As Duke/Tubal Bartolo (Launcclot Gobbo) drd Jamcs Barry lscn CuPta ,, of The Cdlcuta.ttdr, 4 November 1843' gavc l dclniled accounl sontewhat Jew lhe James Vining's coslume and acting: He dtcssed gabardine and alter tlre laJion adopled hv Kcan, nanrely, the red ""ricc Hall' Salis e Tani g ol the Shft$" Town 5 April, 15 Mav 1841' ?-i souci il,l'J*"*,""'o' "n' n'd nr: c J nrme tor olxved Katherine' -^". '''-';[;;;;;;,;i;" de'cribed het hcr'clr on rhe Autrnlian (bc levcl ol 'We should nante the scene wilh Tlbal as above reccption was' His the gcneral perfonnance, high as it undoubtedly sudden oi tie news of Antonio's losses was verv {ine' and thc 'lall nrannged on both knees at thc words I thxok Codl I lhank Godl" well of as i1 was. was exlrcmely ctTectile rnd broughl down a round words'I the and was cxcellenl' applausc. His cxit loo in tha! scene rurr cnd cornm0ndins apr.ar- *",1,:,,[:"1;, lif 1,;;;;;,;"; *"", ::: :fiilll#, in nrton ' F ""..' .lisnlrv Inore ltlacitv thrn grace ,han ,hal r,rge.Iusc much i;i; :;;:,,.J,;; ',"., r'cen u'cd ro a nl (he Town Hrll Theute'' a(qui'ition t" "" #;,,,i;,, lhar :hc $ould be J grear or rucr' (he did ioin "^""cd sat,' souct rheJn{' rn nornr "::":';;;J '." i;: ;;;.'J*,'""'r' hut d'|ed :rr er " ''"t'',I illT,l"il;, ",r," delilercd wilh an eamcstness of purpose that miSht make lhe blo(xl of a Christian crcep " 'Col BLiron as craliaflo fairly emned lhe applausc he rcceived Jew' and on the delivery ol each lriunrphan! tauni ol lhe discomfitted was point' Ba(olo and thc part throughout was plaved with vivacily whlt nrorc can wc sry? " hintself as Launcclot *i]f rrur" trr" hea.t of him' were sans So ci Thealre l0 Norembcr la4r' Ua'bcth - i'i.:i:I'J;.#.: ;r:ix: .y: ::l :,."::^Ill.,$:T;L[": we 'hc $rorc ''1i"ll1ll'iill."llii*olii" ' n"* '*'*d $e werc urhc'r 'J;l:ilT:l;,ii#;;'oertr - mta ''atenrnt ' n(rcd ror rr was remrrt'ahr) wcrr Mr' we sxid beiore' but as we could $ould be not bestow morc praise' and would nol bestow lcss' therc 'Of thc ladics we ntighl say no originalily in our tl4 NovemDcr rd4l I J ,',""'fl $a' \riJ of N4r\ Dcr(le s ndced Jn )nthitrou' nohre uer rrrrruaes $erc \omerrrncs ';;;.',"".,instv heJut)" Mclnuttc picrures ana rull oi lruh and ""."*:;l"'il; ::::"Ji;;il" . :::;";';., [:il;,,;;;;:""'' 'l':]ll, l:: ' \rac arso crid 'o h" rll remarks.' lA. Milra D- :;';,;; il;;. *"''" \av Mr M- trl'o cr\ ll ., *" ,*i t*, N4r(berh and I muq anr' !'n lhe Mucbcrh is arwxvi Prcrtv f:i'i:i il;;';., roo'r ormzgnrnimir) in hu\rn'r sone rhcrc' rhc r\n Erc ;il;";;,. house w35 over-l'ull" 'fhe B('trnl H?t' 2I ENCLISH "'"rr"n' ,n Mi,,. 20 Deemb€r 1843, Rotueo and Jutiet Sa,ns Souci Theatr€ (Julic!)' Miss The casl included Jamcs Vining (Romco)' Mrs Deacle Co$ley , LJLI) C.,pulcrr' M^ Br rv r\u^()' lsen Gupla The critic of the C.lLtita .t/., said hc could nol Lrgrec wilh Vining's interpretalion ol the charactcr ol Romco Thc citic sit'v 'total want of no*eo', mosi Pronouncc.l lrait to hc wcakness and is 10 cnergy', but Vini g had po(rryed a characier of passhn' lhat is "' say oi fove conrtincd witb energy, conkary to whd i1 rcdlly qualitv praiscd the he oilove coNbincd lvith wcakncss. Howe\cr, 72 SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STACE PRODUCTIONS IN of vi8ing's acting: 'his execulion was maslerly" Hc also obse.ved that 'The admirahle m$ner in which he perfbrmed Shvlock induccs us to think that he will always be morc successful ir charactcrs of loitiness and cnergy than in scenes ol lenderness and scnsibility.' Mrs Deaclc\ acling was also highly pmised bv thc S/ar' lA. Mitm tAhmed 21 Lpril 2] From the review in Sambari Prublaka\ 2l August 1848 [lranslated irom rhe Bengalil: 'Local periomer [e/adlatri)d ,arrai] Babu Baisnabchand irr.l Adhya pleased evcrybody through his rendering of Olhello's spceches and geslurcs. He was not at rl1 nervous nor did he neglect any potential of style or gcsture. and words of praise werc showered oll him iiom all sides.' Ha el. Sans Souci Theatrc Hamleti Mrs Omonde as Ophelia. as Melnolle Claude December 1843. ENCLISH lcal 1841. Othello. Sans Souci Theatre IRilari Jatra expressed disappointment 1848, also Enslislt,na Seplember me ,14 atier the repeat perfonnance on 12 Septembcr. fMukherjee Stagc 20 May 1849. The Merchant oJ ven :e. Saos Souci Theatr€ 17 August, 12 September 1848, Otltelra Sans Souci Theatr€ (scc also Appendix D) Baishnav Charan Addy as Olheilo; Mrs Ande^^n ns Desdcnrona' A landmark pe bmance. For the tirsl tine in Lhe history of English professional thealre in tndia, an Indian appearcd on the slage among a predominarrtly whirc casl. Kiroomoy Rcha w tes in BetrgaliTheate of a lctlcr in The CaLcutta Stur in which was announced the 'debut of a real unpainied nigger Othello' which set 'rhc whole world of Calcutta agog'. 'Othello ... was the Srcat attraction on Thursday nighi .. ihe player however and not lhe play Performed by Bahoo Brsronr Churn Addy ... all expectations werc ofcourse centercd in lhe young aspiranl for dramatic fame, who has gallantly flung down the gauntlel to the res! of rhe members ol the nalile connnunily. . . Shakespeare, exiled liom fie counlry he honours so nuch, sceks an asylum boards. ... 51im. and symrnelrical in person, his delilcry ol1 llrc Calcu(a was somewhal ped, brt under all circunstances his prununciation ol English was for a native rcmarkablv good. .. The perlorrner had subshnlial demoDstratlon thal the feelings oI thc audience werc fairly enlisted Itse gal Hlrkarc, 19 August 1848 on his side.' cra 'In the dclivery the clTects of imperlbct pronuncialion scrc bul too lThe E elishnrc , 19 August 1848. See Mukhc{ec The hsl major production at the Sans Souci bclbre the theatre closed down the same year. lscn Gupia. Das Gupla gives dale as 2l May (B) EARLY PRODUCTIONS BY BENGALI AMATDARS llt is EkeU that, )here o specifc iltfonnqtio is availablo, ottlr &ttain scenes xtere stagel rathet than complete plofs.l December 1822. R€citations from English. Drummond's Dhurrumio[rh Academy 'fhe hldio Gdzete rcpotted on 3l December that the English recita tions f.om various autho$ by sludenls of this school were 'extremely meritorious and rcflect great crcdit upon the scholars nnd teachers A boy ol the namc Derozio gave a good conceplion of Shylock.' A lew yea$ laler, Henry Derozio was to read thc plays of Shakespeare rlith the sludents of Hindu College, whose slaff he had joined. A pioneering Indian poet jn English. he wrote a couple of sonrcls on shakespearean subjeclslsen Gupla 24 27 SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STACE Jrnuary 1827. Scenes fmm Jalius Cd€sa,t Hindu Coll€ge (later Presid€ncy College) Kashiprasad Chosh, later 1i:) bccome the tirst Bengali poet in English, paficipalcd in this perfornunce. lCal Gaz I Fett 1827. ciled by Ahmed and Ahsan 12 January 1828, The CoYemment Honse Ttial Sccne from The Mercha t of Venice, Acted hy thc boys of Hindu College: Kashiprasad Ghosh as Shylock, Atulchandra Ganguly as Antonio, Krishoadhan Milra as Porlia, Harishchandra Das as Bassanio, Harihar Mukherjee as Nerissa, Ramchandra Milra as Gratiano, Kalikumar Bose as Salario, Krishnahari Nandi as thc Duke. FrcIn The Calcuta Ca.ette, 11 Janujry 1828 'Surely lhen, this may bc called a remarkable epoch in thc historv oi tndia, secing as we do, the Dative youlh of Bengal coltiYaling Lhc dramalic literalurc of the Wcsl and even cncountering the diflicullies it-ll rarert i 'r ,'l I 'n*** l.i i i,rfl4irffitr i , J,. ot theatrical .epresentations.' JSen Cupta v School socieav 27 February 1828, Scenes from IrenrJ y. Madhusudan Studcnts of (he School Sociely reciDd podions ol-I/€,?D Scn and Harimohan Mullick gave playreading oI the dialoguc r between Henry and thc Lord Chief Juslice lcal Caz 2a Feb 1828, citcd by Sen Cupta oflfmm The Mercha,tt of thlt JournaL 1a28. Mo Rcport in Cdl."rra 1828. Performance Venice. have now to remark the singular phenomenon of a Hindu nnmcd Kissen Chund$ Dutl ... only fourlecn ycal's of agc ... his co.r'cct pronuncialion and acLion in lhe character of Shylock drcw forlh the most enlhusiastic adnrhalion ol- the whole audience.' 'I . lAhmcd 1829. Recitations from various Shakcspeare plays. Goeernm€nt Hollse The plays were H",r,l y,l P.I tt 2. Han Let , Troilut nnd C '"\\irla' J ulitts Caesar. Macbeth and C)t beline l8 Feb.uary -, __ .. r- I .p. --- -. . e 2 ts; ;! €t o: 4 E F Rnnpo a d.ltli.r, Litd.'lhcatrc Cio!p, = a ./rrn6- Cr.nrt Thcua udit. l9(r.1 196.1 PRODUCTIONS IN ENGLISH Pcrfbrmed by the boys of Hindu Collegc: Krishnamohan Banerjee as Horalio. Ranrtanu Lahid as Brutus, Ramgopal Chosh as Malcolnl, Shik-handraDcb as Beiarius. Rrdhmath Sikdtr as Guiderius, Digambar Minz as Cassius. Maheshchandm Sioha as Ross. Dakshioaranian Mukherjcc as Macdult. lcdl Gd. 19 Feb 1829, Sen GuPta Fcbruary 1830. Recituaions from Shakespeare. Hindu College Reporred in Sand.idr Darl,ar, 20 February 1830. iAhned , ,'x 13 Mnrch 1810. Scen€s from.rrifirr a'aesdr. Gopimohan Dcb's hous€, Sobhrbazar Acred by studcnts ol- thc School Society on the occasion ol their annual lunction: Gangunarayan Chandm as Octavius, Unracharan Basu as Antony. Madhusudan Pramanik as Bru(us. Bularam Scn as Cassius. llr.rl\rsl, ,, rh.l,i:,1,{n rn t.rd t.r, Ftum fhe Calutto Gd-??re, 15 March 1830: 'The wholc of lhese werc dclivcred with good cmphasis and discretion, and in some instanccs wilh a corrcctness of enuncialion, erergy ot' manner .!rd graccfulness ol deporlment which would have dooe credit to any school in England.' t2 februrry la3l. The Merchant of Ve.tice, III.i. Town llall Acled by the boys ot Hindu Collegei Kdlash Chandra Dalta as Shylock, Rangopal Ghosh as Tubal. Taraknath Ghosh as Salanio, Bhubannrohan Mitra as Salarim. [a:a/ 6d. t4 Feb 183t. Darpln l9 Feb l83l; Sen GuJ,ra v (along \rith Bhavabhuti's "/.rli s Caaar Act Utta&-Ro,idcharita, A.ct I). Hindu Thcatrc A rhcar.icxl lroupe was fbflned by Prasanna Kumar Tagorc at his garden housc al Sura speciiically to stagc Shakespcare plays. The 28 December 1831. casl lir thi! pcrlormance includcd Gangacharan Scn. Ramchamn Mitra ofHindu Collcgc and SanskrilCollcge l vited audicnce. and sludcnls F_Loiz.l r d lDarya" 7 lar I'ciditr in I/? Wnrl/ r ,1,/r Engllsh ShalicsIcxo Conrp.ny. l9rl 7h. (\htl\ RoyrL SLik.sNrL._ t)l ltt1,r C.mnu!. i 997 1t332 26 PROD SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUI-IA STACE March 1833. Scenes from The Tvo Genlene of Ve.ona and Othello. Ilindo College Ramlanu Lahid was among the actors. Ltvlo thb March 1833, Sen cupta 7 Marth 1834. fsrrr) Y1. Town Hall P ze-giving ccremony ofHindu College ar rlrc Town Hall lolkrwed by recitations. Madhusudun Dutt (hen a boy of l0) playcd fte Duke of Gloucester, Ishwarchandra Ghoshal Hcnry Vl. IDdrya 12 Mnrch 1834. Mo,/fli March 183:1 29 March 1837. Recitations from Shakespeaft, and Trial Scene fmn The Merchant ol Uenice. Gore.nmcnt House Prizc-giving ceremony of Hindu College. Umacharao Milra as Shylock, Kali Kdshna Chose as Anronio. Abhay Charan Basu as Po(ia, Rajendranath Basu as Bassanio, Rajendm Narayan Mirra as Ncrissa, Rajendra Dartn as cratiano. Gopalnarh Mukheriee as Salarino, Rajendranath Sen as lhc DukeLDarpa ) Aptil 1837. cited by Das Cupra 1838. Sofiloquies from Hatrr y, Riclru III and Eanlet- Hindn Coll€ge Shyamacharan Basu as Henry Y Rajcndranarh Basu as Richad IlI. Abhay Charan Basu as Hamlct. [Sen Gupt] Msrch 1840, HentJ IU Pafi 2. St Xavier's College From lhe repon ;n he Be s!)l CathoLic Expositor, March 1840: 'The sludents and scholars of the Collcge of Sl Xavier's had the gmtiiication ol cxhihiting (heir dramatic lalcnls ir lhe second parl ol' King H€ru) IV (sho.n ol its imperleciions) on Tuesday evening lasr. 1o a delighled and respcctxblc po(ion ol the communily. among whon we obseNed {hat talenled and scientillc ofiiccr. Sjr Nppeared ntuch pleased with thc d Fl. Jerningham, who $,ning mcrits ol'the juvenile actors lNambcldiry 'IIONS IN EN(iI-ISH \letropolitan Academy of I'trtrdtorn that Jzlirrr Cr€rar was sraged ar the MetropoliLan Acadony in 1852 by fie ex-sludents of the Orienlal Scnrinary lbrnrcrly trained by Jcilroy and Reshi {i.e.. Geofliey and Richie, according to Sen Guphl, thnl Mcssrs. Clinger nd RoLrerts, lomrcrly ol lhe Sans Souci, gave lhem iraining, and thal tickets wcrc sold at lhe perlb.marce-... Pandit Mahendm Nath Vidyanidhi in his "Sandarhha Sangraha" and Pandit Saral Chandra Ghosh ir "Namyana asse the same. ... From all sources we hrle in hand we rhink that Jttids Caes was playcd al Mctropolitan Acade ry, and The ll,Iercha,i of ue ice nl thc David Hare Academy. and rhar sale of rickets ar the Orienral Thealfe in 1854 lvas mistakcn h\ pc.plc l.,r 1h.,, i r,rc Mcrropolrrrn A(-dcrn).' 1a52- Julius Caesar. 'We havc it on the aulhoity lDas Gupta 15, 24 Febnrry 1853. Scencs froon Tlre Merchant ol Uenice. Da\id Dircctcd by David Clinger, English teacher al thc Calcutta MadrassaAcred by boys ot David Hare Academy. S.,,/r.r.1 Pnbllakl\ tl) Februar) 1853, says il is lhc first such pcdo naoce by studenls ir an educational inslitution. Notice in lhe Bensal H rkaru, 15 l:ebruary 1853: 'wc arc rcqoested 10 mcnlion lhat lhe tirst public cxaminrtion ol lhe pupils ol rhe David Harc Academy will takc placc this rorning at the Town Hall. ... InsEad ol lhc customary display of pyrotcchrics. ihe pupils have resolved to celebrale lhe examination by enacling. at thc school ptenriscs, a iew scenes fionr thc Merchanl ol Venicc. Reporr in Sd/rrd./ Prabhakar. 26 Februao, 1853, on the second pcrio nance llranslated lionr the Bengali] 'l-an Wcdnesday evening, thc students ol' Hare Acadcrry again regrlcd a large audicncc by thcir perlbrmance oI Tha M?rcha yai.c, thc work ol the greal English poel Shukerpcarc Sahib. About 6U!700 lcamcd, establishcd and wcalthy Indiuns. and rn.rn) highranking Englishmerr and E glishwonen lvere prescnr. A1l ol them pl.aised lhe sludcnls highly. ... Sccing lhe sets ftr lhc courtroon, and hearing the dialogue. nranl rnistook the Hare Acadcmy fbr the Sans t.f Souci Thcrlrc.' lDas Gupu SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCIITTA STAGE PRODUCTIONS IN ENCLISH productions nal be ca ed tamtteutcom,nercinl' productio,rs: thef werc acted bf a tatew lndia,8, but 'Those who are desirous of seeing how young native gendemen can wear {he buskin [rr.] should ane d lhc Oriental Thcatre lhis evcning and we promise them ltut they will come away with a higher 23 lMa r of the foltowins entry vos bt pal e t. Thej represent a anefipt b! E,tglkheducated Bengalis to set up an Engli blang age theatre.') fi53. OtheUo. Oriental Theatre we discount Julius Cdesff (1852). lhis was the tirst publjc perfomunce of Shakespearc in Calculla exchrsivcly by an lndian troupe, under the general sul)ervision' of Mr Clinget fbrmerly of the imprcssion of ,]alivc lrlgic lalent than (hal wilh which lhcy may possib,y, al prescnt, be imprcssed We rccollect somc nronths ago witnessing al lhe same Theake a perlbrmaoce of Othcllo and tlc prcsunre the samc company will appear to_nighl Wc have no doubl that thcy will be well worlh heaing.' lAlso Hurkar| 16 March 1854 Das Gupla Sans Souci Thentre. Thc actors wcrc young Hindus, lbrorcdy pupils of the O ental Seminary. They were lrained by Mr Roberts, formerly of the Sans Souci, and Mr Pa*er and M.s Ellis, tbanerly ol llrc Ivlal t854. Julius Caesat Jorasanko Thentre Brajanalh Bas was lhc nrosi nolablc actor in 1853. 26 Septemb€r 5 Octobet If Chowdnghee Thcatre. Dinanalh Ghosh as Othcllo, Priyanarh Dalta as Iago, Khagcndr.ualh Mallik as Brabanlio, Rajendralala Mitra as Desdemo,ra, Radhap.asd Basak as Emilia. fto.n the Be'$,1 Ht'^ora. .?8 Setrcnrher lE5.r: 'The characler which we h:rd feared would be rhe wor$ represcnlcd !,"as ftc bcst lcprcsentcd- /a8o hy Baboo Prconath Dey hi.l, was aclcd with nn evident knowledge ol lhc ch:t.acrer, ... the mode in which ahey acquitted themsel!es, musl havc givcn much salislaclion ro cvcry member of the audience who carcs lbr rhe intellectual improvcment ol his nati!e lcllow citizens.' [Hx*a.a 28 Scpt 1853. citcd b] Bnrcrii and Ahnled 2, 17 N{arch 1854, The Merchant of Veni.e. Oriental Theatrc From ildverrilemerl in Tlrc Citi.e .2 Mrrch 11354: 'The Odcntal Theatre / No. 268, Gurrarhaita, Chilporc Road, / nre Merch.! t of U? iu lWill be pcrlbrored at rhc rbovc Theirc / On Thu6day, thc 2nd March. 1854, / By Hindu Anratcurs / Doors open !! 8 p.m. / Perlbnnance to commence at 8 l/2 p.m- / Tickcls 1o bc had of Mcssls. F.W. Brown & Co. / and Baboo Woorncsh Chunder Bnnerjcc, Cashier. / Spcnccs Horcl / Pricc of'Iickets Rs. 2/' each. / Thc Tickcls dislributed will avail on thc above cvening.' Priyanarh Datta as Shylocki Ridhapnsad Basak as Pol1ia on 2 March. Mrs Griggs on 17 March. Frc]m Tlle tlontils CTrronn'lr, 2 IIarch 1854: 1853, 3 lsen Gupta Mohendunath R,rsu as Caesar, Krishnddhan Dutt as Brutus, Jadunath Cha(crjee as Cassius. According to ,!d,,/rdd Prabhakrlt.5 M^y 185'1, there was an audience of so c 400. including I oumberof Englishmen and ladies. The paper appealed fo. rcduction in admission l-ee- The HnnLtu P.nriot ^dvised boih thc Jorasanko Theatrc and the Oriental Thealre to slage plays in Bengali. Frolr, The Hitiloo Panitr, ll Mav 1854i ''Ihe sccnery and stage decorations were exlremely creditable . . with rhc exception of Cassios and Cnsca the \Yholc of lhe Prrlbrnrcrs sang orblustc!cd tbrough theirparls in ulter nranglcmcnl ol Will Shakespeare. ... The young gentlem n {playing Cassiu$l seemed lo fecl what he acled and having by nnturc thc advantagc (l) of a 'lean and hung.y look" hc did very well indeed for ihe Roman conspiralor. we could wish that the other aclo$ kncw their parts as well. Brutus, though acled shockingly cnoush by a burly young man with a v€ry thick muslachio, was ncveihelcss nol so grating as Caesar or Calphurnia Thc former roftcd anr.l Bvcd likc eithcr a maniac or a d.Llnkad. lhc lancr ho ibly coated ovc. with painL anC varn;sh squeakcd likc a pig or r ninny. A1 iir lvlark Anlhony, by Ji'go! he looked n)orc like an unJcrrJ\fl rhrn .r !rltrtr Rorrr n ,nd hi' .pccrtio,r, rhc dcrd hod) of Crcsar so thoroughly disgustcd us liut we left thc lhealre belbrc the weepirg and wailing was over.' lBcnc.ji 30 SHAKESPEAIiE ON I-HE CALCI]'MA STACE /y Oriental Thearre $ Henry ly priyanalh 15 February 1855. Henry Keshabchandrr Ganguly Data as Falstaif. PRODUCTIONS IN ENCLISH ]I Tarak Chandn Sircar, ... a son ol Pcrry Charan Sircar. and seveml othcrs. Thc doublc pafis ol Shylock and Lancetor [ri.l Gobbo were assignod (o mc. Wc zealously memodsed our parrs and vigorousty Nrityanath Ray as Horspur. Fn\r rL, B"ranl H,/l ,/d. t5 Frbruxr) 1855. 'The O.ienlal Theatrc is purety rhe ofi\pring ot native cxertion and allitrds rhe best evidcnce oi rhe growing perse\emnce ol onr counlry'nen in l.rudable pursuirs and rhen..rpprecifltion of narional amuscmcnrs. Thc acbrs, ii is we known, had acquilred ficmselves on thc lasr tlvo occasions whcn lhey appearcd on thc srage wirh Lhe lragedy ol Othclb and Mcrchanl oi Venicc... to rhe sarisfacrion of lhe public and won nrcriled rpplnuse irom individuals from whom a word ol favour is an honour We sirccreJy wish lhem success thir irhcarsed and allitudini/-ed ar home belbrc our astorjstrC and scandalizcd young rclarions. One cvcning we wcrc having .r rehearsal .t the house oiTamk Chandra Sirca. in Beadon Slreer in Sa.:rl s room. Sonreone was declaiDring his parr with aJ,|ropdarc ge(iculaiion whe the door was qu;etly opc.cd und ir carne Bankinr Ch.rndra Chalreii accompanicd by lhe nrasrcr ol the house! Bankim pusscd our oi ... the rooin with a word oi encouragcnrent. Wc p.oduccd rhe play ar Lily Coltrtgc. ... There $as a lairly largc audience and our prcscnrdion ol the phy w.rs well receivcd.' The llifldoo Ptt'.iot,21 Febfua.y 1855. pmiscd the pcrlornrancc bul ,egrcLted lhc hck of publ;. enrhusiasrr, and rcpcnlcd its sppeal for {agjng ol Bengali plxys- IMuch .rf the infornatio,t b.ton tiat derived fro'n Se Gupta a d hedee.'Ihe pefon antes i the lrti'e6it! I'tnitutu Hatt ven thietlt bj co cge stude ts,l Mafth 1857. flrnlet Resid€nce of Keshnb Chunder Sen ar C,nuribha vithSe in Hooghly Distrkr 27 JaDuary 1899. Juius Caes University Insritute Ha Pe brmed by a group ol studenrs who larcr lbmre.l rhe .shakcspearr Kcshub Chundc, Sen as Hamlet. praup Chandl.r Maiumdar as Laerres, Akshay Kunar Maiumdar as Horalio. Mahcndnnar.h Scn as Ctauilius_ Bholanalh Chakraharri as Polonius, Narcndranarh Sen as Ophetia. Coslumes and lcls by KeslNb Chundc. Sen. M Conrpany'. tgtttl. Macbeth. University tnstitute gall Basu.s Mrcbclh, Kiron Dulr as Macdull' Jnan lchi.anJib Shalnla, KeshabLrnrit, p_ 5 M^y 1810. The Me.chant rl yerri... Sahityj parhhad, Krishnanagar Thc Srhitya Prrislrad was ian associadon of otd and ncw nrddrrq lE.lu.atio Ga.e e an.t Sd .ttik &tiahnhhk Ttu Shakespearc Socie(y Shakcspearc Sociery was sct up i,r t90t in his horNc al l0 Ananda Cha(c{cc Lane by Salishchandra Muthopadhyay A r.nJ!1 rrc \ohri.ru.{ J. Irnn\rn.'r"lhcsn.,el) $r.r",ve lill lhc l9l0s. Ir ef.ucd ptrys rr rhe Enrpirc und Corinlhian 29 Juty 1870, Scn Gupt:r Irrom Prrbharch!ndra Grngopadhy y 1880? Thc Merclnnt of Ve ice. Lity Corlage, Keshub Chunder Scn's house on Upp€r Circnlar Road Nagcndixnath Guptd as Shllock und Launcebt cobho. Karun.r Sen. Sxr.rl Sircar Fr1,Ir lhd reminisccnces of Nrgendranalh Guprr: 'Aorong thc young cnthLrsiasls who look tad in the plny were Kamnn. thc clden son oi Kcshub Chundcr Scn. Saral. !fie youngc$r son ol. s lrlictc. 'Shalicspcalrr Sociely at Ananda Chauc!cc I-une l9 Apdl 196.:l llrrrslltcd tioln lhc .Thc .,rf.,rrdr, Bcngalil: 'L.n nc linrlly mcntion a ncarly Jbrgo[cn connoisseur He slnNld hc r€nrcrrbcrcd nol only ior his Iirc acling in English but ii, his unlning cllal1s lo scr up a Shnkcspcare Socicrl ii lhis counlry. ... Hc clearud lhc parh l'o]. lhc yourh ol the SHAKESPEARE ON THE CAI-CUTTA STACE 12 countrl to cultivale Shakespeare. His chief suppo er in this project was my clder brother the lale PraPhullachandra Cangopadhlay. Premankur lPremanktrr Alarlhi. the wellknown wdterl and I would oftcn visit the Socicty, though we wcre no1 members, io lislen to lhek discussion. We also had lhc good fortune to sec their producdons in the auJiloriun of fie Sangil Samaj lKailash Bosc Srreel] and fte Emph€ and Corinthian Theatres.' In the same article. Gangopadhyay also mendons a pefbmancc of Or,€/1., by s(udenls of Scottish Church Collcge inspired by lhe productions of Matheson Lang and Alnn Wilkie. See bclow. seclion (C), eDries lbr l9ll, 1912. IMailra Da*n Soci€ty (1902-1910) The Dawn Society was lounded by Salish Chandm Mukhedec (no|Funnyman') nnd his associates srrch as Brahmabandhab Upadhy^ya. Rabindranath Tagorc and Sister Nivcditr werc amoilg the patrcns ol fie sociely. Keshav Chandra Gupla, Hriday Lal Bane{ee, Salish Chandra Baneriee aid others cnthusiasls in lhe nratter ol putting on boards Shakespenrc plays in lhe original. Thcy usually gave lhcir perlbmanccs in thc Ove(oun Hall or in the audilorium ol lhe Sociery. which allerwards came to be known as thc Univcrsity trsritutc Hall. Alerander Thomas. a lecturer in were 1l PRODIJCTIONS IN ENCLISH fte English at DuffCoUege, trained the membcrs and olcasion' ally Prcfessor Benoy Sarkar taughl thcm a geslu'€ or two [[4Jiri 25 tr{arth 1905. Tvelf , Night, University Institute Hall Kanti Mookerjee as viola. Rajendm Prasad. iuture Prcsident ol lndia' took rhc fart of a Cou(ier From an inrcrvicw with Kanli Mookerjcc irr O,t]'.(sn Nrlvr. Jan Jun 1964. 'Sir Alexa der Pedlar (theo Direclor ol Public Inslruction) was so sccptical whcn lold that it was a boy who did lhc part that hc came inN fte grcenroom alier thc pcrtbrmance to nuke sure tbr himsell' 1906. lutius Caesar" Univcrsity Institute l9{ts. .lulius Caetar. Acred by the sudenls Hall ol Gcneral Assemblies Instilution (later Scottish Church College): Sisir Kumar Bhaduri as Brutusi Ananda Krishna Sinha. Sachindranath Basu. Jalindranath Ganguly. The lulure scholars of English language and liieraturc, Suniti Kumar Cha(crjee and Sree*umar Baner.jec, were involved in the production. suniti Kurnar Chatterjcc's reminiscences in Pdri.rd) [t.anslatcd tiom 1he Bcngalil: 'sisir Kurnar's actiog was wonderful. Men oljudgment laughed al the costumes, bul that could not impairour enthusiasm And Sisn Kumarh acting was oo a differenl plane altogether. We ioo slood among the ludience to scc him acl aod hca. hirn dcliver the lines. ... The English prciesson and o6er elders praised him highly. This was Sjsir's firsr triumth at college-' l9$9, The Merchd,tt of Venice. Acled by the students of General Assenrblies Innilution: Sisir Kumar Bhaduri u. Anronio, Nare.h Virm ar Shyl.ck. Mrtch 1909. Hanlet. University Institut€ HaU sisn Kr rar Bhrduri acted as Claudius and lhe Ghost. 17 fo\otti,rg ptoductions at ot haw bee', a ateur, but bclo g to this pefiod of e actne ts of Slrakespearca seenes.l lThe NIay 1910. Recital by 'Mr Jno. l. Wenyon' of scenes fmm shakespe6re (Md.reirr I.\;viiiRicha III ActY; Roneo ad Juliet Act V). Star Thcatre I lBhatlacharya 27 Septcmber 1916. Sclected scenes from Macbeth. Star Theatre Advefised as 'The Dagger Vision and thc Blo(rly Acf. Monmohan Goswanri as Ma.bcth. Kusumkumad $ Llldy Macbelh. lll, wooing 2, 8 August 1917. Macr?rr, Ivturder Scen€; Richard of Lady AnDe. Star Theatre Monmohan Goswami as Macbelhi Kusumkunrari as Lady Anne- PRODUCTIONS IN SHAKISPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STAGE u4 in Atnrita Bazat Patrika' 8 August 1917: scene in original English by a a Shakespearean of 'The rcndering thing.' Bengali aclress is a wonderful From the adverrisemcnt lBhaltacharya (C) BY' TOURING COMPANIES 1870s, Lewis Th€atre Company: Public perfoffnnces of Shakesp€ar€' calcuttaMaidan rsen Gupta 1882-85. Maurice a d Juliet, Review of E Bandmann's Companv: Ilamk',M@beth,Ro Richa III, Oth?[o. Theatrc Roval fidrl€l in Reis dnd Rd)'ret.2l January eo 1882i 'Mr Bandmann is undoubtedly a considerablc actot but his Hamlel was, lo our thinking, somcwhat of a disappointmcnt' Thc tumult oi a great passion ... even the slrnggle of conflicling resolves ' was hardly jusiificalion enough lbr the encrgv of vociferalion which he exhibilcd. He actually shrieked lowards the close,' From lhe reminiscences ol Nagendranath Gupia: 'tBandmannl drew crowded houses in Calculta by stagitg somc Shakespeare plays al the Corinthian Theatre on Dhurrumiolah Street' I went to see Macbeth perfbrmcd bv his companv ' I saw Kcshuh Chunder Sen and Bankim Chandra Chattcrii in the audienc€ kecnlv following the play Her Bandmann himself appeared in the role of as a Mking' Macbeth. He was a splerdid looking man, big and blond producing wi(h a Iincly modulated voice xnd a consummate power ol by was thrilled stage effect. In the murder scene ... the whole house the realis ofllte actirg and the intensily of ttte horror The toollights had been turned down, leaving the stage in €omparatile darkness' the but ,i strcam of lighi tiom the wings was skilllully turned upon playcd and Lady Macbelh, iwo figures on the stage. Mncbe$ and upo, itr"it r.otr... with a starlling elTect. The poniard in th€ hand Macbeth had a hollow handle filled with a iew melal pellels and oi linkled faindy as (he hand of thc actor shook' The eyes' widc and ENCLISH 35 wild with tenor, were rcving in every directior, while the hands and lhe whole body quivered as an aspen leal 'Lady Macbelh stood at a li$le distance, cool and cynical, ilasbing contempl from her magnificenl eyes at her husband, un' manned by the bloody deed he had done. We realised lo thc full lhe penelratile power of a siage whisper whe, Macbelh said:''Glamis halh murder'd sleep, and therefore Cawdor Shall sleep no nDre, Macbelh shall sleep no more!" 'The voice was no louder than a quaking whisper. bul i! ran l;ke a long drawn sibilant hiss through the remotesl paas of lhe theatre and elery word was as distinclly heard as if il had be.n shouted out. Again when the aclor cried, 'will all greal Neptune's ocean wash lhis blood Cl€an fiom my hand? No: this my hand ryill rather Thc multitudlnous seas incarnadine Making the green onc red." and spread oul his palm with ultcr hopelessness stamped on his face, it was a great gcsture ol tragic despait Lady Macbeth, lighled taper jn hand, somnambulistic, with her eyes wide open, glassy, and wilhout a flicker of the eyelids. was vcly dramatic. As she put down the lighl and rubbed hcr hands as if washing them, she declaimed, "Here\ the smell of the blood slilli All the perlurnes ol Arabia will not sweeten this liltlc hand. 'In the sleep-walking scene oht oht oht" The opening words were utlered in the colourless monolone ol a person ialking in sleep, bur when the final exclamalion was reached and rcpeated three limes, fie voicc of the aclress rose to a cresendo ol agonized despair and brought down the house in repealed rounds of tempesluous applause. 1898. Henry Drllas's South African Dramatic Compan]: As It Yo Like Corinthian Theatre IBilati Jatra 23 Sept€mber 1909. Hanlet. Star Theatre Charles Vane as Hamlet;Miss Blanche Forsythe as ophelia. Organized by Bandmann, lBhatlacharya 36 SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STAGE 1911. Alan Wilkie's London Rcpertory Companyt Othe o, Roneo and Juliet, Hank4 Julius Aera\ The Merry Wires of Wi,rdsot, Twelfth Nisht. Opera House Leading actor: Alan Willie. Leading lady: Miss Frederick Hunler- l7 PRODUCTIONS IN ENCLISH Prabhatchandra remembcrs how he himselfwrote to Lang, asking lbr an interview whi€h tnng grantcd. Over lunch. rhey discrssed of Shakespcare, and cunenr critical Of the combined impact ol Wilkie's and Matheson Lang's Shakespearc, the interpretation trends. companies on rhe local audicnce, especially lhe youlh, Prabhalchandra 'A triend had writtcn ro nre while I was al Bhagatfrur spcaking in eulogislic lems of Wilkie's perfonnancc. [So] I spenr allof that X,mrs at Calcu(a axending Alan Wilkie s shows nighl afler night. I rcad up ihe plays in the dayrime 10 get thD full benetli of the pieccs as J'resenled by wilkie ar night. 'Wilkie, rhough by no means one of the .1ops.' in llre Shakespearean scroll, opened a new world lo me; and I was quire lost in the wondedand of the Mastcls fanrasies. I moled about mentally as "Shybck', or "FalsraIf'. or "Othelld through my daily rouline of College and home lives. In lact, I did not get the fcvcr off till. atlcr my return to Bhagalpur, I had presenred somc of rhe selected scenes on the College srage.' lAsudc (Asu De), Antrito Bd.ar potrita, 3 May 1964 rre Tarri,rs ofthe Shrew, d Juliet, Mttch Ado abo t Nothine. Empire 1911, 1912. Matheson Lang's Company: Hamlet, Roneo a Theatre Leading actor: Malheson Lang. t,eading ladyi Miss Hutin BritroD. 'In lhe s inrer of rtJr )(Jr I Iv I I '. rwo ShJke.pedrcin .omtrnie, camc 1o Calcurta... [Onc was rhe London Repe(ory Companyi] the othcr Iwas ledl by Mr Marhieson trnJ Lang wilh his wife, Miss Hurin Britlon filling a similar rolc. ... Later.I heard rhat Wilkie\ shows werc no1 a patch on fie performances of Shakcspeare's dranras which were beingprcsented by Mathicson [ri.] \igour: 'After seeing the produclions olWilkie and Lang, there was grear enthusiasm among ihe college sludents of Calcufla to perform the plays ofShakespeare. St Xavier's Collcge and Scoltish Church College showed greatest inrercsl in lhis regard. The Europcan reachers at th. collcges would train thc sludents in the art of acting. 'A lilIlc larer, when I was at Scotlish Churcllcollege. rhere was a collcge periormance of Othe o. I cle.fly remember thc splendid acting by Raghabendra Bandyopadhyay as Orhello and a student named Henry Khondakar, the son of a Scotdsh mother and an Indian Muslim iather, as Desdemona. ... Nareshchandra Mitra also won considerable acclaim as Shylock in The ll,lercha of Venice. ... Wilkie and Lang's acting also had a grcat influence on Sisirkumar lBhaduril.' t lltfonation about the performances below takefl ythi.h cites Das Cuptal to Bilati latra, 1912. Alan Wilkie's London Rep€rtory Company: Much Ado abou, Nothing, Ha let. Empire Theatre Lang simulraneously ar the Empire tAsudc (Asu De), Amrita Ba&t Patrika,3 May 1964 Prabhatchandra Gangopadhyay recalh in J aaxldr, t9 Aprit 196,1 ltranslated liom tlre Bengalil: '[Lang's perforruances] arouscd such enthusiasm in the tocal yourh !ha1 some of thcnr wr ote letlen ro Lang, asking him for enlighrcnmert on all kinds of martcrs. Lang was plcased ro publish beaurilut and, charming replies in rhc rewspapers to sarisly this thirs! lor knowtedgc.' writesi 'Such power ro aroosc emotion, and such flawless acling, created a stir in the land.' It also nlade the srudent communiry of Calculta undertake Shakespearc performances with rcnewed 1918. Charles Hewitt and A. Phillips Company: The Me.chant Ye ir". Crand Opcra House III, Ihe of Merchatlt of yenice. Grand Opera House Featuriog the Shakcspearean aclor Charles Hading. 1918. Richard 1919. Ro rco a d J liet, Empire Theatre Fealuring Charles Vanc, al the invitation of Bandmann. SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STACE PRODUCTIONS IN ENCLISH lThe chief source of informatio,, fot the Bitish 'tisiti g productiofis belo\' up to c. 1970 b Bilati latt&, i,hich in tu t i,tdicates irs soar.e ol i lormanon as tlv Rritish Council, Calc tta. h{ornatio about Geoffre! Ke dal's Shakespeaftarru is fou d in his book The Shrkespeare wallah fll i, Felicitr Kendah White Crrgo.l ShakespearcaDa Thc company Shakespeareana was born ou1 ol a lravclling lroupc fbr lhe entertainmenl ol'fie forces during World Wa. IL As part of the Entenainments National Service Associa tion (ENSA). Geolliey Kendal and his wilb Laura lrad alrcady visited Darieeling and Calcutta. Now, after the fornution oflhe company, thcy went on a tour ol Daieeling (St Paul's School and t-oreto Convenl) and Kalinrporg (Dr Graham Horres), playing to audienccs ol rapt schoolclrildren. By Oclober 1947, dre !oupe was staying at the Fairlawn Hotel in Calcutla and drawing adult audiences as well. Their warm reception during this tour led 1() a pdongcd June 1953 to Deccmhcr 1956. During Indian sojourn this lime. they performed morc than oncc in Calcultn. and also al Burnpur. Asansol and Darjccling- Thcy visiled Santinikeran in I954. Thc plays they oflcrcd during lhis tour werc Othelh, Tlle Methant ol Uenice, Hal et, The Toni,lg of e Shfth,, Mocbeth, Roneo a,d.luliet antl Ttrelih Nisht. Thc troupe gradually dwindled, but a small core group went on visiting Calcuua and othcr Indian lcnues till the lio late 1960s. October 1947-J8nuary 19,18. Shakesp€areana: Ha let' Othelln, lulias Orcsat, Old Garrison Th€atr€. Also Ma.rert on 9 october, scenes fmm The Merchant of Venicr and Jutius Cderar on l0 Octoher, Othctlo on I January and Julixs Ca€sdr on 6 Ja uary at St Xavier's Collcge Auditorihm From lhe rcview by R. H. Lesser in.Sl Xduieri Maaa.ir,p, December r917: 'The plays, direcled and produced by Gcofficy Kendall fri.l caused in St. Xavier's, the acbrs fully dcseNing thc greal applause accorded them. Considering thc difficul(ics regarding scenery, thc effects were magnificenl and reflect conqi'lerable credit on the adaptab;lity and ingcnuity of the stail --. many of us Iremblcd at fte weird sctling of ihe wilches, a subtlc lightning cffect having a sensation 'The acting. 1oo, surpassed anylhing we had cver seen with Geoftiey Kendall tri.l giving a masterly rendering of Lord Macbclh ... and Olheuo the Moor whereas Miss L;ddell iived up to our highest Macberh ,nd Desdemona. Pe&r Meriton also gave a very convincing displav as Shvlock the expectations in her various roles as Lady The Anrita Baza, Pattika of6January 1948 biuedJe/tur Cd"ffr as 'rhis mighty spectacle of ancient Rome'. From the review in The Snkimt.6 Jatuary l9'{8: '[The pcrformance of Juli s Caesat at St. Xavier's Couege Auditoriuml combines nlorc than adequaie handling of the major roles with perfcction ot production which makes some of thc crowd scenes especially in the lirst Act, remain in lhe memory' As Brutus, Pctcr MeriLon gives a supcrb portrayal of'the ablesl Roman oi thcm all". In the hrewell sccne with Cassius he was rcally moving. The speech to rhe crowd. a loil to Antony's, was excellendy delivered. The sccne with Po[ia was marked by aitraclive acting on both sides Geoflrey K€ndal gavc Anlony's famous speech f-ull value, but was even betler in rhe earlicr "dogs oll war" Inonologuc. From the masker and reveller of $e opcning he dcveloped through violence to lhe magnificent luneral oration of Brutus. At the close Cacsar himself is a minor part perfomred with suitable indolent digoi(y by Frank Whcallcv who was good bu! whose enunciation la(er was weak. Ol thc conspirators, Geotliey Rich,trds as Cassius gave his usual accomplished rcndcfing. Carlo Basil (Casca) is rapidly developing into a useful and rcliable member ol thc company bcing especially good in describing lhe rcIusal ol the Crown. Ulpal Dutta [sI.] was also conlpete t. Tbe large cast, cKNd and batde scenes required help frc'n morc ainalcurs than usual to whom Mr. Kendal at the end gnre deservcd credk. This producrion must have meant very hard work. The resuk amplyjuslifies ', lSikdar 40 PRODUCTIONS SHAKISPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STAOE FrcrJl The Shakespeare Wallahl 'By October it seemed safe 10 go to Calcutta' where we stayed unlil January 1948, playing at the old Garison Theare in Park Streel' : Two pronrising young actors. Utpal Dutl and Pratap Roy' ioined us for a while. The Calculta audiences and cdlics were enthusiastic The .tlar€rfla,r critic wrote ol O,lcllo: "Nobodv appreoialive of good acling and fluent stage-managemenl should miss this periormance. . ' fie Garrison Thcalre with a feeling ofintegration, which no olher available form of amusement is able !o provide lor ca,not but the residents of lhis cilv, and haviog oncc enjoyed it ^ve wish that thc English Repertory Companv would prolo,ng thei' slav We came away fronr here indeiinitelY presence in Calcutta has raised the cultural level ol' the city, and ooulil they be persuadcd to makc their home at leasl durirg every winter. CalcuM would be lcss cut ofl irom the rest of ' "Their thc world." ' IKcndal IN ENCLISH does not agree with the list above' which on 16 i$ takm from the adxertisement in Anrba Balnr Patika to dayl day December. Perhaps $e sciection varied from 'Bu ihe crearn of [thc periormance] was reflected in the scenes lwo deathtess lragedies, "Hamlef' and "O$ello" Being 'As You Like lt". lTbis from the shapely strings of composii€ scenes rathd than stray abbreviations' playstro-ugrt o* ,tt" compact reptesentative calibre of fie ih"y "iry compuy ... indeed, both the plays are condensed to suit the small in emphalic but somewhal general terms' of follows lThere fie acling Praise. King_Wood, wyse and Filzgerald'l 'fhe troupe is. however, nol so saong on its distaff side '" The with only decor crcated by a simple stage contented itself efficiently cos_ slight suggeslions of tl]e diftcrent periods through Elizabethan ,u*"r. n"r", bothering aboul any insistence on naluralism' 'Mr Marshall's introductions were a lively foil to the reperloire' ol The Merchant January 1954. Shak€speorcana: Macbeth ^nd of Y?rdce. Santiniketan December 1950. Norman Marshall's ComPany: Scen€s from Shak€speare. New Empire 5-10 December. Scenes from Maebeth, Henry V, The Mercha't o! Venice, Romeo a d ,Iuliet, Julius Caesar 12.16 Decemb€r. Scenes fmm Hamlet, As vou Like It' Othello' Anto j a il Ckopatra, Henry VIII, The Tempest David King-wood as Ha let; John wvse as Othello and Polonius: walter Fiizgerald :L! Claudius and Iagol Judith S1o( as Ophelia and Desdemonar Frances Clairc as Genrude, Cleopatra and E,nilia; Jonathan Meddings. Deirdre Doon. But see below on possible variations in From the review h The Statesnlan' 15 January 1954: the direcdon 'shakespeareana, the traveling repertory company under performanccs of Mr. Geofliey Kendal gave two highlv appreciated al the Macbeth and The Merchant oJ Venice to capacity crowds ot Santiniketan open ah theatre last week' lSikdar of Venice 12-19 Februery 1954. Shakesp€areana: The Merchant (12 Feh), Macbeth (13 F€b), r,,e Taning of the Shrcrt ll4 Febt' (17 Feb by special Othe o (1,5 Feh\, The Taning of the Shrcw A review ol the second seleclion of scenes appeared ]n Anrita Baur Prtrik on 15 December 1950, entitled 'Dramas llom Shakestearc New Programnre ol Coorpressed Rccitals': request), Rorre., a d .tutiet (18,19 feb)' New Empirc Nancy Neal' Aciors: Geollrey Kendal. Jennifer Bragg, Laura Liddell' E Day' Brian Frank whearley, wendy Beavis, Conor Farrington' John Kellelt, UDal Dutt Anwar Mhza 'At-ter a week's progmmne conrposed ofausterily Lricl selections lrom 'Hcnry V", "Macbeth", "Julius Caesar". "Romeo arid Julief and Othello' Tonr 1954 (date unceriain). Norman Marshall's Company casting. - "Merchant of venice", Mr Norman Marchall .. treaEd us to a thoroughly new bill of fare. ... Ii cornprised dramatic r€citals of colleclivc [s/c] scenes from "Hanlef' and "Olhcllo" and an excerpt each Irom "An(ony 2nd Cleopara", 'Midsummer Nighfs Drcam" and Istatennn: advertisemenls, 2 and 14 Feb 1954 of Santiriketan llrnrl Dutl $orkcll sirlr Norma'r Mrr\hull in thic lroducrion' lB. K. Bhdrrachdrva Shul'c\pcare lrdn'lrrion' ,12 SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STA6E PRODUCTIONS IN ENCLISH D€c€mber 1956. Shak€spearesna: details lrncertain. N€w Empir€ The repertoire included Shaw as wcll as Shakespearc: '[Owing to a misrakc on rhe parr of the rnanagemen{. rhere had been a doublc booking.l Prilhviraj lKapoorl and I arrived ara compromise: we would both perform during rhe season. On onc day &ere would be an Inditrn play performed by the Kapoor acbrs, and on ihe other the Shakcspearcan or Shavian of ihe Kendat actors. Each company would remove rheir scrs ard hand over the srage ro the orher at the end of the day's performaooe.' IKendal 14, 15, 20j 21 March t958. The Erglish Comediar6t Shakespearc ot What Yoa Wir, (cxceipts lrom urious ptays). New Empire The Shakcspearean seleclion was compiled and p.escnlerl by Marius Godng togclher with anorher compilarion cnritled rre Mnrot oJ nne or Rtiel Chrunicles. 'Inrroduced' by thc Bdtish Council. Actors: Marius Goring, Yvonne Furncaux, John Lauric. Rachel Curney, Jenniler Wilson, Roger Gage. [.t a,errun, adverrisement on t8 Fcb.uary l95g From the revicw in The Statesman, 15 March 1958: 'The company s litle derives from 1503, when one John Engtish 43 'In grcat part, no doubl, this succcss is due 10 ihe hriliiance of Mr Coriog as comperc. .-. With gaiety, wit and irony bc glides irom aspect lo asp€ct of the genius which ir is his business to prcsenl and, nevcr ovcr-playing yet seldonr miss;ng a dramalic poinl, however subtlc, into and out ot (lre parLs he himself lakes. I( was, lor inshnce, an educalion to watch hi,n ease his way into thc part of Richard Crouchback and at thc same time the crilic had never prcviously realized quile how uproariously tunny is the great scene with Anne of Warwick. Again, as Caesar he conveyed lhe pomposity evidenl in thc parl. wilhoul, as do so many actors, carlsing the a0dieice to wonder how such a pas{eboard colossus ever came to bestride rhe - 'But. il Mr Goring was able to oarry the continuity of the perfbrmancc on his shouldcrs, rhis was becarsc thc supporting roles seldorn lell below a high average ol excellence, and in some inshnces reached indcpendenl sunrnils ... the whole conrpany perhaps appeared to best collective advaDlage in the Tirelri NArt excerpls.' l-3 January 1960. Oxford Playhouse Company: rre$th NighL Neln EmpirE Organired by the British Council. axcmpted to rival abroad the con(eorporary tdumphs of the Itatian Commcdia dell Arle. But. whereas rhe talter rclicd prinlarily on nlinre, Englisfi prcscnred lue drama in his native language, apparen y eked Cast: Brian Haffison as Orsino, Harokl Lang as Malvolio. Frank Windsor.rs Sir Toby aclch, Nicholas Amcras S; ADdrcw Aguecheek, out for overscas audiences by rhc actor-manager,s runl]ing commcn tary. When in 1957 rhe Theatre Nationat populaire in paris invjred Fron the rcview in Th? Stdes ntl,3 January 1960: 'In the thea1rc abundance may be a burden and its absence a blessing. .-. Oi necessity the group travels wilh a minimum ol bolh actors and equipment. In the production of Tnefth Night... the result of this a Shakespearean season, ir occuned ro Mr Goring thar sinlitar merhods might with advantage be adopted, and such was the success in France and elsewhere as late.lo suggesr tbat the cxperimcnt might be equa y successtul evcn wirh English-speaking audiences. 'Brilliantly successlnl indeed it is, tor thc mclhod does much to conveft whal nighr otherwise appear a disjoinred, however compelently prcsented, series ofexcerprs inro a rounded periormance, and to peanil a small company wilh the limiled prope(ies which alone can be ranspotted by air ro act as true conrempo.ary succcssors ro the barnslorming tradition, whethcr ol rhc Lord Admiml,s Men or of Mr Crummles. ... Eric Thompson as Fcste. Patricia Heneghan as Viola. austerity was that delighled audiences saw the play which Shakespearc wrote wirhout the disrractions 'l'rank Hauser's production oi elaborale scenery ir a simple settirg was able to move or extravagant 'The production was chrmcterized by a licshness and joylulness on thc par of lhis prcdonrinantly young grcup. Only the costumes l)ilcd to cndorsc the general inlpression...' SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUT"TA STACE PRODUCTIONS IN ENCLISH l0 February 196]- The Bristol Old Vic: Harrler. New Empir€ Organized by the British Council. very capable- He gave an unexpurgaled version of the play' lle' requires no apology for ltle string oI dramatic caiuallies Dor for the Cast: Barry warren as Hamlet, Sarah Badel as Ophelia, Oliver Nevile as Claudius, Yvonne Coulette as Gertrude. John Ringham as Horatio, lcngth of the PlaY.' John Morris as Polonius. Scbastian Breaks as Laertes. Gcrald Curlis as Rosencranlz. Chrislophcr Burgess as Guildenstern, t-eonard Fenton as Player King and Marccllus, Pat Kean as Player QueeD, David Decemb€r 1963. Harold Lang's El"ottr: 4, 5, Trevena as Lucianus and Second Gravedigger John Steiner as Fortinbms, Robin Culver as Francisco. Jon Laurimore as Bernardo and Captain, Christophcr B urgess as First Gravedigger, Hugh Manning Ma'betl (in ca era)' Bbwarupa From the rcview in The Statesrnn. 'Mnrbeth in Cam?ra l5 Dece$t'et 1963: is an eflbt made by Mr Lang 1o discuss point of view' Shakespeare or one of his plays from the aclor's group ofplayers 'As the curtain raises [Ji.] one sees a 'ehearsing Moore as Priesl, Robin Culveras Osric. Directed designed by Patriok Robertson. lighting by Brian Md.r"r?. Thcirenrplover who is a Shakespearean scholar' drops in and is horritied io see the way they a'e trying lo tactle the ioanidable problem ol producing Shakespeare while he is interested From the review in ?he Stotesntut\ 5 February 1963: 'The difiiculty in staging any gcat tragedy doesn't usually arisc until after rhe denouement ..- this happened last night nt the Bristol Old Vic Company's presenlation of Ad,nl.r at the New Empire when all the principal characters had perished and thc play was lcit to peter words in the play's verbal bcautyi the actors are not satisfisl wilh mere appropriaG without ,nd fe;] that thesc cannot be given full expression gi\e action and movemcnl As against the academic approach lhcy as the Ghost, Kenton by Denis Carcl Freeland. '... this was essentially a one-man show. Suocess hinged almost entirely on Barry Waren who toured the Wyndham and Lcwis' circuit in England in Fire Frrger f.vrcire some three yea.s ago and brought 10 the part of the Prioce of Der,mark lhe same gamin charm (perhaps unconventional in a portrayal of Hamlet) and lhe same *ility to g.ip rhe audience with voice and gesture. An aclor of definite moods, his failures, if any, were the f.mous scenes oi indecisioo, but olherwise he gave to the pan a coherence thal one ofien misses even in reading the play. 'The suppo(ing cast, coping wilh restricted space and a slage set that looked rno.e likc a builder's scaffold than aDything else, wcrc capable rather than good.' Review in the Hr,,./trsrrd Statdard. 6 Febr$ary 1963 by 'ROYNK' (N. K. Roy): '... the Bristol Old Vic Company once agaio prorled that aDy programme of an English touring lroup€ will look shom withoul a Shakespearc.... 'Mr Dennis Carey\ direclion on a practically denuded slage lvas scenes liom practiced tsrl demonstmtion to drive home their point that in their ettorts o iaenL;fy themselves with fte chatacters, they came to know things abour a situalion or dialogue which are missed bv scholarc and criiics. of 'Wha1 lbllows are revealing interpretalions ol the behaviour psysho Macbclh and Lady Macbelh in difterent siiuations and thejr kev scenes' sevcral of performances logical problenrs, and brilliant vcry exciting than a more Ma&efi can be considered as nothing group s murder play written by a greal poel and dranratisl. bui the method is able to g ide thc audicnce's imagination and to make a deep intpression on them'The setling was typical rehearsal room with heaped up furnilure The aclor's casc was presenled not withoul wit'' tSikdar December 1964. The N€w Shakesp€are Company' New Empire 19, 20, 21 December. The Tenqest 22, 23, 24 DecembeL Richard 26, 27 December. The Ta ing ol the Shrei' TIN Te pest: Cast: John )Vyse as Prospero, Amanda Reiss as Mirunda, Edward II Arienza as Ariel. Wollc Mo.ris as Caliban John Casde as Ferdinand' ,16 SIIAKESPEARE ON T}tE CALCUTIA STAGF Murray cilmore as Conzrlo, David King as Alonso, Richant Kane as Sebastian, Chrislopher Burgess as Antonio, Arrhur Howa.d as Trinculo. Ronald He.dman as Slephano. lohn Cay as Francisco, S,mon Carrer as Adrian. Henry Manning as rhe Master. Langton Jones as Boac swain, Maion Desmond as Iris, SheitaBa anrine as Cercs. Zoe Hicks as Juno. Direclcd by David Witlian], sers designcd by Henry Bardon, coslumes designed by David Walker PRODIJC.TIONS IN FNCI-ISH John Gay as Bagot, Simon Carler as Green. Langton Jones as Norfiumberland, llenry Manning as Lord Ross and the Grcom. John Caslle as Hany Percy. Gene Sandys as Willoughby, Murray Gilmorc as Salisbury. Wolfa Moris as the Welsh Captain and Firsl Gardener, David King as Scroop. Michael Bland as Second Gardener Edward Alienza as Sir Piers ol Extor. Drected by David William, sets designed by Henry Bardon. coslumes designed by Robin Pidcock. From rhe review in The Staterna,t,20 December t964: '.-. though the cosrumes and rhe use otmusic (roselher with some efieclive intemction olillusion and rcatiry) were rich and imaginarive, their eflect was dul,ed by a harren and cramped set. From the review in The Stt1teenn.23 Deienbet 1964: '... Edwad Alienza's Ariel was beaurifut, but rather too tortured and reptiljan tbr the spirit of rhe air he shoutd be, bur rhe writhjng and loalhsomencss were supcrh in the bcstialily ofCalihan, biliantty creared bv Mo rnd rhe.osl|lnp delignur. scenes ... but poor grouping and lack \ojlt ^ 'I1 was in Prospero, howevcr, rhar lhe tone tell. _.. [On thc island,] John \ry'yse wa-c still thc liail unworldty scholar who was so easily prised out of his dukedom; he lacked the nccessa.y aulhorily, and lhe depth of character, to bc rhe nrastcr ol the istrnd. in conlrol ovcr both the baser and rhe more ethereal spjrits. He came iDlo his own mosl eftecrively in the genuine sadness wilh which he abjured his magic, and look leave of the island. ... '... Thcre were some grear momenls .__ but thcy were isolared monrcnts the play as a whole coutd nor produce rhe impact il coutd have done. This is not just anorhe. Midsummer Nighfs Dream; rhe threats of evil and violence arc real lhrears. ... Bul we had no rcal awareness of rhe power oI iove and hununiry which redeems ,ll the characlcrs, excepl in Prospero's momenl of rruth ar rhe realizaiion that evcn a non-human being like Arlct can feel pity. It was a pily ' - lhat a production which contained so many fine rhings did not achievc quite the hcighls that thjs compcny is otviously capable oi '... an inleresting choice [a deparlure from the usual lbrmula of visiling companiesl but one that did not quite come off ... Dalid Willian s direclion was couplcd with elibclive design'ng for some slining of invenlion made some parts play of the drag badly. ... 'David William's ponrayal of Richard broughl out admirably nll his perul.rncc ,rnd playacling, particularly at the beginning and in the scene of his rctum fron lreland, bul collapsed in the big scene of his lbmul abdication. ... Dinsdale Landen's Bolingbroke was n capable rnd efficient porlrayal of a capable_ and efficient 'Again, what rcmains in lhc mcmory is not thc Flxy as a whole, but momenls of good llrcatre, and a number of bcaulif'ully cxccu{ed small parts: Z)e Hicks's Duchess of Cloucester, which set the lrue note of fbreboding and reference Io bolh past and lulurc in the very el'l'eclive opcningi Arlhur Howard's irresolute and inoompelent Duke of York; Chrislophcr Burgesjs superb tooent of lury as the Bishop ofCa.,is1e.' The Taning of the Sh.ev: Cas(: Sheila Ballantine as Kathcrina, Dinsdale Landen as Pelruchio. Dalid King as Biptisla, Amanda Reiss as Bianca, Wolfe Monis as Chrislophcr Sly, Zoe Hicks as I{ostcss and Widow, Miohael Bland as thc P.rgc, John Gay as the Lod, lohn Castle as Luccntio. Richa.d Kane as T.anio. AnhurHoward as Grcnrio, Ronald Heftlman as Gruorio. Richard II: Cast: David Willianr as Richard lt, Dinsdale Lxnden as Bolingbroke, John Wyse as John olGaunt, Amanda Reiss as eueen, Arthur How.rd as Dukc ol York. Zoc Hicks as Duchcss of Gtoucester and Duchcss of York, Christopher Burgess as Nortotk and Bishop of Carlisle, Richard Kane as Aumerle, Ronald Herdman as Bushy a.d ltre Keeper Chrjstopher Burgess as Honensio, Edward Alienza as Biondcllo, Henry Manni,rg as Cu is, Mullay Gilmore as Pcdant, Sinron Ca(er as Taikrr Gene SLrndys as Haberdasher, t-angton Jones as Mn.entio. Dirccled by vladck Shcybrl, sets designed by Henry Bardon. costumes designed by David Walker. Frcm rhe review in The Stotes nn.2T December 1964: SHA(ESPEARE ON IHE CALCUT-IA STACE PRODI]CTIONS IN ENGLISH 'In this play wi(hin a play, all is make-believe. and lhe tlirector, Vlad€k Sheybrl, hcighlens the illusion of illusion by making Christopher Sly and the other viev/ers take pan in dre chief action. 11 is Sheybal's triumph thal e,rcn aftcr Sly so rudely bursts in on the slagc, thc aclion goes on wirhoul any marked'break. 'A bigger biurph forsheybal is that he has becn ablc to make thc shrew and tl}mercredible. sheila Ballantine's Katherina is no slook character of larcq while shc gets no synrrrathy from anyonc on tbe stage. not even her ththe., she geis i1 tiom us. Iostead, it is Bianca, rhe spoilt doll who is all the while smirking.tnd smiling and melting over like an icecream in warnr weather, whoin we find decidedly unpleasaol .-- w]th such a sisler and tulhar, it is no wonder lhal Bridsh Couocil. The Shakespeare scenes wcre interspersed amorg sccncs from other d.amatists (Sheridan, Wilde, Sbaw, Fry). From the review in The Stateeta . 16 December 1969: Katherina is a shrew. 'The bouq eL for the L,eslaclimg, howevcl !fiould go to Dinsdalc La]lden, lorhir Peruchio, and Edwald Atienza. whosc Biondello l&il long be remembercd in Calcutta. 'A word about the endiq. Sheybal has t'een kinder to Sly ll1An the printcr of lhe quario in lvhich the pla) first appcatcd; but he sqould have made it clear thal dre Nords hc has pui into Sly s moxlh lwhich the reviewer &es no( quoi€l are his own, aor Shakcspeare\. Even without Sly's pffting words. there is enougb in this play ror shrews to brand Shakespea,e as a woman halcr' From rhe revicw in Derr. 2 January 1965 08 Paush 1371, trnslatcd fron the Bengalil: 'Of $e thrce produclions, fie one which gave most pleasure to the audiencc was The thming of th. Snru,r, The produclions of ri€ Tenpesr ant Richard Il mighl havc bccn richer [However, thc later had their rewarding points.l Atierza's songs [as Ariel] wcrc a special 'Henry Bardon's sets for l'he Ti titg efhe Shrew \|etu rttxctiveThe sets fb. Ri.hard II ]mlphr have been better.' December 1969. The labouts of Low (lo\e-s.eies from Shakespeare and oth€r dramatists). The Shakespeare scenes 15, 17, 18, l9 werc The Tami,tg of tlrc Shrew ll,i, AntonJ a d Cleopalra l.iii, He ry Patt I ll,iii, Macbeth l.\,I.rii and The Taming of the Shrev v-ii. lv IGla Mandir Acled hy Barbara Jetford and Jolrn Tu rer. Prcsenlcd b)' lhe 'wearing what looked like an ordinary Nehrujacket and black trcusers, John Turner acted all the roles oi the husbandJover j us1 as e{ficiently as BarbaraJeftord, drcssed in a simple empirc-waisled black gow! wilh loose. tossing panels, played hcr role as the female lover. ... '... bolh were rl their besl in thc non-Shakespearean plays. ... Shakespearc is a ihr cry iirm Sheridan, and so is Bcrnard Shaw from Chrinopher Fry. It was only likely, lhereiore, that thc actors otade it a point ro break rhe 'illusion of reality" bcfore the b€ginning of each tried to look cpisodc, and both oi esprcially Mr Turner as casual as possible ar the slightcsl oppo{unily. Mr Turner wore a dry smile almost like a convcnienl mask which he could pur on or them - off ar his own swcct will.' 9-l0December 1970. Th€ London Shak€spcare GroUQ:AUIot Your ,eligrl (scenes and songs from The Merchort oJ Venice, The Winttt's Tale, OtheUoianlct,Tveryth Night\. I(,l, Mqn.lir Presenled by the British Council. 'Dcvised and Directed by Peter Poncr' (adlertisemenl in 7re Statesnan, I Dtc 1970). Membe$ oIlhe group: Brian Robinson, Robefl Swann. Helcn Dorward, Tonl Criddle, Maria Aitkcn. Coslunrcs by Annona Slubbs. From Problcms of Staging Shkespeare'. Ir? Staisra?ar, l0Dccember 1970r 'Thrce people greeled me as I entered the grccnroom of Kala Mandir. One ol thcm, a lall man, was inspecling a sinistcr looking objecl which I laler Iearnt was the mask of the ghos! in "Hamlef'- junure.. 8i\ ing tft ci'c instructionr as to how they should be iroDed. By lhis dme I had guessed his idenrily ... tasl Peter Polter. director ol rhc London He \ enr on rn mJkc J carclu, rnrcnrory of the Shakespeare group- 'A lbrvenl admirer of Sir Tlrone Curhrie, anolhcr director with r pxssion lor delail, M. Po11€r believes in leaving nolhing 1l) chance. Once he intcrrupted rhe inierview to ensure that the s(age hands were properly fixing a carpet. ... 'Mr Potler teels that sludents are unlble lo stagc Shakespeare becnuse of shorrage of lunds. He propoies to demontuate lhal the JO SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTIA STACE plays can be effectively produ€ed on a modest budget' Fr6m the review il Hinnusthan Sta dad. I0 Decemb€r 1970: 'The team comprised live anistes and they looked a b anced set' In Maria Aitken the group has an ideal Shakespearean ackess Shc has wonderful poise and clarity of utlemnce. Hel€n Dorward displaved a chaming tlair for humour. One would not say she was ideally cast as Desdemona. ... Pcte. Pottcr\ introduction of fie slyle of immo_ bilizing his anistes speaking proved to the audience -'back dramatically significant' - when they are noi 3, 4 January 1975. Thc New Shakesp€.re Comp nY Hanlet' Rabind(l Sadan Sponsorcd by the British Council. Herbert Siephen Chase as Hamlet, Garv Raymond as Claudius, Rachel as Gertrude. El;zat'€th Romilly as Ophelia, Kenncth Waller as Polonius. Roberl Lhter as Horatio, Malcolin Stoddard as tnertes' Brian Deacon as Guildensbrn, Mervyn Will; as Fordnbras, Dalid Gillies as Bernardo, Charles Nowosielski Osdc' as Marccllus, Desmond Stokes as the Chosl, Playct King and Philip Bowen as Rosencrantz' Dav;d Dodimead as Firs! Plaver and Gravediggcr. David Ficlder 'ts Player QueenDirected by Mcrvyn Willh. Se$ and oostumes by Bob Ringwood' lighting by Brian Beno, movcmenls arnrgcd by Michacl Vernon' ar.anged by Robe( Lister' Music by Marilvt Galsworthv' wltgar' Kenneth waller Charles Nowosielski. Tony Kilbane' Paul i;hts Mervyn willis. From the review ;1 nrc Stutes,no,l, 4 January 1975r 'Asked what Cod did befbre He made the wodd, St Augustioc wjllis' who answered; "He cleated a Hell lbr the inquisiti!c'" Mervvn direcls lhc New Shakespeare Conrpany's "Hamlef' a1 Rabindra Sadan' obliously has such a metaphysical inlerno in mind but, because he acts"' forgets thal the play is also aboul "animal, bloody and unnatural the swods ofHamlet EYen ooe's skin' the production fails to get under and Laeies seenr unreal. 'Mr Willis replaccs $e opening scene wilh a montage sequence' viewer is He appears to bc pa icularly ibnd of this device; for the SepaOphelias and Hamlets irequendy bombarded with mutliple PRODUCTIONS IN ENGLISH 5I ration of the "To be or not lo be" soliloquy from the nunnery scene ruins the dramatic contrast. More objeciionable ;s Mr Willis' praclic€ of illustrating the verse- He gains hardly anything by showing how Claudius murdered his bro(her or how Hamlet appeared befbre Ophelia in an anlic disposilion. ... Since fte Ghost has been reduced to a prologue, Desmond Stokes has little lo do except look mysterious.... 'The pmduction is visually exciling, thanks to Brian Benn's imaginalivc lighting and Bob Ringwood's tenebrose setting.' 1976. The Royal Shakespeare Company: The HolloN' Crown and. Pleasuru anil Repe ta ee. Rabindra Sadan Presented by $e British Council. The HolLow Crown rar 'a unique enterlainment composed of lhe letters, speeches. poems, songs and music fealuring the kings and qucens ofEngland'. The Shakespoarcan clement was conllncd to the opening item, the hollow crown' speech trcm Richaftl 11. Il was devised and dirccted by John Barton. Pleasurc and Repe"tance was a lightheaned look al love', deYised and di.e.ted by Teny Hands. Thc items included lwo Shakespeare songs, from Trrelra Night and The i4ercha t oJ Ue ice2 April 1976. Watford Palsce Theatret The Merclu,tt ol Uenice. Rabindra Sadan Sponsored by Ihe Brirish Council. John Savident as Shylock, Jan Waters as Portia. Barbara Atkinson as Nerissa. Christopher Neame as Bassanio. Arthur Cox as Graliano, Peter Denyer as Launcelot Gobbol also Donald Pickcring, Edward Jewesbury, Margarcita scotl Margery Mason. Directed by Stcphen l, Hollh. From the review in The Stuesnnn,2 Aptil 1916. 'This reviewer rackcd his bmins rying Lo anticipale Skphen Hollish soiution 10 the crucial problem in 'The M6rchanl of Venice": how to blend a tragic and a comic thenle into a dramatically organic wholc. ... Bu1 lhe pcrformance at Rabindra Sadau on Thurday makes a mockery of the hornework. Ooe finds a "funny" play prcscnted \rith no more compctence than can bc cxpected o[ a group of college 'Shakespearc is on the run the momcnt So,anio and Salarino, two gangsterr, cmlc to enrertain Lheir boss, Antonio ... lwithl boistcrous 52 PRODUCTIONS IN SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUT-TA STACE movement round a composite statue ol a swan and a lion. Instead of a fairyland, Porlia's Belmont suggests the drawing room ofa dcmi_ mondaine. Morocco, whose "n slike me not lbr my complcxion" is worthy of Olhello. receives the samc slapstick rcatment tts thc conceiled Arragon. Bassanjo wins the lreroine simply because he has grealer S-A. ... It is significant thd the bawdy episode of the ring comes out besl in this production. Shylock fails to get justice and not only in a trial scene. ... 'The casl does not follow Hamlet's advice to "speak aippingly". There arc too many realistic Pinteresque pauses, the worsl off€nder being John Savideni's Shylock. ... He has trouble coDrolling his left hand. wears a villainous smirk. and dances when news comes of Antoniot humilia1ion.... Jan Walers brings Portia close to Eliza Dooliltle in her flower-girl days. ..- Only Peter Denveis Launcelot ENGLISH 53 obliged (o crack jokes with Romeo 'Things improve after the marriage, although Schopenhaucr would have commended Romeo's maileFof-fact acceplance of Mercoliot death. ... Romeo's lasl meeting with Juliel comes close 10 acquling a doomed beauty. lAlthough the final moments ol hoth Romeo and Juliet are'lassionless",l the two bodies on a slage, bare except for a bed and a raised struclure serving as the balcony. presenl a moving picture.' 14-17 Nov€mber 1979. Chris Harris performed 'Kemp's Jig" at Vidya Mandir while the display "The Age ofshakespeare" was on at the Birta Industrial and Technological Mus€um. lBdlish Council rccords 22-24 January 19sr. The Cambridge Thestrt Companv, The Tmgedie Gobbo resembles Shakespeare's creadon. The cosluncs, especially lhat of Arragon. dazzle the eyc.' o/Macr?rlr. Rabindre Sadan 10-11 October 1977. The London Shakcspeare Croup. Roneo a'|d Brian Cox as Macbelh, cemma Jones as Lady Macbeth, Edward &lter. Vidya Mandir SpoNored hy the B tish Council. A snrall-cast production of an adaptation' ol lhc play. Tercnce Budd Julicl, Richard Howard as Mcrcutio, John Moreno as Tybalt and thc Friar. Sheila Reid as the Nurse. Directed by John Fraser October 1977: Fron the review ]n The Statesnat\ 'When will the Brilish Cou.cil lake the pcople ol Calcutta seriouslyl The London Shakespeare Group's R,,rco atd Juliet is oot an unmitigatcd disaster like the Watford Palace Theatre's ?lle Merchant of Veniu. brr i hardly marks an advance over local English as Romeo. Suzan Farmer as ll [It is] costumed oralory. .. 'Mr Fraser follows the 'modcrn" approach, which mcans that the dramalist comes on stage uninlerpreled ... One finds lhis morc objcclionable lhan the co0descending cho.us givlng delails oi thc plot' The "add nothing, subhc! nolhing" atlilude lo Shakcspeare invites inmherence. a babel of individual voices. Melodrama gobbles up the lyrical ragedy, reducing the "staFcrossed lover(" r^ language productions. 'mon'rq 'o_eds' Petting would be a polite description of their "holy palmers' kiss"' The balcony sccne is vinlage Marx Brolhcrs. .. Even thc Friar leels Presented by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and the Brilish Council. Jewesbury as Duncan and lhe Doclor, Roberl whelan as Banquoi Ann Pennington. Jeannie Fisher and Anne Kidd as the Weird Sistersi Paul whitwodh as Malcolm. Ron Emolie as Donalbain, Second Mudcrer and Young Seyward, James Aubrey as Macdun Emma Williams as Lady Macdull Billy Mccoll as Caplain. First Murderer and Sevton, Tom Cotcher as Lennox, Kenny Ircland as Angus and the Porlcr Iain Mitchell as Ross. Annc Kidd as Gentlewonran. Stuart Wilde as Flcance and fte Crowned Child, Harry Walker as Old Man and Sevward. Directed by Jonathan Lynn, designed by Saul Radomskv, Iighting by Steve Kemp, music composed and rcalized by Colin Malhews' fights arranged by Wiuinm Hobbs. Special ctlects by 'The Creat Kovari'. From the review ;n The Statesnan.24 Januarv I98l: 'tln rhis pcrformancel Shakespoare is asked lo speak for himsclf A babel of individual voices ensues, the compellirrg ones helonging to the Grcal Kovari (special elTecls), Srul Radomsky (stage design) and Steve Kemp (lighting). Whcn il comes 1(] igniling fte poelry wiih the sheer physical presence of aclors the production does not surPass the best ellorts of thc EnglishJanguage thealre in Calcutta. ... 'Eleganl blocki$g seems more imporlant than uninhibitcd display 54 SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STAGE PRODi]CTIONS IN passjon. Lady Macbeth greeis h€r husband as if he has just retumed from office. ... [The details ot presentarion] force the of unpalalable conclusion that Lynn lacks confidence in himselt ... 'Very little ol the acting is as memorable as the disapp€arance of a Wcird Sister like rhe "bubbles" ol the earth, leaving her tattered dress in Macbefi\ clutches, -.. or Banquot ghost lanishing behind 13, 14, 16 April 1984.. The Wal€rmill Theatrc Companyr lte Mefthant of Ve ice. Vidya Ma[dir Presented by thc British Council. Alan While as Antonio and Tubal. Bcrnard Kay as Shylock, Meg Devies as Po(ia, lack Calloway as Bassanio, Kathryn Hunrer as Jessica, Celia Imrie as Ne.issa, Gavin NuirasGratiano, Crispin Redman of venice, Mark Knox as Launcelot cobbo. Directed by Pip Broughton. Designed by Chris Townsend. From thc rcview \n Tlle Statesntj,l, 15 Aprjl 1984: 'Pip Broughton appeared to approach the play scene by scere, wiihour anempring a total interpretation rcconciling ihe Bassanio, Portia romance lo the ruin of Shylock. The result was an cxtremely uneven pedbrmance thal lorrered between l-arce aDd tragedy_ 'It is always.isky to add s(age business ro Shakespeare's verse, other than lhose which arise naturally oul ofthe words. ... lThis] could no1 be said of Graliano imperionating the Princc oI Anagon, Portia squealing at the first sighl oI Morocco, and making risque gesrures. ... That Olivier rounded the vowels in Olhello's lines did nor jusrify Morocco's Arab accent, which hobblcd the s(ately verse. Ncrissa seemed lo lickle Ponia's ribs, forgetting thal a maid corld nor take as Lorenzo and Duke such Iiberties with her mistess in l6th-cenrury England. Gratiano being slapped by Nerissa was sullicicnt ior the lasl scenc; Broughlon gained little by having her kick him. ... 'Only lhe Shylock scenes (except the trial) redeemed the produc- lion. Bernard Kay's quiel yet tense potuayal. his crisp rreatment of the "Signior Anlonio..." speech, was a connoisseuis delighl.' 19-21 February 1986. Cheek by Jowl Theotrc Company: A Midsurn- tnet Nighl's Drean (ala Mandir Sponsored by the Indian Council for Cultuml Relations and lhe British Council. ENCIISH 55 Maflin Turncr as Theseus and Oberon, Aone While as Hippolih and Trtaftin, David Cillespie as Philosuale and Puck. Colin wakefleld as Bottom, william Chubb as DemetriL!s, Paul sykes as Lysander, Saskia Reeves as Hermia, Sally Gr€enwood as Hclena. Directed by Declan Donnellan, dcsigned by Niok Ormerod. From thc revicw in The States nn,2l Febru4ry 1986: 'The Cheek by Jowl Theatre Company .-. illustrated two of the prinaipal bad habits of the English thcate today (the words are John wi.llert\)r "a preoccupalion with 'encrgy' vrhich too often leads to hyperactivity of a frenzied kind" and 'an obsession with comedy at all costs". But the dirccror Dcclan Donnellan and the designer Nick Orrnercd between them laid barc the rumbustious larce beneath the poery. .-. Eve.y agc ought lo have ils own Shakespeare and this onc, in which the plays have b€en translated i.to "modern" English and turned into comjc slrips, lbund thc perlect expression when Miss Flute rook off herjacket. revealing a shi( bearing the legend "Relax". ... 'Changing rhe sex of Flutc ... meanl the sacrifice of a wonderful Iine: "Nay, faith, lel Dre not play a woman: I have a beard coming." The sighl of Miss Quince in a lion's skin offercd poor compensation for rhis. ... Greater a(ention 1o the verbal music would have sparcd the c,3l,, seated on chairs on the stage, the lrouble of making mysterisuB noises appropriale to the coming oflhe fairies or sounding woodsn clr,ppcrs. ... The Pymmus and Thisbe play [altemp{ed] lo improve o& Shakespearc by inlroducing Fate in a transparenl black scarfi. Presenting an actlal "child" on Ihe stage during the quarrel be(weeo the lairy king and quecn was a sfrious mistake. ... 'The music included elTcctive use of drumbeats durins Puck's doggerejs.' 22 Dec€mber 1986. The London Mime ThBtre. Shakespeate the lyor*r. G,D, Di a Sabhagar Presenred by the British Council. Adaptations of Ma.r(,rr, Hdn et, Kiry Le$ arl,d Ron?o a d Juliet. Cast: Nola Rae and John Mowat. Designed and dirclled by Mallhew Ridout. Fronr rhe reliew in Th. Statesnat- 24 Deccmber 1986: 'This was exacrly tlrc sort of irreverent assaull on a classic which sives Sukumar Ray's Lakshmmer Shaktishef ils immorlality. ... Al SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTIA STACE PRODUCTIONS it became exlremely difficult to separate the Shakespearern from "clowning. eccentric dance ,,. fooling and conlrolled action lunacy", io quote the programme notes. But patience was rewarded limes with parodies that in a Brechtian sense, permitted well-knowfl scenes t0 he vre$eJ ufrerh. 'Evidendy, Rde and Mowat. not to spcak o[ Ridout. are staunch admhers of American silent film comedies. ... They decided against total silence; the apothecary bade farewell ro Romco in intelligible words, in conlrasl to the gibberish exchanged between Lcar and his Fool. Aciual props were used. though both Rae ard Mowat created imaginary objects. Refusal to paint their ftices white marked another depa(ure from the mime convenlions. If the viewer look in these details wilh halfa mind, il was because Shakespeare overcame wdting blocks by watching the domestic chores of Anne Halhaway (i! could not have been the Dark Lady, could itl) ... getting the idea for rhc witohes' cauldron and the sleep-walking in "Machelh" from thc way his wife cooked invisible soup and washed her hands. ... 'Chaplin was not entirely abscnt, for the Lear with a Hitlerish moustache and in a brown overcoal. shouting into a mic.ophone whose patu lended to lly apart came straight out of "Thc Greal Diclalor". ... "Hamlea'through glove puppets onore accurately. onramental covers for fingers) ... was an amazing tour de force.' 23.25 January 1989. The L€icester Haymarket: ,Ialius CaesaL I{.nla Mandir PresenEd bi the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and the Brilish Council. Joscph Marcellas Brutus, Robert Flemyng as Caesar, Maftin Mc(ellan as Mark Antony, Stephen Boxer as Cassius, Wiliam Key as Casca, From the reliew by Dharani Ghosh in f,ri? Sraresnar, 25 January 1989: 'A \,iolent story has been told in the least sensational manner inraginable, with just enough authentic costumos to historicize the power struggle. The cool beauty, the transparent blocking that at once shlpes and grows oul oi thc lines, the clear arliculadon of each word withouidamaging the music or the colloquial rhythm ofShakespearean blank verse gives Calcutta i1s first taste of the famous Royal Court sr)le e\ohed h) Gcorpe Devrne rn (he 1950'. '... True 10 his reputation lbr the unconvcnlional, Dexter seems to build on Cassius. no! B.ulus or Caesar After all, il is Cassius who first hatches the conspiracy out of petty personal molivcs and lhen surrenders the lcadcrship to Brulus against his better judgement, with disastrous consequences. Stephen Boxer's exlraordinary portrayal of a crafly stralegisr, who is at hcart a petulant ljttle boy hungry for affcclion, owes as much to his own hlent as 1o Dcxtcr\ ability to look at a play wilh frcsh eyes. ... '... the tingling nnmediacy of Caesar\ assassination or the quarrel bctween Brutus and Cassius -.. the first featuring a sjngle highbacked chair and the second a few stools. all of them painted like maftle. Ciant mctallic tiames ar the back adorn lhe lwo sides, through which desccnd red screens whcn the conspirators stab Caesar, a statue of Caesar made of metal strips and a huge softboard disc on fie slagc allow thc cast fieedom ofmovemeni as long as it rentains precise. . . . B rutus delivers his logical discourse {rom thc 1op of steep sleps, away from his listcnen. Antony goes round caesar's body placed ar the centre of thc disc to harunguejbe mullilude. Seen through rhe metal kames, lhe battle recalls an epic pageanl. ... Why should passive memb€rs ol lhe audience comprise a Roman fbrum and sit on the stage for morc than two hours?' Jacqueiine Dankworth as Calphurnia. Janet Key as Portia, Philip Brook Clitis, Delaval Astley as Cicero and Octavius. Blylhe as Decius Brutus and Messala, Duncan Law as as Cinna. Titinius and Robe Marullus. Trebonius, Cinna $c Poet etc., Peter Lovsrrom as Cobbler, Polopilius Lena, Cato etc.. Gil Sutherland as Fla,rius, Metellus Cimber etc., Richard WiUiams as Soothsayer Publius, Caius Ligarius, Lepidus clc. Aseem Seth (local) as Lucius. Directed by John Dexrer Designed by Jocelyn Herbert. Lighting by Andy Phillips. Music b) Stephen Boxer Fights by Duncan Law. IN ENCLISH Isikdar From lhe review by Ananda Lal in The Teleeraph,28 January 1989i '... Dexter's absolulc fldclity lo the texl sealed the authorita(iveness ol lhis version. lndeed. onc may argrE thal he was pcrhaps too taithtul: he kepL both thc rcporls oI Po*ia\ dealh, causing underslandable in Brutus'reaclion (scholars bclicve that Shakespeare rlmosl ccnainly meant b cancel one or lhe other report of he. confusion passing). 'Dexter's magnificent hlocking made lbr a fluid suge piciure 58 59 SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STACE PRODUCTIONS IN ENCLISH at all times. Examples abound, among rh€m rhe circular morif of the murder scene and the terible last sleps o, Caesar as, after being stabbed by all the conspirators save Brurus (who srands apart. dagger Stephenson. Costumes designed by Claire I-ylh. Stage Manager:Derek concealed from Caesar), he staggcrs lor succour towards Brutus, who wais for him and at the momcnl o[ embmce plunges his dagger into Scriminger. Musicians: Tim o'teary, Gerard Doyle. Shawn Jarrett, David Bretl Karen Ardift, Ian Taylor, Andrew Jarvis. John Darrcll, Charles Dale, Vincent Franklin. The Ecotnntic n ?er, 24 February Froflr the review by Ella Dana him. The movements of the plcbeia s during and afrer the iamous central speeches confirm well-worn clichds about mob nenlality and the fickleness of crowds. Dexter saves his directoriat comment for the end when, in a auly fiie touch, he has Octavius crown himsclf while Anlony, mourning over Brutus' corpse, swivels around to nodce 'The mountiog of ihe play showed a sense ol-s1yle- [t was neilher coldi) austere nor di'rraclingly lati'h. ... Thc co\tume\. onle again. were neither conlemporary nor period. and projecled a timeless qualily. The props were kept 1o a minimum. except in the shearing this gesture as the lights go out and we are lefi lo woder:..No, nor again"- '-.. When Cll€rarpremiered at the Clobe in 1599, Shakespeare.s company us€d a casl of 15: rhe Haymarker utilized 17, prcviding an object lesson in do.ubling (or tripling or quadrupling) paas. Dextcr ran fie play wkhout an iDteryal, inlensilying thc impact as in Elizabethan tirn€s. His msticulous attention to excite o hoepic details should all lovers of Shakespeffe's language and prosody. Jocelyn Herbert's typieally unclutrered ser with i$ (eely scalfoldings rernaincd a subfusc grey except for the rcd ve cal ban.ers u1 appeared in the assassinatioo scen€. Andy Phillips' inrensc and coldly sparkting Iighls heightened lhe blaak-and-white gemral scheme, devoid otbright 2G22 february 199r- Thc Engtish Shakespearc Comp6ny: frre Wnter's TaIe ad Coriolaa$. Kda itandir Pr€senled by the British Council ard the Indian Council for Cultural Rolalions. The Winterb Tok: Casti Michael Penningro, as Leontes, Lynn Fa eigh as Hcanione. Trilby James as Maniiius and Perdita, Andrew Jarvis as polixenes, John Dougall as Florizel, Roben Demeger as Camillo, Michaet Cronin as Antigonus, June Watson os Paulina, Karen Ardill as Emilia and Mopsa, Bernard Lloyd as OId Shephed, Charles Dale as Ctown, James Hayes as Aurolycus, Emma C.of! as Dorcas, Vincenr Franktin as Cleomenes, Sean Cilder as Dion, Vivian Munn as Time. Boys plnyed by local children. Directed by Michuel Bogdnnov. Lightins by Michael Bogdanov and Chris Jaeger Choreogmphy hy Geraldinc il l99r: scene. ... Here a cerlain abundance was conveyed- ,.. '... The bear that killed Antigonus is dispensed wilh. And when Antigo0us dies, he seems to see his king Leootcs aPpear like retribulion. However, lrontes flashes a bear\ paw. And firally, therc is lhe daring intrcduclion ol a rap singer who onderscores lhe chorus spoken by Time. Said Michael Pennington, ... 'ihe rhythm of rap singing seemed to have some similarily to lhe speech paltcrns of the play. You can say we are playing a joke on ourselves." ' From the reliew in Allikal,27 February I99l ltranslated lion lhc BengaUl: 'The enti.e production showed a tendcncy towards the sensational. The lighting by Michael Bogdanov and Chris Jaeger Played a parl in this. Cyclorama was used to indicate clouds and slorm. But bccause the lighling bars overhead had not been scrcened, the lightning played over thc entire auditori .' From rhe review by Ananda Lal ir The Telegraph,2 March l99l: 'The lighling... and... costumes perfect the contrast lbetween court ard countryl wilh cold blue hues and black. lyhite or grcy dress suits at the court, and wcrm yellow lighls and brown or ea hy oullits at the sheep-shearirg f'east. Bogdanov gives this famous scene... definitile lrcalment through folk music, songs and two dances expertly choreographed by Geraldine Slephenson. 'He largely succeeds with lhe lradilioDally lroublesome scenes. In a splcndid coup de lheatrc, he tmnsforms Time's skipping chorus ... into an eye-popping rap song and b.eak dance. He proves Shakespeare's deliberatc cmftsmanship, not alleged carelcssness, because the bare descdption of Leontes' and Pe ita's reunion 60 SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STAGE PRODUCTIONS !N ENCLISH offstage (cleverly visualised as reporters mobbing palace genllemen for firsthand acounts) makes the magical .eslorat;on of Hermione to Leontes in the statue scene even more magne(ic. The only incident he fails 10 theatricalise is the irfamous stage direcrion of -.. "Exit puruued by a bear": Bogdanov has Leontes quiokly walk downslage\ and swipe Antigonus with a bear's paw as a symbol perhaps of a tine moalem vehicle in his mike address to Roman plebeians "'' from From lhe revie* h) lurajrrGho'hinDc'l.April l99l ltran'lated Antigonus' subconscious fear of Leontes. ...' rhe cro\!d. to nake members of that crowd hurl remarks from seats in lhe airdilorium, lo use a telcPhone instead of a messenger are all the play atrempls al such modernization. Thal the deep seriousness of does nol fully emerge in this production is largely due 1o the director Coiola us: Cast: Michael Pennington as CoriolaDus, June walson as Volunnia. Karen Ardiif as Valeria and a Citizen, James Hayes as Cominius, Lynn Farleigh as Virgilia, MichaelCronin as Sicinius, Robert Demeger as Junius Brutus, Cha es Dale as Titus Larrus, a Servingman and a Conspirator. Andrew Jarvis as Tullus Autidius, Bernard Lloyd as Menenius Agrippa. Young Marcius and Boy played by local children. Directed by Michael Bogdanov. Sets designed by Chris Dyer Fight arranger, charles Dale. Frcm thc review by Dharani Ghosh tu The Stateshw l99 ,27 (he Bengalill rshakespeare atlcmpted to depict the p€rennial theme of power in in lerns terms ofancient Rome, and the English ShakesJ'eare Company address lo loudspeaker of a The use oI presenl day world history. ..- Miclrael Bogdanov and the sets designer Chris Dver' The huge busr in a cage hanging at lhe back oI the stage, or the immobilc structure io the tirst half as a symbol of royal power, are trile and do not fire he imasination. The music and lighling ne much more eliectivc' The is lruly nrood Iighting in lhe scenc belw(rn Menenius and Coriolanus Febtuary t: 'Bogdanov breaks with Briti+ tradilion as much in his use of modern dress as in the Easl European selting. Thc trologue shows Solidariry demonslralors ho,ding up a banner re.rding "Democratic" and clamouring fbr bread, whereupon lhe police oi-l-slage disperse rhen with smoke and bulle6. GreatcorB an.l iirr hils trrnsform the Tribunes into impassivc yct sinister Communisl Paa" lunct,onaries, but ihe public mcctiog of the Presidium. each sp..rlcr addressing the gJrherints,,!cr rhc mrcrophone and provolins nur') ,e\Fn\c\. i\ pure CPI(M) strcci rheatre. lense and dram4tic. ... 'Bui why do Marlius and Aufidius l'lghl each other with a cla{ter of swords whcn, in the end, the fomr€r falls to a hail oI bullels .-.? Aufidius' cap and leather ierkin come close to historicai coslumc, which seems like anolher anomaly.' From the rcview by Ananda Lal in The Telegraph,9 March l99l: 'The superlicial contemporary analogue... dishcts the mind trom... vilal issues. Scratching the sufface, one linds lbw cssential parallels belwcen easlern Europe (Ronunia. ifyou will) and Corio,anus' Rome. Like lhe prologue of pro'democracy proteslers, the concept is extnnsic, unnecessary for a deep Lfnderstanding of ftc play. ... 'Not al1the gimmicks ldil:Coriolanus's awkward oratory receives 29 November 1993. Northern Broadsides: The Meff) wives' G'D' Birla Sabhagar Bank' Presenlcd by ihe British Council and Standard Chartcred Pagc Mistrcss Cast: Barrie Rutlcr as Falstafi Po]lv Hemingwav as Elizabeth Pabn as Mislress Ford, Edward Peel as Page, Lawrence Euns as Dr Caius, Conrad Nelson as Host, lshia Bcnnison as as Slender' Mislress Quickly, Robcd PitL as Sir Hugh Evans. John Gully Rulter tsobel Raine as Anne Page. Direclcd by Barrie From the preview by lpshila Chanda il Tlu Statelma l4iscella )' 28 Novcmber 1993i ' "Broadside, says Barri€ Rutlcr, lbunder Northern Broadsides. a a :rlislic director of thc in the noah of lhealrc conrpany based England, "is a cohercni specch stvlc with shoil vowels and heavv muscular consonants." 'Thc lhrusl oI Rut1er's fteatrical enlerprhe is against wbat he calls '1he approprialion oI culture"' fte fixed idea that there is only one uJ) ur \perkrng Lhc Lngl;'h lrrgurge "' 'Dispensing with relarences in lhe lexl io Eton, Thames and other wilh names such specilic place-nanres, the company substituted them olplaces arou0d the area in which they wereperlbrming' This firmlv localises the play. helps the audience 10 relale to the text' 62 SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STACE PRODUCTIONS 'Rutter's choice of rhe play is ried up wilh his perceprion of ir l4 IN gNCLISfl F€bnr ry 1995. The Foo(s$alrr ltsave$irrg luliet. G.D. Birls Sahhag:rr 17, r8 63 ltlt lf€: Ion"o as reprcsenting whar he calls "a grear btast of norrhern womanhood',. lofFalsraff's third and final ignominy, he saysl .,I do lhat in the spirit and of pig-sticking. with the thiries played by adulrs, nor children. Bur then, one of the women is also lricked, her plars for her daugbkr,s The aoupe belonged to a small Coroish village, and wcre l)ased in a barn belonging to one Olive. Foor. They are now based in France. with members from eighl narionaliries_ F.om the review by Sumira Ran$je ;n The Statesran 4 March 1995: 'The cntire play was presented in jusl two hours, \rith a symparheitic marriage go aqry, so rhcreis thal energy too_', ... The No(}tem Bmadsides, rhen. dispenses wirh rhe fritls and fancies afld tooks fbr thE verhal and physical cnergy in Shakespeare. .... Fmm ilE rcvie\t by Dharani Chosh )n The StttesDla,\ 3 Dceefiber 1cE3l '-.- the accent seldom deviared from thar of BBC annourcers or Dewsrsders. ... Neirher can Rurler clain novelty ibr his Shakespeare in modern dress- ..- The dance of the fairies -_. looked so ponderous thal ir seemed the participanh huniliated SirJohn Falstaffagainst d;ir wiH.... 'Rurter came thmugh as an indiffercnl director hu! a magnificent From the review by Manasij Majumdar in rhc Busines, Standad.5 De.ember 1993: 'The production lvorks wilhout music, with minimat props and ltar white light excepr in the final s.ene. Costume, ofcourse, is designed inlaginatively to carry visually a great dcat of the impacr. ... 'Tailpiece. Somebody fiom (he audience _.. shrewdty commenred: How does Falstatf dcrect a Welsh hiry in lhc last scene since Eva.s likc everybody else spcaks Northcrn English?' From fte review by Ananda Lal in The Tateemph, S Dccembcr 1993: 'Falshff is the only major characrer 10 lalk eueen.s English... Shakcspeare appears to suggesr rhat Falsraf,s is the longue of arlifice, and that ofthe otheN narure's own. Thus Northern B.oadsides may have Shakcspcare\ inrplicir approval for using ihe;r ..narural,, '[Besidcs class srruggle,] The play has a feninist angle roo; ... Rutter is cither obliviorB '\eriouJ' jnleerctations. of or ignores the possjhjliries ot such 'But in his own way he succeeds like l'ew can or have.... Rulle. know! how to srage a farce insrinutively. Even the unbetievable lairy scene is tmnsfbrnred by the faides singing in perfecr doo-wop harmony lrom thc Filties.' Presented by Impresario. handling of the rexl, which rhough heavily edirej retained a the famous lines. The actors dcpended largety on visuats and music ro build up rhe eftbcls. Masks. miDe, shadow ptays, acrobarics, frcezes. clowning and even smoke bombs wcre put together io create a mnge of emolions ... in many scenes dinloguc is deleted alrogcther. In thc lasl scene for cxanrple rhere is no speech trdgedy is ihere for - rhe all lo sec rnd leel $e slow movcnents, the plaiDlive notcs ot th€ violin, the liny lights glowing on the cofEn.' From Ihe review by Ananda Lal in The TeLegtuph,3r March 1995: '... they [Footsbarn Travelling Theatre] go straight ro rhe hea( of this romantic trrgedy. 'To this crjlic\ knowledgc, nor since Zefiiretlit fihn version has anyonc caught so well rhe bmwling and bawdy high spirits in fte firsl half oi Rorreo and Juliet. The internecine ennity of Montagu and Capulct in this producrion may rcmjod Westerncrs ot conrem Porary gang wariare, tur ,or us it makes thc play even mo.e relevanl as a melaphor for oommunal hatred. Simulraoeously, fcw direcbrs hale caught Shakespeare's ea(hy humour and sense of fun so weli. specially in rhe urexpecled person oi rhe Friar When he tosscs rhe watery offal of his morning ablutions ar rhe audience and taughs ar his own practicaljoke (1lr bowl is enrpry). one could hear old Will cho(ling in his srave. 'However, the sccond half grinds to its inevitable rrlgic ctinmx {nd Footsbarn's whole tone shifts accordingly. In a masLersrroke of characle.isation. the lovers are fiail, innnature in body and even in 'Thc indilidualiscd mlsks give depth !o many roles, tbr inst&ce lhe Nursc's coareness and Paris'dandificalion. Shadowy spirks Iufting around eloke a ,aeling of the supematural overseeing rhe 64 SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STACE PRODUCT1ONS human, as wl€n the .moving garden starues witness the baicony scene. The musicians , a violinist aDd percussionist _ freely wander across ihe stage playing their eerie orjginal score., 1-6 Septembcr t996, The Indian Summer Theetr€ Companv: I(,.rf Z€a,i G.D, Birla Sabhagar. CJan MsDch and Sl Xarier\ Co[eg; Audilorium by Welcom$oup and Spaodan. The Indian Summer Theare Company was a 'nonce company created for the occasioD. by a group of Oxlord uodergraduates led by Simon Wheeler. Sponso.ed Cas!: Simoo Wheelcr as King Lear, James philips as Cloucesrcr, John Wilks as Kent. Toby Frow as Edgar. George Filzherberl as Edmund. Abigail Dochety as Goneril, Naomi Lipscomh as Rcgan. polly Williams as Cordelia, Breot Roam as the Fool. Directcd by Joe Muray. ftom a preview by Labonie Chosh in Zre /trid, /8e, 1 Septemb€r 1996. based on an interview wirh Simon Wheeler: 'Mininral props and no gimmicks reperrory theatre much lhc way thc Bard would have wished. In -fact. the group innovariyely does away with stage cntrances 1oo. .,Thc actoN a.e aI on slage in a oircle arcund the cenlral character," says \Vheeler. ..They even make the srorm noises in LeaL" ._. ln a phrase, his bmnd of theatrc is a 'tombination of srage and street thearre,,., F.om the review by Dharani Ghosh in The Statesman.13 September )9961 'It is couragcous of Murray and Simon Wheeler to swim against rtrc currerl lof subordinaring rhe father ro the kingl, shifling the emphasis 1o lhe fhther 'The meeting between the mad Lear and the btind Cloucester in Act IV Scene V benefirs the most fi.om this approach.' . lsikdar From the review by Anand in The Telegnph. t3 Seprember 1996: 'Sinc€ a good number of ^Lat Indian speciarors know their Shakespeare b) more \o rhrn rheir Bni .h or American courlerpdfl-. one dares say they may have coistrued direcror Joe Murray\ synopsjs of King laar Iin the programmel as an insult to their inteiligence. hea - IN ENGLISH 65 'Fo(unately, ISTC ... tived up ro Munay,s confidence in its abilities: judged as jusr a group of Oxford undergrads, it pur all local student productions to shame by irs p.ofessional approach. ... 'Probably the most dramatic incorflomtion of soge business occu.red when Goneril suddenly pushed Lear down on rhe floor. instindively drawi g shock€d gasps from viewers. On lhe orher hand, the use of umbrettas in rhe srorm scene hinged on the absurd, more so because the characters,used them to cover themselves but forgot to prolect [-ear' From anoiher repon in Tre Tekgraph, Mukherjee: t4 September t996, by Trina 'Ctaracrer po{ra}al was alemprcd through rhe use of colouri fiery red for fierce coneril, dcceplive azure for Regan and subdued lavender ibr honest Cordelia. The fool was a riot of cotours in his omnge coxcomh and black and red outfit. But rhe resl of the casl was in white. The players also followed a fixed geomerric pa(ern. whjch was highty symbolic. For insraoce. rhe rriangle fomrcJbv rhe two 5ineh nnd lheir hu\brnd\. $irh rhe soj Jr) Cordetir rhe aper. February 1997. St Stephen,s Colt€ge, N€w D€thi: Kitg Maffh Iaai Presenled by British Council. Direcred by Arjun Raina. From the revicw by Indrajir Ha7jl^ in The Tetegruph. 7 March 'The sets were imprcssivc enough to rahe expecrations and Gyan tD7: the use of coDurcdia dell'ane type masks and cosrumes showed sophhricarion on the parl of direcror Arjun Raina_ Unfo(unarely. lhe ,.sense of drama wrs nor \uppjemented by the \ub.equenr nerlormance. Ledr Ined lo ma(e the audience betieve th rrue pas,ion i, cnuncidled through wild randng and lines deliver€d io an exFess renrpo., 8-10 April The Roysl Shak€spearc Comp.ny I The Comed! -D97. o/Em . Kala Mandir Sponsored by lhe Indian Council for Cutiurat Relarions. the Brirkh Council lnd Sranda,d Chartered Bank. Christophcr Saul as Aegeon, Rob€rt Bowman as AnLipholus ol Syracuse, Dan Miine as Dromio of SyracLrse, Simon Coares as Antipholus of Ephesus, Eric Maltett as Dromio of Ephesus, Sarah C. PRODUC1 IONS STACE SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA Williatns as Luciana' Andy Cameron as Adriana' Thusitha Jayasundem and Emilia' o"r"f", C*t O"*t Bdlthasar' Ursula Jones as Luce Directed Pinch' Dr as "r Leo wringer ,t designed "*,rlesan, ov Robe( Innes Hopkins Lighting o, * *" *r"ri iiut" i,,"i"rr,". ,*,t*o Hdllerr' .r''' bl,'., vu''c "1 'rtl'i'n Lec' 'lirecrcd( h) s)lvtd YotJ Hurne' hJrle' "l h\ souid niru.l,"', tr,''" nu'n, tin'on Allcn Teacher: Marina lung ;;;;";;;- 1tn"',"0"--"t bvinanda Lar in the ret'stuptl' *" ia*, shakespeare II Aprl companv's suoccss .. reeT: lies in " i","f-,n't 'r'nnlc $orr in'^ pulsJling e'rrerrJrnnrcnr' -il;,,;;;"; vuruc '^ rsLc Jr "i",,,rn," I'crdr\ rir \upprc. rake' shake'ntutc ,"0 .,.'' ,f'" '"" p,'" "i '*"r"' rn'l Jd\e' r' thy'rcrll) 'imil3r 'iruJrron rhe ;.";"r; '" "*r,i.r "';'n'" mir'idr rrom rhcon-iou" rrri,rc' rnd ,;,i';;;;"". '','., .,""our) J' rair) 'rrc Jnd quldr^u'l) r'r"s 'er R^hctr Hopirn' ',,".'ii"t ,'rr,ll'tr"': brlli'nrlt "' ;";, m:rorcrl rigrrrinP con!e) rh'' crrc'r ;i. " ' to Ephesus i",n" o'"r's lincs rre nuntrous reterences J n:;hrmJti h world oi*l''r""'r' ,rii"t *J "'rcett arrl"r,'"',.,,, A'rriJn Iec 'rJrri'h 'rrt"rc' Jn)Lhin;' inlt:".*^ l,''"n,Jr' "r"," d'JUl'r''lcrr' h\tet'cn rrr'c' erocrri\c quJli'\' ,i...,'. i. rhrr 'uch ,n", r.,,]'t thc rolrri' r'r) rrcortc'r 'Lgtsc{inr li'l=',0,,r'",rr"*,, (\proirrrrun " rt rhe "1 ;,;;.";;""il tap"n ,n a'i' \''ri1or' :rnJ urrerrrJli'rn' xte shalc"F *'"t",""" ' .r,,*, ' *;" "*|l., ; ,r*t hand, ih€ ihrcar of danser looming in thcdrJback nIr L,' rh.rr c\en rn his eJrl) di)' shr\csfcrre ," Jnd Lphc'u' "i,"","U' h'rqe'n "-]-i. .."'"", a""*"*t rJrcc' the cunrl:cr lh' hi' birrcr ;i;;1.:1;-.;" ' \cr) rcar rroJbrc'' ni' ro$rbrc.Lre righ'' ::"":;; ;:1'rr... ,n. '.n',nn nn 'rirc Ihc !iorcn'r 'lrnJ m ,lll"'" r.'n,, fdre rtened Jr rhe cnd' Jll rnrx irrr' rhc 'ture rhc hdrlt rc'ulr' ", A' a h) Sunprc hrrrluhrcd .i,,i,,..",,".,,'r,rt',, .'"*r"r**g cm^rronar r(ri' r' shich suffrc i' ,'" 1... .il"'l;"-;,,;;' *'-;";;not to orcrlook cffeful nlctaphor ;" subthcmes ol rnerchants aading anrl the on "' ldr'r dlcJl) ret m.nc1 'n.,t,l JlrDcrl ro SF:rtetne"re hrrhe rhc or "r 1nd hi'Jc/iJrron ;"r;;:i"';'.-,,' i" lorJ' I' ,'i,"r ,,,** br^udhr inJrnr {nrl ' or re'or:nirr"n IN ENCLISH 6'1 i The Econo lic Tn1Es, 19 April 1997: From thc review 'Thc Royal Shakespeare Cordprlny's The Conrcdr of rrmru turncd out lo be much ado aboul nothing. ... 'For one thing. dircclor Tim Supple cannor claim anv kind ol distinclion, either in lcnDs of interprctation ot in terms ol guiding the cas! in its acling. For another, fiis indulgence of the play\ air oi mngic and mlstery - suitably eloked through $n' dcli"re mrrsic rhlll often suggests lhe exotic East - appears misplaced 'Alter all the enors are it malter of coincidcnce and relate 1o explicable, if rnlikely causes- A choice sitcom device, in olher wods, raLher rhan a cosnric cnigma beyond human reckoning or a tanlasy ol unrcason. The play. incklenhlly, has cetain cynical observalions on the relationship belween masler and slave and man a.d wife lhat simply ache ro be underlincd. '... Bul Supflc prefers at al1 tines pacy cxcesscs lo emolionnl gradalions.' 18-20 Match 1999. St€ven Berkoft: srrdt.rpearu's Birla Sabhsar Sponsorcd by the British Council. Solo pcrtbrmance. Passages lion O rclLo, Richt:ud villqins. G.D. lll, The Mercha t of ve,ice, Hdnlle!, Coriola us and A M idsunnrcr N iEht's D rctlnt . \\ith thc actor\ own commcntary. From an articlc by Abhijit GuPta in lre TeLeqtupl1,23 M^tcl1 1999. '... Amed with nothing morc than lhe complcle works biShakcspcarel ... Berkof rushed lbrth lo give baltle to an assortnrent oi lbes, liom the ftearical establishmcnl in Britain to the nledi\ liom Oxbridge academics to the dramr criiic of rhe Sandt') TelegruPll'... This restless. hilher-thilher techniqrle is .. in cvidence in hjs ilerfonnance, as BerkofT switches cfiortlessl) lrorn thc high (andup scr lous,res:i r1'a soliioquy by Richard to rlrc chirpy pa(er ol I fi.st rc approve piobltl] hr,. t'Eeri lho conric. Shrkcst.a iould but tlrcre werc nrany in tll! tiu!:i!,,1-e lrhc tholBlL Ll14 lurioll"s inrerprctation of lhe Bard was rltogcthcr too oulrrgcou3 and i1arfiy '-.. His laugh a-minute dePiclion of Sbakespcnc\ villains may not have pleased (he purisl bul \,',as ricb entertainmcnl tbr the averdge puntcr. Havirg said which. fiowelc. Berkoff\ project of br,ngil)g SHAKESPE,ARE ON THE CALCUI-TA STACE 68 PRODIJCTIONS Shakespeare to the masses was a complete non_starter in lndia- Those who tumed up at the Birla Sabhagar lasl week belonged mosdy to the upp€r"middte class bourgeds elite, who go to England for their summer vacations and laugh knowingly at Marks and Spencersjokes' In other words, just the sort of people for whom Berkoff reserves most of his spleen.' From the review by Anandr Lal in The Telesruph, 26 March 1999: he lBerkoftl spoofed the conventional naturalistic delivery in ordinary and cinematic acling, demonstraling his disiaste for film's even frozen images as oPposed lo the shge's wa,m interactivity' '... rhough he has himsetfexcelled as a screcn villain Equally devastating whose was his takeoff on the thespian achievcments ofBaron Olivier, formidable tmditional presence shadows any Shakespea'ean actofs best touches expressed this rclish of the practice efforts. Bcrkolf's ad ofacting. metalheatrically building sequences on workshop skills' ol s side-show Iibbing and on backsiage anecdotes like lhe hilario a Gerirude getting on and forge(ing hcr locket' These enchanting enrremets oflen obscured the main course' 'His 'masterclass in evil" became. academically' more like a seven lutorial home teaching seleclive chapters. The sketchy se1 ol characters found no space for such household names as Cassius' Edmund. Gonerit or Regan. The comic portrayal of lago' Richard weU as Shylock and even Claudius was histrionicallv virtuosic as lll' a huge historically accurate. Bui giving heroes thc same treatment ran burlesqued his quest for originalitv he disingenuouslv risk ... Macbeth and Hamlet, lowering both o the level of laughingstocks' i; plus Oberon, who seemed an antictimactic aflefihought; from the comedies. Malvolio would have made a better bet Only Coriolanus' power among his ragic heroes, cryslallised Shakespeare's itill. his insights into illerpreting characlerisation illuminated us' enjoy including the fieory that fie vitlain "enablcs us to vicariously sioce of sin we are acquitted his lust, greed, power and hunger but .. our sios are killed wilh him." ' IN ENCLISH 69 (D) POST-1947 LOCAL PRODACTIONS IMary of the lotloving pruducriotts vere performe.d bf a group lounded in 1947 b! Lltpal Dua a d othen, ainb students of St xavier's Coltege, as lhe A alew Shakespearcans. In 1949' lhe! rcnomed lhemselees the Little Theolre Group.l I Octoler 1947. Amaieur Shakespearesns: Thrc€ scenes arom Rofieo anl luliet and two from Macbelh, Sa Xavier's College Auditorlum From 'The Amateur Shakesfrearians' by E.M. Poonavala (Secrctary, "Amateur Shakespearians") in St Xa et's Maqazine, December 1947: '... Though it was our firsl venlure, the play on lhe whole proved a greal success and was ac€laimed by all as excellent ... Though praise is due to all the a€tors. special mendon must be made of three oursranding players U. R. Du1t, E. David and PrataP [ri.] Roy.' 22 D€r€mbcr 1947. Amateur Sliakespeareans: Richad L St Xavler's Coll€gG Auditorium Ueal Dulr direcled and acled Richard. Olher roles played by ProtaP Roy, Lewis D'Souza, Howard Pole, Ranjit Challerjee. Nilin Dult, June Mayo, Florence Joscph. 1948. Amsaeur Shak€sp€orc.nsr orr.erlo. From an arlicle by P Lal in St. Xa\)iet's MaSazine, January 1950: 'Othello btotrght into focus a promhing Protap Roy.' 1948. Amat€ur Sllakespearfans; A Mittsutt tet Night\ Dreanl Sl Xavier's College Auditorium Utpal Dutl as Bottom, ieffrey lsaac as Puck, Prolap Roy as Demeaius. Garth Dalmain as Lysander. Grace Mackedch as Helena, Thelma Martin as Tkania, Desmond Noble, Joyce Barnard. From th€ review L,y P Lal in St. Xarier\ Maeazbv, December 1948: '... a really remarkabte show. Wilh enchanting setlings and costumes, well-planned and well-directed acling, and the inimitahle Ulpal as Bottom and an agile and capricious Jeflrey as Puck, 7/,e Drcan became a regular lantasy of colour and sound. ?O SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STACE '... Utpal dominated ... the entjre show_ He has an invererate habir of slealing shows. Ir is nosl absorbing to warch his very versarile progress. '... Puck rJeltre, I.duc, ncrrt) hrot< uI recorJs otorisrnJtiry u irh his elusive acdng. He nearly broke his back rco. rhe firct dav when he hopped do\\n trom lhe rrec. ... Hi. tremendouj agitrl). ha;p! golucky mischi€vousness and squeakiness ot voicc were incredible. and unlbrgettable. 'Io the hilarious Thisbe and her lovcr episode towards tlrc close Bo(om Isaidl "blood" (o rhyme wirh,.good,,. Coming from hjs mourh, PRODUCTIONS IN '-.. the idea of "col leclive direc(ion,'. which Utpat lried ro cmploy land which he expiained in a'ctosely-printed, cpilher-cramrned. 4-page Ptoduction Manifesto'1, would seem ar tirst sjght an absurdjty ... 'John Mayer is a ralented viotinist and composer, bui the whole prodoction was ... uncoordinated and ... he could nor give his besr. or whcn he gave his best, rhe mismanagemenr smothcred ir. Roneo atd Juliet \\as nol a right, conlinuous presentation; it seemed as ilTh? Annte$ Slqkespearcdrr werc offering scenes tronr Shakespearc. 'Sir Laurencc Olivier's shadow hung heavy on rhe enrire exuberanza. frc .trarcrrrar\ "Dramatic Criric,, (who. it musl be admited, gave a vcry mediocre wdtenp) wrongty guesscd that .,a grea! deal of work has obviousll been pur into it.,. Aotualty, it canre 1I hard on the hcels of the titfi version of Hamlet, and required barely two wccks ro stage, which facl nray explain irs disconnected nature. '... Most players acrcq as iI it was some cotossal masrerpjecc, when they ought to have acted normally ard less vehemently. _.. Nexr to Gmce Mackenich's Nurse and Urpal.s Mercutio it lDesmond Noble's Lord Capuletl was rhe ilnest chamcre.ization of the evcning, wcll-costumed, well-acled, and ... we -a iculated ... '[Ann CurleDder's] ovenly affected accent made fash of some excellent Shakespeare: for exampte. this is whar happcned to some the result is as incongruous (hough euphonic) a sou.d as evcr astounded a rhymester That ... was gcnuine. pure genius.. 6, 20 March 19,19. Amar€ur Shakespea.eans: iozeo a d Jutiet. St Xavier's CoIege Auditorirm Jeffrey Isaac as Romeo, U(pal Du( as Mercurio, Desmond Noble a! Capule(, Grace Mackertich as Nursc, Ann Curlendcr as Julicl, prorap Roy as Tybalt, Philip Raymond as Bcnvotio, Haske David as perer. Music by John Mayer (later fhmous Indo-jazz composcr). From the review by P Lal in S'. Xaiet's Magazirc, tuty tg4g: '... a borrowed porpourri a rrick or two trom M C_M 0naking JelTrey Isaac as Romco \uy weaft imitation of Lesiie Howarcl). a dash of Laurence Olivici (he rendering of some speeches over the microphone), a pinch of Ilavourfut costume a /a Stakespear.a a, and a strong dose of idealisric Sovict thoughl. ENCLISH Aw, Rawmeo. Rawmeow, whereforc art thou Rawmeow? Deny thy father and reluse lhy naime ... Whatt in a nainre? That wbich we call a rawse. By any orher nainre would smai as sweer. But her schoolg ish charm and beauty helpcd rekieve many nlr orher$i\e nrue"Jino rnd unrewtuding ,ccnc. . . t-he ,er.rriJc Urpt tas l,lercutiol has added another feather ro his cap.... 15, 16, 17 July 1949. Amateur Shakespearrans: XaYier's Colleqe Andjtorium "Irlx,s Ca€sai St Ellis Abraham as Caesar. Utpal Dulr as Brutus. protap Roy as Cassius, Jel]iey Isaac as Mark Antony. Ranjir Charterji as Octarius, Richar..l Brcoks as Calca, Phitip Raymond as Decius BruLus, Haske Davirl as Cinna rhe Poer Sers by prorap Roy. Handbilt dcclared. .shakespearc for ihe fi.st time in modern costunrc in India,. From the review by Lindsay Enrerson in ll,e Sra/crr nn. t7 Jut\ t94g: 'Tfir. easil) lhe bc.l .ho\^ lhal ltrr5 Sorret) hr. yer pur .n. Thc pli) sJs rcnJcred uirh di\rincrjl,n rnd inrc rsencc i' 'Producing i,rtiu.Creior. i1 rnodcrndro..r\ nol in il\etJ,r no\cl idca. ... Yer rhis portornra.ce conraincd several insenious l.earurcs ,h Bru,u,:, anJ Anr(rj\. lunctal sNechcc were dcli!ered rarlio ... The h-rrlc,cene. ro:r blclgrornd ot mr.hj e-g n ^\er,he trre.I,u,sc.,cd r cuhcrclce LIiUrcutr An e\lrcmel) cfle-ti\e c\imptc w:l, lo achievc otherwisc. 'Production was much slicker rhan in most anareur shows we have seen, and was aided by some efi.ective sets.... Borh rhe headqualers at Phitippi (wirh x notabty adcquate ghost) and the Capitol wilh Cubist stained,glass designs in rhe backgrou d were 72 PRODUCTIONS IN SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUITA STAGE notably successfirl. ENOLISH 71 gmtifying as an artistic attempl than as ideological bootlegging.' 'The Caesareans were, naturally, portrayed as Faschts. Caesar himself... in hal and overcoal, rccalled the earl, Hirler. ... Antony as a €ross between Goebbels and Baldur von Schirach, displayed a combination of unscrupulousness with sensitivc intelligence ralher more lelling than the mere "revellel' of Mr Ccofliey Kendal some lime ago. ..- 'Ifthe Fascisi angle commands asseni, portmying the conspirators and Communists is more questionable. A beiter parallel as Socialisls to these reacrionary Senatorial oligarchs would be the plot of Hitler's generals in 1944. -.. 'As thc "noblcst Roman of them all", Ulpal Dutt played Brurus wilh distinction, especially in lhe scene where the conspira€y is launched, where a tormented Cenrral Eurcpean of rhe Kafta period hinred al the idealist shortly 10 bc crushcd in lhe world ofdi(y polirics. 'Tho oh in all amale'rr shows the tmuble is the \valk-ons. there were \ur|,;\inply rew inddeqfficic' hcrc. A IhorruEhl) enjoy.,hlc evcning.' From rhe review by P. Lal in Sr Xafiets Maga.nle, January 1950: '... firct impressions of the ... produdion as i1 untblded were a series of imag€s ... I was reminded of Lirl? Ca"rdr", th€ Royal Canadian Mounred Poli.e, Markot guerillas. Mao Tse-Tung, and Picasso in a fit. Some pans wcre indeed hard to swallow: fie hysterical, armflinging scene after Caesar's stabbing, clearly overdone. and the over-repetition of balhclic machincgun cftccls. '... tThel experiment seenrcd to misfire. I1 was good in many placesr the @nsion of the Conspirators' Gathering at Brutus' Housei fie cunning rise and fall ofpassions in the Cassius and Brulus Quarel Scene: rhe sheer novelty, if nothing else, of Antony's and Brutus' speechcs coming overthe radio, and the appaehension and eNousness of those galhering around it; the controlled acting of the suave, implacable Caesar. wri ging last drcps of significance and audilory bcnuty lronr his meagre lines. The inoidenhl nrusic was precisely coordinated to lhe lhematic movements. 'To inlcrprct any play to perfecrion is like Oliler Twisr asking for morc- ... The A. S. havc had a good lry and the result is more Shak6pe.reanst Tvelfih Nigltt. Ulpal Dult as Malvolio, Ann Cudender as Viola. Richard Brooks as 2, 3,7, E September 1949. Amateur Toby Belch. From the nolice by P Lal in St Xavi?rt Magaz. rc. lanuary 19501 'As no official invitation was extended to this magazinc's Theatre Critic, I regret no appreciation can be suPplied Bul my unoflicial congratulalions go 10 a vastly improved Ann Curlender and the perennially-salisfying Utpal; 1954. Enp I dare not commit myself further.' Little Thestre Cfltnpt The Merry Wives ol Windsoi Nefl r Ranen Roy played Fdstafl Protap Roy designcd a 'fairy-tale uni- Utpal Dutt lalcr said of this production: 'Thal is when we fclt that we had been able to inkrprel Shakespeare and his comedy prop€rly.' [Interyiew in ContemporaD' hrdia Theatre 23 April 1955. Calculta Dramatic Socieay: Sccnes tronn HamletMarblc Hsll, Rqi Bhavao This pcrfbrmance was pan of fte 'Shakespeare Day' celebratims of the Bangiya Shakespeare Parishad. The Covernor of wesl Bengal. Dr H. C. Mookeriee. inaugurated fie funclion in the Marble Hall at Raj Bhavan. the Covemor's olncial residence. David Slride as Hamlet, Dennis Shaw as Polonius and Crave-Digger, Cafterine Osborne as Ophelia (all members of the British Council). Therc were also Bengali recitals lrom The Mercha,1t ol Uettice by Sunil Kumar Charcrjcc and Swati Chalterjee, and fto(n othe o by Lila Majumdar. Speeches werc made by the actor Ahindra Choudhury' and the scholars Kalidas Nag. P. K. Cuha and M. M. Bhatlacharya. Frorn the repon it me Stutesna ,24 April 1955: 'Thcre were no anificial baricrs belween the audience and thc actori fte trappings of {he theatre were absenl; the simple unadorrred dais served as the stage; and therc were no stately rcbes and spccial make_ up.' [See ako enlry under the same datc h Chapler IL] SHAKESPEARE ON TIJE CALCUTTA STACF PRODUCTIONS Jaruary 1956. Dramatic Club of Cstcufta: alrrrl€L N€w Empire IN ENCLISH Swarup Datta as Cassius, Dipankar Dasgupta as Brurus, Indranath Guha as Mark Antony, Rita Sen as Po(ia 3. Scencs from,4 Midsunmvr Night\ Drean (Q$rlel David Srride as Hamlet, Michaet Raymond as Horatio, Edina Bu.ner as certrude. From rhe review in The Statesman, 17 Januarv 1956: Hantt?t mu\ primrrit) rcr) on i;etriscnce und pace. .3.i ","i.* With such a lrrge team no club however comperent can hope ro Scene), The lleftha,tt of Uenice, Ronea anai JuLiet (Duel Scene). Cast: Manisha Chakraborty as Tiunia, Indranalh Guha as Oberon/Iyball, Dipankar Dasgupta as Quince/Old Gobbo, Vinod Kumar as Botlom/ provide acting of sustaired prolessional srandard, ler alone rh; slill rarer capaciry to speak btank verse. .._ The audience was. for rhe first rime in the reviewert cxp€.ience, given Horalio,s derailed summary of the mititary siruation in scene t. ... And ihe character of Hamlet appeared as it shoutd, not in rhe light of Olivier.s man sho.cuuid nor_mJke uf h;s nrind hLt a\ a produ(r ofr decp rnJ dcJdl) Brmc ol Renri,srncc rct:rics. Mr 5rridr.\ o$n fertbrmrncc Launcelol Gobbo, Sanjoy Sen as Romeo, Swarup Datla 4. An expanded vcrsion of ,4 MidsumDet Nishtt 5. May 1964. Scenes from Jrlirr Caesar and Hanlkt. Ai outdoor pcriormance on &e steps leading into a bungalow in Mandeville Gardens. Cast: Santanu Miru as Cacsar/Hamlel, Pradip Mira as Brutus, Kalyan Banerjee as Cassius. Tapan Dey as Antony. Directcd as Hamlct was admirabte_ Ofthe supponing cast, Michnet Ravmond,s Hordrio $rs our5rdndinp ... rhe rote demands a cJprciry ro {f€;I ve^. $hich tew a.to ieem rodiy to posses\. Ophetra qa\ Jctrphltut rnd lhe mJJ .ccne imtrescd tho urdicncc. Ldinr Burncr \ Cerrrude wa\ pc hdps apDropriarct) a nuLt) ol'd womJn qho Jrd nor by Indrana$ Guha trow shar il qJ, all ahoL, .. rhe proLluctiun hrd rhe \i!our .,t )uurh 1nd rhJr i, rhc hern oI rhc rnJt,er rn n) t tilJhethJn.5t,rk..r.crrcrn d.m., . Isikdar 23 April 1956. Dramatic Ctub of Catcu(a: S(enes from South poinr Sctmol Indranalh Guha. former principat ot Sou(h poinr School. rc(xll. i .erics ul rrhoot pertollnJn(e. herucen tq5^ 5d rnJ I96.ri l. Scenes Iiom The Metchant of Ve ic?. t)t+tt Dtlu appcarcd on srage as a courtier Casr: N. Viswanathan as Duke. Swarup Datra as Shytock. IndranaLh (iuha as Anlonio. Sanjoy Sen as Bassmio, Manisha Chak.abofi 11. Proi P K. Guha ler. and Ms Pranari fl?rrJ Celebration ofShakespeare Day by the Bangiya Shakcspcare parishad. J. P^ Bal.un Chanda as Hamlcr. Di.ccted by Ila De. V, Twelfth Night, tutius Caesa\ Eamtet. Unirers[].rnstitute Halt in 1959. Department of English, Jadavpur University: Indoor Stadium, Jadavpur University Rr,i Sensutr.r., NeI,.J 2. Sccnes fronr J,&d Ca.rdl (Orchard Scene. Murder Scen€. Fo.um Scene). Casl N. Viswanaftan as Caesar Aptil 1961. The Amal€urs: Shakesp€are in April (sceoes from Macbet\ T etfth Nisht, The Tempest, The Tami s of the 21, 23 Shrer,, A Minsunnrcr Night\ DteMt, Richard II). Shri Shikhal atan Aclors: Dick Rodgers as Macbeth, Bitty Malik as Lady Macbelh, Prilam Mayadas as Richard II, Dilip Sirkar as Bishop of Carlislc and Bottonr, Vimal Bhrgal. Prcduced by Vimal Bhagat. From the review in The Staresttatt,22 April 196l: 'The Amateurs' production Shakcspeare In April deserves praise for its ingcnious wclding togelher ol sccnes lrom six Shakespearean plays in u lwo'hour programmc that seldom 1lags. '... Vimal Bhagat .-- broughr the same degrce ol histrionic ilucncy 10 all his parts bul Pdlam Mayadas gavc King Richard II an air oi prthos lhar lingend evcn lvhen hc was playing rhe lion in A Midsumrner Night's Drean. while Dilip Sirkar's dacmon is most 76 PRODUCTIONS IN ENCLISH SHA(ESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STACE cerlainly Bottom and not the messianic Bishop of Carlisle. 'Perhaps the least successful of lhe six scenes was .., the duologue between Macbeth and his Lady on the night of the murder. Biity Mali& managed to sustain her part but Dick Rodger's casting as the ambitious Thane was not the most fonunale. The show gathered momenrum afier thar until it reached its emotional climax in Richard II. Judging by audience reactions howevet the burlesqueJike quality of the Trinculo-Stephano pantomime in The Tempest was probably the mosl popular' of Calculta: A, you bkc IL Open air pe orm{nce on the Natlonal Libr$ry grounds Cast: Rosemary White as Rosalind, Sidney Hill as Orlando, Vimal Bhagal as Oliver, Sally Symonds as Celia, Robin Hall as Amiens, 1961. The Dmmatic Club .Ieffrey Isaac as Touchsbne. Directed by Terence Rochford. Fmm lhe article by Terence Rochford in The Statesnon Miscella y, 12 February 1995, recalling the production: '... arguably the firsFever open-air perfomance in Calcutta of Shakespcare\ ,4r you Like lr. ... Nearly 70 people were involved in one way or another. ... The play was a texl for the BA English general course of Calcutla University and all lhe schools were also invited lo attend no less than lhree special performances, which were packed ou1. tn addition there was the exlra show for lhe Sangil Kala Mandir and firce for the general public. 'The z0o'yeaFold sundari 1ree, now a litlle older, providcd the backdrop ... and our cnergelic stage manager followed the Public Works Depanmenl around the city to find tree rrunks, logs and olher props for forest 'furniture'. ... Tenls and marquees for the greenrooms came from rhe Amry.... They also supplied field telephones for communication between backstage management and the lighting ganry, which was over 20 leet high. A tiered audirorium to sear an audience of 500 was designed and erecrcd by Stewarts and Lloyds. 'Some excellenl performances werc delivered and voice projecdon was bctter lhan expected withoul, I haslen to add. the need for 'The adnrirable costumes wcre designed by Christopher Richardson and all made locally.' Msrch 1962. Thc Amstcum: .IIri.t Caara, New Emplrc Cast \imat Bhagat as Brulus' Sydney Hill as Cassius, Ernani Giambuzzi 15-17 Mark Antony, Dick Rodgers as Casca. Produced by Dick Rodgers' Fron the review in The Statesn4ut.16 March 1962: '.-. there is more to Shakespeare than a few well_'ecited lines and lhe produclion as a whole suffered from some of the faults the name of on ihe group would imply: a lendency to declaim and over_emphasis mcl;drama. Both Vimal Bhagat's Brutus and Sydney Hill's Cassiusa lack of otherwise excellent portrayals- lie most picluresquely and long Philippi producer's own realism in the mob_scenes brought the as before the last acl. and 'Bui appraisal orcriticism has to he within nalural limilatioos produclion thc hesitancv. initial the il would b; iair to say that af@r larhered some momenum. Ernani Ciambuzzi made a fiery Mark inrony, though he was perhaps over-ioclined to indulge in heavy subde s:ucasm. while Dick Rodgers brought to the part of Cassius a of sinisler meaning effect in times 'Sound and lighl could be used to more spectacular efforl' is an enterprising of war ln spitc of these defects. however' it group is new particularly commendable when one remembers that the ;nd this is their lirst venture into'judicious cuts ootwilhstanding' fullshade fledged shakespeare.' tsikdaf 7 March 1964. Aikaten: frr e Merchult ofvenice Unive$lty lnstitut€ Hall April. Mahaiari Sadan ISee also Chapter IVI newspJper rcviews iThere may havc been ldlcr perlbrmance'' rr 25 appear as late as June.l Ca:[ Kanli Mookerjee as Shvlock, Tarak Banerjee as Anionio' Bhendrannlh Mitra as Bassanio, Dwijendranath Bagchi as l,orenzo' Kaiscr Kabir runiv. lnst.) rnd Binata Ray (Mahajaii Sadan) as Poriia' Tapati Ray as Jessicl, Angela Mecra Banerjee as Nerissa' 'Ashok Mukterjee as I'rince of Morocoo' Satyen Cha(eiee as Launcelot Gobbo, Rathin Bhaduri as old Gobho. The Hindusl&T Sta'dard namcs Nivcdita Das as Po{ia. Directed by Kanti Mookerjee' from thc lhe rcview in Da,ilai, vol. no. 20, 1964 [tmnslaied Fro Bengalil: '1 PRODUCTIONS SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUT'TA STACE ?8 o ;;;;"Ji; 1,i.,,. i. o"-' "ra iut rre srrows his.tn1'ower as Jn actor" Chatlerjee as Launcelot Gobbo. Evcn the eminenl actress Binala Ray actcd in suprisingly cramped siyle, in spite ol being ideallv suiled lor the J,arl.' From the rcview in Hi dusthan Standara. 5 hne 1961: 'It was played on a conrposite sel conlaining sevcral scenes, which ;;;,t;;",'.* of the production is the rirsi point that calls sels' &e coslumes ior *enrion. a"p""rs of this are the approprirtre Evervthing is beauliful and well-planned' il;;; hi' i' m-ore inrcnr on err?i'ritencsr rhxn on 'how inacrs' ;;;;;, "*;;""t".""1' ,n" ti\e-rcr pllv hJ' hcen rcJuced ru rhre.: "n,,,.'. "t.""r'r'. never flags rhe production is governed bv a ;;;;;,. ;""" lhe .onrollinq conrellion. lile rhc tunc ul a 'ong "' '- il.",'; oi dJrkn(" r' spccrrllv Mo'r oi lago's 'isnrncanr' rrue idenlil) .,,,'a"r,". ,"a -*. "i Olhello \ ' shen he hr' lo'l hr' rhe unlil l'om .t o.'1" ""i ,' .. n, -ubr lnd rngut'ht 'te 'nolcn ds lhe li\ing pre'cnted *ug.. t"go '"",,n lo be ""..""., ,n. \ er) clrecrive' I.i*i.." .r, *'*** ihis addirionJl imrli' arionandr' Mendelssohn ' ,i" "",. "*,"""0,*o o, nusic lrom Tchrikovsky 1964: f.". if," ""f", an Hindusth statldar'l' llas Mny Dutl appearcd Utpal one I rr" ,i r** trln"m othello " said " to jealousv open too ;;.". . . Bul Durt as othello is a linle altracted thc audience at Mahajaii Sadan as well. The costumes, scts and background ntusic sPlcndidly brought oul lhc almosphere and mood ol the PlaY.' April 1964. Little Theatre Gro p: Sce.es from Othello-Foot of the Ochterloney Mon'rm€nt (now Shahid Minar)' Cnlcutta Maidan Announcement in Antita Batit Pan'ika. l7 Apdl 196'l: .MASS-MEETING: / TONIGHT AT 6-30' / At thE fuN OI.1hC Monument Lo / celebratc Shakespcare's / 4lh cenlenary / Sabilabrata Dulta, Bijon Bhaltacharya. / HemangaBiswas and Nnm^lChowdhury / will sing. / Utpal Dux. Sheila Chowdhury. / Dean Casper and Mava Roy will / play scenes fronr / oTHELLo / THE LITTLE THEATRE / GROUP INVITES YOU ALL . [See a]so Chapler IVI 17 *;; ;;;;" ;; to iake that poison rather than bcing poisoned slowlv' *'iil lc$ acror' who can bnnP oll lrgo :rnd Dern cJ'per "r"tt" exceptional ln spile of the locus ol darkness hc it *,'""" his ..r""'t"a "i**" scheming. in spirc of his snaky movements' poioilesssecms ,"ii""t ir"t *r*"""t "nd flalignily' so molivelcss irself plav " flJ$ lics in rhc PcrhaDs ' ""'lii" the ,"", ". *, ,,*.'cr. w^ good ' cro"o 'celr' $crr'managed: scenes moving' April 1964. Shakespeare SocietJ of Bengal and Rabindra Bharati lJnirfjrsiq. The Merchan o/ y?rice nabindra Bharati UniYersitv 23 10, 14, 16 May 1964. Little Theatrc Grotpt OtheUo' Minerva I heatre UtpalDuLt us Othel;o, S lreila Chowdhu.y as Desdemonai Dean Gnsper as lago, Probir 6hosh ar Cassio. SaLJa Bandyopadh]!) as kodeligo, Maya Roy as Emilia, Cedric SFnos as Brabartio. Jiien Bha[achrr]a as Gratiano. Nevillc Crawford as Lodo!ico, Rirtu Ghoih as Biunld, Ami Gupta as Monlano. Dii:ctcd by tjtpal Dutl Sets designcd by Nirrnal Cuhr Roy. Lighr' b) Trla" Scn From the review in Ja aseb.lk, Mav 196'1 [lranslated ]ionl tlte I Bengalil: Pa' a ls \4a\ reb4 lrrrnslorcd ;; ;;",-,rr;;."" 'skilful direction. clear enuncialion and easv now - qualities which we have come 10 associatc wilh all productions of the Aikatan group Aprili qqdnaa Ba'nr from the Bengalil: made 23 LTC]I best production lo date Our hea.ts have Durr's Iheir acrrn!. sel\ rnd orgcniz:lrion' urprr overpitchcd Iirrle is a Iago .","n"'". oern Ga'pen 'Ornetlo is their lthe 'Alrhouph Kann Bibu acred hcaulilully in lhe rolc ol Shllock. hi' co-actors did not match his pedormance, excepl lbr Sushil [ri.] p^$ible' 'fcedy rrd 'moulh rcrron June 1964 [lranslated lrom tdr. 13 in Juga the review From IN ENoLISH thc nrusic bet\rcen 7-9 Mn] 1964. The Amat€ors: Empire i,.i Lt "'r v-i",r n,,,:,,' ,' s'edr't' ai*,,r, ,."* u**t Ur" ". ,* t*-. as Much Ado oboul Anjalr N"ri s \'Llik L' BcJrri Hero Jacob K c' Nell ziJ Ahrncd Jacob as t-eonaF' zaid Maftur as Pritam Mayadas 'ts Don John Raniit SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUMA STACE 80 PRODIJCTIONS IN ENCLISH Dogberry. Produced by Alan Kaye- Sers by Niki Bhagar. Frcm the review (of a special students' show) in A rila Bazor Patritu, 7 May 19641 'The setting. cleverly designcd by Niki Bhagat ro eliminate the use ofcurtains. made an excellent background to colourful coslumes and scene changes were execulcd by a well-trained crew in medieval garb headed by Ernani ciambuzzi. After a slow and laborious sra( the play gained momentum and it was rcfreshing ro find thar th€ majority of the cast was not undei the illusion rhal all Shakespeare musr bc declaimed ralher lhan actcd. The pace ihereafter was be(er varied ... bul slow cues and unskilled timing Iended to spoil sorne scenes-' From the fevieN in Hindustha,t Standad. I May 1964'. '- -. neatly ard sm.4ly produced by Alan Kayc, u,ilh well repos€d faith rendering murder in the bed €hamb€r 'Pat Scott's DesdenDna is throughour a gentle well-spoken wife and her "no( yet 10 die" is mosr moving in irs anguish. Emilia, deceptively mild in the earlier scene, was magoificenl in her outhurst full of a rich feeling and mge. 'Orrzll, is a harsh and demanding play. The D.C.C. producers had fluency: it was bcaurilully co ordinated and shaped ...' lSikdar 1964. Department of EnClish, Jadavpur Universitr. The Tenpest- 1965. Department of English, Jad6ypu. University Ty)elfth Night. in rhc lexrtral oic,ie\ Jagannath Guha as Orsino, Robin Wood as Malvolio. Haydn Moore 2G23 May 196,1. Drarnatic CtJnb ot Calcfitat Ahc o. N€w Empirc Casr Colin Paterson as Oihello. Par Scort as Desdemon,r. Dick Rodgers as Iago,'[bny Jackson as Cassio, Pclcr Lancaster as Roderigo. Shcila Maundcr as Emilia. Bob Sco[ as Brabantio- Ci,lian Richrrdson as Bianca. From the review in The Statesna May 19641 'The Shakespeare Festival Committee presented the Dramatic Club of Catcuua in Xerxes Mehta's intclligent production of Othello on Wcdnesday. Thc set was sinrple a Iurret, a plalforn and steps and supcrbly economical coloLrr slides and controlled ligh( made for swift changc of scenes. The sound too deserves spccial mcntion for thc important part it playcd- The music was exceedingly appropriate, if only i( did nol tend to oompete in volumc wi(h the \,oices ol de Aguechcck, Prabir Chosh as Feste. Directed by Debabrata Mukh€rjee. Willjams as Sir Toby Belch, Pcler Quatcrmaine as Sir And.ew ,2l speakers. 'To his interpretation of Othello, Colin Palterson lrrc] b.ought dignity and a sensitiye mind. From the quiete. passages he extmcted paslionate poetry but his voice lacked the cxplosive power ro gile his jealousy a savage depth or his au(horily the resounding grandeur aha( would have persuaded a palrician daughter to malry him againsr her falher's wishes. 'Thc second part ol dle evening had more power than the eirlier hall and thc tension mounled inrperceplibly 1o thc dmmatic, hearr, 1966. D{artment of EnClish, Jadarpur UniyeNityt As Yot Lile IL Mita Chakrabarti as Rosalind, Prabir Ghosh as Touchstone. D€babra(a Mukherjee as Duke Senio. Directed by trebabrata Mukherjec. 1968. Department of Eoglish, Jadawur University Metsure fot Nirendu D.rtta Majunrdar as Angelo, Recni Sen a5Isabella, Debabr;ta Mulherjee d. Dul,e. 'For the convent scenes. a large wooden cross was placed centrestagei for the court scenes. a pair of measuring scales was atlached 10 j1. On the second day, Ihe curtain .ose on a court scene without lhe scales. While the scene was in progress, a pair ol hands appeared lrom behind lhe currain and snalched away lhe cross, duly replacing il wirh the scales added-' ll-ahiri Choudhury 13-16 January 1969. The Amateurs: The Taming ol the Shrcv. Vimal Bhagal as Christopher SIy, Nomio Mirter as Hostess. Pamela Perks as Kalherira. Radhika Das as Bianca. Noel codin as Baptista, VimalBhagat as Petruchio, Jai Sengupta as Gremio, Mafthcw SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STAOE 82 PRODUCTIONS IN Huntley as Hortcnsio, Kamal Bhagat as \4ncentio, Victor Banerjee as Lucenlio. \ijay Crishna as Tranio, Ashley Simmons as Biondc o. Rogcr Walker as crunrio. Ranjit Mehta as Curtis, Nomil, Mircr as ENCLISH 8] Indrashis Laharry as Ferdinand, Sudeep Mazumdar as Alonso, Raj Rishi Singhal as Sebaslian, Shankho Chowdhu.y as Anronio, Kunal Sengupta as Gonzalo, Ashhh Sah as Adrian, A{unava Sinha as Directed by Douglas Algar Srage Maoagcr, Tutu Bosc. N,lusic by R.S. Pillai. Lighls by Kanishka Sen. Sers designed by Niki Bhagat. Costumes designed by Peggy Sarow. ISec ertry lbr thc Khela producrion, February-March t9891 7-9 D€cember 1972. The Rcd Clj.rtatot Hanlet. Kala l{andir Bas€ment Jayant Kripalani as Hcnrlet. Arjun Chaudhuri as Claudius, Deena Ardeshir as Geftudq Nandila Mi er .N Ophetia, Ruslom Bharucha as Polonius and Gravediggcr, Ceddc Spanos as Horario, Thomas Verghese as Laercs, Willian da Silva as Rosencrantz, Sunrir Roy as Guildenstem, Karrn Sarkies as Player Qucen an,:t Osric, Surendran Menon as Marceilus. Sumanr Ddmiya as Bemardo, Irshad cansiee as Playe. King and Pdest. Girish Mansah as Probgue and Lucianus. koduccd by A.jun Chaudhud Sets designed by Kaly Lai and Sumil Roy. Coslumes by Ave Lawycr. Music arranged by Rusto Bharucha. Lights designcd and duel arranged by Sumir Roy. Stagc Managers. Neeraj Mala and Arup Kunlar Majumdar Fron Kary Lai's plogram rc notc: 'Many people will be dismayed by ihe rurhless editing oI lhc Bard's work- The intention, throughout, was solely lo clicit ffom thc play one unificd intpression.' The text, howeler, was bascd on rhe longest version, the Second Quarro of 1604. 1978. South Point High Schoo\ Macbeth. Academy of Fine Arts Sunril Basu as Macbeth. Srirupa Bancrjee as Lady Macbeth. Tirrhankar Direclcd ty Indranath Gnha. ,april 1982. Depar'tment of English, Jsdavpur University: Ir,e Vivekamnda Hall, JadalTur University Bikram Sarkar as Prospero, Sarbani Chakrabarri as Mirxnda, pcw Bose and Shaiontoni Sinha $ Ariel. Vinod Swnmi xs Calihan 2-3 ?r,perl. Trinculo, Jaidccp Bose as Srephano, Ranjabrti Sa*ar as lris, Ceres dnd Juno. clro-eogrJf'lj) h) Rrnjjh.llr Sdrkar. Co ordinared by Debabrara Mukherjee. Directed by Milhoo Roy and Biman Basu. Music by Anjali Sanrwan, Arindrajit Saha aDd Kanika Datta. Lights by Joy Scn. Coslumes by Slrejla Producton \4dna3.r. lndrlDij cho$dtruD Lahii Choudhurv. Departn€nt of Englhh, Jadavpur Univ€rsitf. The labouts (love"scenes from As you Like ft, Mltctt Ado about Nothi g and The M€rrt tyiyes of tvindsor) -1985. o/lors Mahua Cha(erjee as Rosajind, Ranjabati Sa.karas Beakice, Samanrak Das as Hugh Evaos, Sohini Bhatraoharya as llostess, Arunava Sinha Jc Chri\,oph(.r SI). D ecreo hy Vihir RJnjrn Bh.,uachJ+J. lThe proJucti.n, emphJ.r/ed rhc us.cndJnc) or $^man . OrlJndo appea.ed in jeans and helmet ro lhc sound of a motor cycle, Benedick and Bcalricc met in lhrce-piece su;t and sari, while Mrs pasc and Mr, lord werc ..or.h.nrDorar) hou.e$i\e, oi Crtcurrr. . the f,e,r bit of rhe show was Sir Hugh Evans as rhe nineteenlh-cenruN Bensati BrtlL n dh.at. t' ,iahi rnd .,r.Jd,. ur g r r)prcJt tucat r..cnr. wirh Indian JJn(c. Jnd r nllr.j.rl \corc hJ.ed on TdEore. il wr, I unrqu. attemPr at synthesis., ll:rhifl ChouJhury The Shakespeare Society ot Esstern India The Shakespcare Sociery oi Eastern India was establishcd ir I984. Their carty aorivities includcd strecr-corner Derfo. rran.L.r ni Sh,,tesT.Jrc orgxni/,ng pt0)rng Strte,ga.e compctitions fbr schools and colleges. and celebrting Shakespeare Day on 23 Aprit wirh scenes lionr Shakespeare piays and retarcd shows and evenls, including academic discussions, Iectrres and. scminars. The Sociery gradualty ptureeded to lull,tcnglh Shakespea.e productions in English and Bengali Although its acri!ilics arc cenrcd in Calcu e thc Socicly h.rslakcn ShakespcarE ro puruliyaand Janrshedpur. PRODUCIIONS IN SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STACE 84 and Vidyasagar (Medioipur) and Burdwan Ilniversilics The Society deilnes i1s 'Aims and Objectives' as follows: 'lmpo(ant work is still being done by the academic com uniiy in India, bui by ils \,ery nature this work is mostly done in isolalion from popL'lar cons'iousness- and remains sPoradic. The common reader or the common spectalor in the meantime is as alive as lhe previous gcnemtion lo lhe nced to understand and apprcciate Shakespeare for himsell It is wilh a vie)v lo providing a broad base lo these unrelated and inchoate aspirations and interests that lhe Shakespeare Society of Eastern lndia is tbfincd. [I1l is composed of representalives of larious groups such as leachers and sludcnts of the humani(ies journalists. puhlic ollicials and thcare eothusiasis among lhus hopes 1() bring bgelher purposelully all others- tl ENCLTSH 85 'when Amilava Roy, Prolessot of English at Rabindra Bharali Uni_ versity, put on a mask and came in on all tburs as Launcelol Gobbo's dog, the lawn was tilled with the laughter o[ fte audience ' So.iell otEastern lndia and Mcx Mueller Bhavan: Shakespeare FestiYal. M.x Mu€llerBhavan lGlJ Deftmb€r 1987. Shakespeare The four day festivalconsisled ol'pcrfomances of Shakespcare sce.es in English by various Calcutta schools and colleges, and finally of Shakcspeare scenes in Bergali lranslalion by mcmbers ol the Shakespearc Sociely of Eastern IndiaFrom the report in D?ri by Sanlanu Gangopadhyay. 19 March 1988 llranslatcd from the Bengalil: 'Ii is clear thal Shakespcare is chiefly confined hcre 10 the limils of schools llnd colleges. Tho prizes went to Our Lady Queen of the Missions School lor Lheir production of scene' fr'ar Th? M"r.lnnt of Ve irc ffid 10 Presidency Collegc for scenes trom A Midtu nrcr people in this pan of the counrrv who love and admire itrakespeare. ... Thc sociely inlcnds to conduct ils ac(ilides oo two levels: (A) acad€mic, and (B) popula' Academic activities will conrprisc nalional and internalional scminlt.s on Shakespeare and the Renaissance, hclping to pritl original works on Shakespeare, organizing a texl libBry fbr srudents and a research library lor scholars. panel discus_ sions by spccialisls on Shakespeate, etc Popular aclivities rvill comp.ise annual pcfforinances ol Shakcspeare's plays' and video shows on subjects related lo Shakespearc, exhib;tions. debates, quiz contesh €tc' Major financial supporl fbr the Society s activilies has been providcd by 6 January t988. Shakespearc Society of East€rn lndia' Twelfth Nigrr, (condensed v€rsion). Brili6h Council gmunds Abhijil Scn as Orsino, Madhumita Dasgupta as Olivia, Moyna Sen as Viola, Dccpesh Misra as Sir Toby Belch. Pranab Mukherjee as SirAndrew Agu€cheek, Ritu Krishna as Maria. Aoiruddha Ravchaudhui tls Malvolio. Saolanu Datta as Fesle, Rukmini Ray as Curio. Directed by Amitava Roy. Repeal perfonnance on 19 March 1988 at Burdwan University. lllns Tribeni Tissues. Delails of their events fbllow by dalc' in 25 July 1985. ShakesP€are Societv of Eastcrn India: srenes ][lnx znd Macbeth' iel and lt English and Bengali from Rameo Muell€r Bhavan April t98r. Shak€spear€ Societv ofEasiern tndia: Comic sccncs Ea'nlet' frclm 1\t)ew Night, Macbeth, The Tani'tg of the Sh"" " grounds As You Like It. The Mercha'lt of Ue ice' British Council lheBcngalil: frorn 1987 [lranslalcd From the review inJrSdrtua I May 23 l. 2 Nlarch 1988, Dcpartm€nt of English, Jadavpur UniveNity: Mrcr, Ado about Nothilg. G^ndhi Dh.van, Jadavpur University Moushumi Sen as Bealrice, Sudiplo Chatlopadhyay as Benedick. Sujay Eanerjee as Claudio, Churni Banerjee as Hero, Samaouh Das as Leonato. Arunava Sinha as Don John, Indrashis Laharry as Don Pedro, Abhi.lil Gupla as Dogberry, Sougata Banerjce as Verges' Vinav Raotls Borachio, Dcbashis Banerjce ns Antonio, Satneek Bhatlacharya as Conrade. Chitulekha Basu lls Margaret, Sunanda Maitra as Ursula. .Ioy Bhattacharya as Friar Francis, Arani Sinha and Kushal Biswas 86 SI'IAXESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STAOE Direcred by Mihir Ranjan Bhatlacharya. Themc music composed and suns by Ber1lam da Silva. Music played by Aveek Sen, Shanlanu Sengupla. Sumil Chakrabarti. Peffy 6omes. Barun Ganguli. Sets by Monu Datta and Barun Ganguli. Lighls by Joy Sen. Masks by Kamal seJ. From the review by Dharani Ghosh in 7r" ,t a,srrrax, 5 March 1988: 'tThe perlormanccl escaped academic frigidily. ... Thc visitors to Messina wcrc gencmlly in European dress while the locals wore kurla and pyjamas (cxccpt lbr ADlonio's dhoti and the friaas cassock). Dogb€rry and his coho.rs spoke Indian English and their sartorial peculiadties had the samc regional bias. The women altcmated b€lween sariand salwar-kanreez. These innovations. including a lemalc sexton, made lirtle di1lercnce !o shakespeare s prcse. ... Mihir Bhartacharya. who direcled, deserves praise lor fte exchanges be tween Sudipro Chattopadhyay's Bencdick rnd Moushumi Sen's Bextrice. Arunava Sinha's Don John recalled psychopaths playcd by PRODUCTIONS IN ENOLISH 87 2s Nov€mh€r.3 Deccmlxr 1988. Scen€s frcm Jrlirrs Caesar, Maxbeth (in B€ngali), Ilrelrn Night, Hanlet, The Merchant of Velice. Max Mueller Bhavan Direcled by Amilava RoY. Repeat pedbnrance on 9 February 1989 at Deshbandhu College for Girls. Shakespeare Societv Shakespeare festival. Max Mueller Bhavan t'-3 Decemtrer 1988. of Eastern India: Fron rhe repon in Arrrra Bazar Patika, 13 Decemb€r 1988: '... Schools, colleges and uni\'ersilies ... like St. Joseph's Bowbazr., St. Paul's, Quecn of the Missions. Presidency College, Deshbandhu Collcge lbr girls, Jadavpur and Rabindra Bharati Univcrsities partici pated in the Shakespeare play compctilions. ... Jadavpur Univcrsity bagged the Champion's tropht Mahua Chatterjee was adjudged lhe lSikdar 23 April 1988. Shak€sp€are So.icty of Eastcrn India: Shakespeflie Carniyal (scenes from va.ious plays, including Roneo a d ,luliet, The Mercha t of Ue ice, Rbha t II, Macbeth). British Council gmunds From the rcpo( by Sumil.r Lahiri in A,.rra ra.ar Patika, Z'7 A.ptit I9IiE: 'Relnxed and infoflnai, the rest of the evening was devoted to shori scencs fiom plays. What was lacking in slage p.ol'ess;onalism was morc rhan made up by lhe sheer gdp lnd enthusillsm of (hc actors. lf some of thc aclors swallowed up their lamous lines, nobody evcn notjccd thcm; bccause the audience in a rare spilit ol bonhomic and irrdulgencc proved to be willing prompters. 'Amitala Roy and Deepesh Misra as Macberh and Richard I1, respectivcl)r. dcserle special mention ...' Fmn the repo( The Telegtuph,30 May 1988i '... thc ensuing rain took the audience back inlo thc nuditorium to wirncss an amusing scene fiom Rrrreo .rrd Jdlier. Intercstingly, Romeo was played by a girl, Moyna Sen.' l, 25, 26 F€bruary; 12, 18, 19 March 1989. Khela: II, e Ta,nnG olthe Shrcw. Vimal Bhagat as Pclruchio, Shikha Rai as Kalherin!, Sumitra Bhagal as Bianca. Dircclcd by Vimal and Nicky (Niki) Bhagat. From the prcview in The StatestBn,18 February 1989; '... The moving spiri( of Khela is Vimal Bhagai, himself an old boy lof Doon Schooll, who plays Pelruchio and is also direoling lhc plav Why did he choosc il? Mr Bhagal says "The Tani S of the Shrcw is one oI the happiest of Shakespeare's comedies- 11 has ronrance, frolic and sludied dramatic developmcnl in the main iheme which, though so dellghllully seasoned with buoyant laughter. has a clear and disciplined carccr in the conflict of two real people" Bul he has lakcn some libcrties wilh Shakespeare. eliminating the lengthv Induclion scquences with the drunkcn linker. Chrislopher Sly, so lhal fiere is no play wilhin r play.' r Jsikdar From an aaiclc tiy Ananda Lal in Thc Shtesna,| 16 Jull 1989i '... Thc qucslions [rclaled 1r) Krlhc.ina's speech "Thy husband is rhy lord .../And place )our hands bclow your husband\ tooa' in thc lasi scenel arose on vicwing the rocent produclion of the phy. ... 88 SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUfiA PRODUCTIONS IN ENCLTSH STAGE The dirc.tors of the Khela production, the husband-and-wife ream of Vmat and Nicky Bhagat, do nol regard rhis passage as an issue. They profess that the play is a love slory, in which the hero and heroine are both passionate, and Karherina (Kale) merely expresse! exrctly 89 M. K. Gupta and Mahua Chatterjee From the revicw in Bafto nn.9 May 1989 [translated from fie Chatterjee. Cosumes by Bensalil: what sh€ feels as an individual - Shakespea'€ is noi makirg a generalized slaEment he.e. ... Ifanything. according lo thenr. Vimal's macho Pelruchio of their earlier produclion twenly years ago in 'The Shakespeare Society'sJultus Caesar displayed neither acting nor composition no. evidence of thougha. 'Caesar. Brutus, Cicerc all shouted as much as lay in their power. Even in the lamous speech alter Caesar's death. Brutus simply kepl Calcuth was more chauvinistic because il was more simpiistic. [See entry tbr the Amareurs iJroduction. 13-16 January 19691 '... Vimal Bhagat omitted this parenthetical scquence [the subplot of Christoph€r Sly watching the dramal, although his first version had relained it in 1969, conve(ing the core of the play into an some background music. but it was never property synchronised wilh '... The Bh:igats believc in the play as a slraightforward romantic comedy and claim thar their audiences appreciated it as such ... Itheyl do no( think that it can be peffbrmed ironical]y. 'whalever the reason. though. the speech did not work-it remained a pitfall on stage. ... In frlaying it straight, Shikha overlooked Shakespeare'! typical insight inLo women characte6 that rcveals many of personalily. '-.. Bianca (performed with flair by Sumitra Bhaga0. apparendy the model o[ femininily, playacts perfcctly thc part of the gende. iayers submissive daughter ... Petrucnio (acred with a typical mix of bravado and pana€he by Vimal) is not a bully but an intelligenl man'- Ails Workshop ond Shak€spear€ of Eastern Indi.r l,tlius Caesat Mt ktangirlt 25 April 1989. Theatre Soci€ty Rudra Mukherjee as BrutLrs, Amilava Roy as Caesar, Bhaskar Chatterjee as Mark Antony and Artemidorus, Santanu Dalla as Cassius, Sudip Sanyal as Casca, Raja Mukherjee as Cicero and Marull0s, Siddhartha Dey as Publius. Subhrajit Chatterjee rs Ligarius, Cinna and Flavius, Aniruddha Raychaudhuri as Decius Brulus. Jayania Chowdhury as Melellus and Soothsayer, DanarrcyaDatta as Cinna the Poel, Biswarup Sengupta as Lucius, Oishika Chakraba(i as Calphurnia, Mahua Chalterjce as Portia. Dirccted by Amilava Roy. Art and dcsign by Dattatreya Datta. Lights by Sararupa Sengupta. Music by Mahua Chalterjee and Shubhrajit shouling out his words without the leasl modulalion ... Aniony a(empted some modulation hut failed. Caesar even shouted out his dying words, "Et tu. Brulel"... 'The less said about stage composilion lhe better' .. There was 'The costumes were very much in modern slyle Brulus appeared throughout the show in jeans and a black T-shit1. Manv, including Caesar. wore Bata shoes. and when Caesar cntered in procession, his followers bore placards designed like Congress flags.' 8 D€cember 190. Scenes fmm Shak€spcare acted in a 'Playing Shakespe.re' Competition for school and coll€ge studcnts, orgs_ nizcd by th€ Shakesp€are Society of Eastern lndia. M Mueller Dh3van tndrajit Hazra, a student of Jadavpur Uni\€rsity (Depa(menl of English). won the best actor's prize for the Fool in Knry lzar. 8,9 April 1991. Department of Englisb Jadavpur Univcrsftv: f,,? Winlet\ Tale. Gandhi Bhavan, Jrdavpur Univ€$ity Jaideep Banerjee as t-eontes, Sunanda Mail.a as Hermionc' Jaideep Mukherjee as Pol;xenes, Chilralekha Basu as Paulina, Arkadvuti Basu as Camiuo, Indrajit Hazm as Autolycus, Abhijil Gupra as Clown, Dehashis Banerjee as Shepherd, Arnab Guha as Nobleman. Direcied by ,Abhiit Gupta. From the review by Ananda Lal in The Telegraph, 17 April l99l: '... the eftbrt by the Department ol'English, Jadavpur University' !o enact fte whole of Shakespearc's fh? Whter's Tle ... is nol only commendable hul posilively over_ambitious. given the difficull nature of this play. 'Not unexpcctedly, thc acting ploved rather dileuantish. Jaideep 90 SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STACE PRODUCTIONS IN ENGLISH Ban€{ee failed lo define rhe pathological character of Leonres and could not control an involun{ary mannedsm of raising his eyebrows. Sunanda M.titrat Hermione kept her head uptjfted roo high to cstablish essenrial eye contacl. The Bohemians fared betrer with Polixcrcs (J.rideep Mukherjee) bchaving more narurally, and the o,d shepherd (Dcbashis Banerjee) and his son (Abhijir Gupra, who atso directed) playi.g up the comic scenes. A welcome enlerprise, even e Telegraph, 28 August I 992: All3 lyell Thdt E .1s weu ... arguably o.€ ofthe Bard's most difiicull plays ro gauge. Dircctor Rimi Chatterjee has done well to respect rhe lext but r(ention paid to the surface layers also had the cftecl ofkeeping the darker aspeca lurking withi, the subtexl bcyond the grasp oi Challe{ee and her relatilcly inexpedenced cast of college sludenls. However seveml of them showed promisb in dropphrg rhe sellconsciousness lypical of beginning aclors, panicularly Jaideep Banerjee (the French king), Rudra Mukherjec (Parolles), Abhijit Gupla (Lafew) and Nidhi CooDar (Dicna).' if naiYe in geneml.' From the review ]n The Statee a,t, I May l99l: 'tThe playl was direcled by Ahhijil Gupta with assislance tiom Sunanda Mailra, borh of thcm srudenrs. Thar rhcy did nor enjoy the dLrbious bcnciiL of advice fronr teachen was evident lionr rhe way this (range fablc canle 10 lil'e, crposing where Shakespeare,s Fssages hand becamc unsteady. Acadefiic criticisn always tinds excuses fbr '... Mamilius rrying blind-man's buliwith word. A11 speeches ro arange a Rubik.s cube or Leontes playjng his son were inraginariye addirions to lhc spoken in Act IlI, Sccne II. except for Hernrione.s self- deience, were reduced b ott'stage voices, presumabty becausc ot lhe nanow playing rrea.' 6, 7 May 1992. The Shakespeare So{iety: NIex Muele. [havan A,3 W" nd Ends tVe . 'The Shakespeare Socicty' was a nonce organization consisting largely ol studcnrs of the Dcpartment ofEnglish. Jadavpur University. Rajesh Krif,alani as Bcdram, Rupanjana Sengupta as Helena, Chitralekha Basu as the Countess and Mariana, Abhijit Gupta as Lat-ew' Rudra Mukherjce as Parollcs, Jaideep Bancrjee as K;ng of Fmnce, Indranee I Mukherjee s Stcward. Anushlup Basu as Durnaine Scnior, Arkap.ava Gayen as Dumaine Junior, Debashish Mukhelee as Lavache. Nidhi Coomar as Diana, Rama KishDanuflhy as rhe Widow. Direction and scls by Rimi B. Chflre{ee. Costumcs by Nidhi Cooma.. Music by Arun John. Lights by Sanraru Bose. Fronl lhc programme norei 'This production arc rprs to clear away rhe layers of neglecl and ger at the authcDtic play benearh them. It follows Shakespeare\ rext closely wilh na additions and iew cuts. ... We found in lhis play much seriousness and much lun. and wc hop! we can communicate this Fmm the rcview by Ananda Lal )n '... 6 Th rhe Shakespeare Society presenled January 1997. Shak$peare Society ofEastern India: Sc€nes and songs from Shakespeflrc. Brilish Council 5 February 1997. DepartmeDt of Enslish, Jadavpur Uriversity: The Merclwnt of Ue,rice. M^x Muclltr Bhayrn; repeat performanccs on 29, 30 March 1997 at C.D. Birla Sabhagar Sohini Sengupla Halder as Shylock, Devalina Mookerjee as Antonia, Vaishali Chosh as Portia, Sandeep Banerjee as Bassanio, Ankita Mukherji as Jessica, Abhijit Banerjee as Lorenzo, Arundhati Chanda as Nerissa, Abhijil Gupta as Oraliano, Prodosh Bhattacharya as Morocco and Aragon, Reshma Ghosh as Gobbo, Mahira Kakkar as Solanio, Kumar Snha as Salerio. Sunandini Banerje€ as lhe Judge, Arpila Kuila as Tubal, Ballhazrr and Magnifico, Suddh$ecl Scn and Sanjay Balachandran as Musicians. Stage Dranagemert by Sunandini Banerjee. Lighling by Anrnda Lal. sound by Kumar Saha. Costumes by Mahira Kakkar. Scls by Nandini Das and Kasluri Basu. Propeiies by Arpita Kuila. Direcled by Ananda I.l Ft(nn the Directots Nate: '... Shakcspearc did not wrilc fbr actresses. ... Four cenluries latcr, lilcmlure depanments across the world contain a majority of ibmale students. With thc casting pool availible to nre. I laced the daunling task of tinding men for far loo many male rolcs. ln olher words, Ih3d no oprion hul ro lrar\iomr \urne ul rher inro uolrcrr-.rr. J" a marcr ol fact. The inlerpretalionJ' )ou nra) discover in this produclion rhus result fron praclical exigcncics of personnel. ... 92 SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA SIACE PRODUCTIONS IN ENGI-ISH 'I cannot take credil for making a wornan play Shylock ... but have nol yct heard of any sex change done to Antonio.' From the review by Vshnupriya Sengupta in nrs Asia Aee. 11 I February 1997: 'Shy,ock ... was subjecl to double discriminarion fbr being a Jew and a woman. Besides, the subllc hin(s of a homossxual relationship between bosom pals. Antonio and Bassanio. was [ri.] 'exploired" as unrequiled love with Antonio having become Antonia -.. 'Inslead of peri6d costumes, the characters sported casual wear ... rather rhan proclaiming the dialogue. fie characlers chose iodeliver them in a conversational style adding lift ro rhe play' From the .eview in The Telegnph, T March 1997: 'Surprisingly, the director. Ananda Lal's attempt ro go against the grain by castins women as Shylock and Antonia (sic) pays otr He brings in a sense of playlulness to an olheNise hackncyed interpreta(iol.' From the review by Saikar Mazuodar in The Eco oDtic 'Iines, Ma.ch 13 1997: '... (he 6cla( with which the feminine interpreterc of male cha.acl€rs carricd off thc play, made the whole prodLrction a smoorh, flowing success. tDevalina Mookcrjeel llays a cool, poised and sensitive Antonio, resDonsive to changes in emotion and mood.... Sohini Sengupta Halder in the role of a female Shylock ... taddsl a few innoyative touches --. to the character of fte rich Jewess, Hers is a Shylock full of humorous malice ... thc pctile Vaishali Chosh do€s perttct justice [to ihc role of Po a] ... a good supporting cast. with Mahira's [Solanio] agilc antics enlivening up the mood right from the beginning. ... Reshma chosh as a somewhat androgynous Launcelot Gobbo-jumping and leaping nnd running all over the sragei not infrequcntly spilling over the rest of the audilodum ... makes us sorry for (he amputation o[ her best scenes, those with old cobbo. ... A pleasant surprise was Prodosh Bhattacharya of the faculry as borh the princes ol ... Morocco and Ar.agon. He acted with as nruch gusro as [when] he swung his sword. wilh poor Portia cowering under rhe impact of his swashbuckling courtship rhaL came to naughr.' From the review by Dharani Chosh in Lie Srdrerrmn, I I April 1997i '... rhe cast ..- has to be complinented on irs ilfectious enrhusiasm. ... ls it absolutely neccssary lbr Lal to asserr his moderniiy by playing engagemenl "Macarena" while Shylock leaves home for "hef dinner (Acl 2 Gobbo and Jessi€a receives her lover's instructions lhrough Scene 5)l' (yoice!)' 11 Aptil From the review by saija Sen in The Statesna 199',7l. was Played The most intercsting innovation was the music that danced' Among lhem was Md.a,?Ird. to which Jessica and Launcelor as they enjoyable' the more it all play made Thef; deletions in the ofconlinuilv' play a fcel had The led lo the play being fast Paced. '... cven wilh the changes.' Nigltt\ 27, 28 lvlarch 1998. Tolugunge Clnbt A Midsummer Club Drearn. Bsmboo Grove, Tollvgunge Mahira Rajeev Dubey as Oberon, Rajeshwari Srinivasan as Titania as Hippolyla' Kakkar as Puck, Dcejay Kler as Thes€us, Sushmita Dutt Sen Anil vaswani as Lysandet kt-an Ahmcd as Demetrius' Rajyasree Bottom' as Scaddan Simon Helena. as Hemia, Shan Vaswani as Arijav Prasad Kalyan Banerjee as Quince, Sagnik Goswami as Flute Michael as inout, Mayukh Rav as Snug' Barun Das as Starleling' Philostrate' Nandila Robertson as Egeus, Subhash Nag Choudhury as Kaha as Dubey, Roshmi Tanane, Mirnalika Bhanjdeo and Garima Fairies. design Adapkd and direcled by Atcesh Tankha Sets and coslume Dalip Kakkar' by Gilanjali Alagh Jollv. Audio-visuals and sound by Lighling by Tom Lai stagc Manager, Ashmila Acharya' n.im tfre i"rie" by Ananda Lal it The Teleenph, 14 APril 1998: '..- The lall bamboo brakes provided the natural backdrop ror the Dlatlorm-.'overed plcying area. so lhrl lhe srreen lor slide Projeclion .ecmcd a Ie.hnolu*icil apology' For hcrler 'ighl lincs' chrirr "r-o'r bleachcrs were anangcd in rows on differcnt levels approximating pol€s strung bamboo Slagc lighting was susp€ndcd frcm horizonlal 'Shakespearc's play has a euphoric, romaniic quality thal the mainly-young cast and crcw caplured The youlhlul lovers' auendanl fairies, the rovalty of bolh Athenian and arcadian rcalms' Gilanjali the rude rechanicals, all scemed caughl up by lhis magic' the Jolly's sel and sylvan costu re designs ." enhrnced this supcrnatural SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STAGE PRODUCTIONS effect. The direcroFadapre., Areesh Tankha. coutd t.ace criricism for lrLtn.Jting the enrnlnrcrJ pod tc\t an.t iur rtle\frJn tJJl,er. hut the o\erd chirm \reuc^ into tbr8.vcne.,. A ,rnc touch ram( of liute fairies aftending Tirania ... trom a $hote 'The mischiet woven by puck awoke ar teast one witd uninvited ,:.1*l i,, tcdr) rcrch. ,r ruc(rou sclt^ gor ""T ro rnrte joud com,n.,nts Jnd hi,rrionrc x.iodicJtr, e\crted enoush inrcryecriuns. ... Jusr the ghr note ol f.eral. somewhat ceric yer beaurifully narural, sound to upstage puck. piayed energcticaly by Mahira Kakkar., 2J April I'l9S.ShakespeaF societ} ot fisrcrn rndia: Sccnes from ,latntct, iith shake\pearein songs and a .shak$pcarean nagic show' by Subir Dhar. British Council {rumDorum so.icras lofsL \cvier.s coflesiate :schootlt ?*:ITi'*: lokcofl vith sha*erp?arc. G.D. Airta Sabhagar Atpdrenrly derired.tron) rh( RcJucrd Shrtc,pcJrc ( \ ^n,pan) pro d^utron. Ct rl,lc $hrt: at Shat".p"at.. rn Lon,ton rnrt Ncq Vort. tnr.'reJ h) Arvd Cup,a. Amib Bincricr. CrutJnr Bh n.,nr rnd.rhcr,. urrected h) Kr\hurc Bhimani ,* ,:l':'.1, AnJnlra sas rirled .Much iJo rit in rhe t.kqdrh. r0 Deccmhcr rqqs, 3hour norhrnE.. 'To bcrn. or nor ro h(rn rhr( i.. (trc ,tuc,rron: Whcrher 'ris nohtcr in thc mrnLt ro sutier The slings and arrows of ourrageous rip-oiI. Or to rakc arms against la,te ojf with Shakespedrc, And hy opposing, quash it. To lili, to co. \o morc. rnd f,1 c,g ,o .ry t" t;r, ,;; The l?es or r.) ttics ro Wesrcrn \uurres Thar we "borrow,.i .ris a consunrnlation Dcroul;y 1. I...sirch'J. To tiir, t,, c^! Tu c.s. rc,rh,nJe ,cr"r . ,1. rtrc,c. irrc n,o. For by th colicd show whal lawsuirs coxtr: wlen Llo\d wel,her J,\.. i At).lLc, L.ra, Mu'r !rve Thc Otd BoJ\ oJu.c: rtF.(., rtI rL"tc..l They n$cd I're Rcdu.cd \hJ[e.rc:rr.. CornfJn). l-or $hu s'ould hetJ t.1tr,tr ,tJ , t,,,,t,,,, IN ENGLISH At Birla Sahhagar (December 5rh). Kishore Bhimtlni\ schoolboyish wisecracks, A Hamler, Arya Cupra, 'lar and scant 01- breath", a rap O(hello, Sco( Macbeth, WheD he can berlcr ofl amuse himsctf With barc bodkinsi who woutd parodies bcar, To grunl and sweat under sccondhand pranks, Bu{ only passing encrgetics fion Arnab Bancrjee and Gautam Bhimani, When he knows the Jesuit iathers a(ained Educational dranra s highest bourn In Errope durinS Shakcspearc's own lilttinel Thus consciencc should havo rnade lhem cowards afl. And thus Alumnorum Socil)tas Should have given dris action g.aver lhought. As an enbrpdse of grear pirch and momenl Wirh disrcgard its currerts rurned awry, And losl the nanre of acring.i PRODUCTIONS IN BENCALI plays I fterelore chose lbllowing the patlern of one of Shakcsperrc's db'ds i1s hinLs" Clirrbebre and, on its nrodel (literallv "lollowing lair'a). set abour cornposing thc play l(l.rrd*ll'']ari Brt Kusutt*unlari basic idea was taken is not an cxact translation of C),.l'sl'r?' Only lbc rhe numbcr oi acls so $at liom Shakespcare. and lhc play composed I was ako rnd the size of lhc casl might be kepl wilhin limils' Care PRODUCTIONS IN scenes' Hence taken that the aclors nright havc adequate resl bclween govern the currently that rules the play following I BENGALI wrote Lhc production of PIaYS in Bengali.' lAhnred (A) BY LOCAL GROUPS 1870. A group from ,/ yeric"). Bantra'Ho' rah'- Prubhaboti (<The Merchant Bcniatola rcsidcnce of Kartikchandra Bhatlacharya Translator unkno\,vn. IBiLati .htra unknown Bhmmakaulk (<Tlre Coned! Venue llnknown (public stage) Adaplation by Benimadhab Ghosh. 1873. Company 6 E/r.o's). IBikni J.t!1tl t$r/f,ry 1814, K$unkunari (<Ctnbelirc). N^tional Thcatre 25 April 1874. Thc same. Bengal Thcatre lMukhedec], Great 11 National Thcatre [S. Mira] Adaptalion by Chaodrakali Ghosh. The dranatis penonae incltle.l the lollowihg characlels: Bajrabahu. King ol Indorci Birendrasi nha and Dhirendrasinha, Princes of Indore; Kusumkumari, daughlerolthe King ol lndorei Jdcodsbar. Qucen of lrdotc. On rcvcrse oftille page in pdnrcd 1ext, in English: 'On the old National Theatre (on Dec. 7, 1873, the firsl anniversary ol tlhich was held al [ric] under the Presidency of Babu Monomohan was staged on l?th Jan., 187'l-' Kusumkumari Bose), Th€ adap(or wrole in lhe (then Bengali) Arrlni] Jl.ar Potrika ot 15 .lanuary I874 lhcre translatcdl: 'When [Michael Madhusudin Dul('s.play] Ktishnakunuri was being actcd by thc Sobhabara. Dramarc Socicty, some members of lhe Sociely asked me to wrire a play in chaslc Bengali lsadhu bhdshlt) Saoyals' house 3l october Adapr ifl cquivaients: 1874. Rxdmpa! kMacbeth), Great National Theatre by Haralal Rav. Dra'u'is peno ae with shakespeare'rn Rudrapal (Macbclh), Chatudka (l'adv Macbe(h: thc name (Malcolm)' means cunning woman'). Surjvapal (Duncan), Indralal 'Ihe werc rewi1ches (Banquo)' Chandrapal (Donalbain). Binavpal bt Bhairavis (ascetic lemale devotees ofSiva) who, in the lirsl on the scene, sing a hymn lo the goddess Kali rnd plant a lridcnl soil. There are rlso various later relcrenccs lo thc worship oi Kali years Thc play was pofular. and there were pcrfoffrancd cven ten in Mdsik Prahdha rcporl latcr. as uttcsled by thc iollowing ironic vol. l0 no.2,6 Magh 1290 lJanuarv 188'1. translrlcd ironl lhe placed Bcngalil: 'Wtdt can wc sry about the &tingl We crnnot express tbe wondc6 wc saw cnacted thal day on thc soil oiBengal' Evcry inslant' swect and cncouragirg rcsponses lrom the audicncc like "L'Irdd8'r" /'ful" (a poisonous (a poisonou! snake, but hlrre -louder"). = !''i""i 'hcauLilul")' ' reslr L/ui (Excellelrt, brothe'l) werc poLrring down. Thc endlcss imlrecalions lro r thc audiencc linally brought lhe pc onnance to an cnd half:way lhrough' heft. but herc = 27 February $75. Bhnnsi ha (<Or'rsll') Bengal :lheatre Trarslatcd by Tarini Pal. Dr,?,r.ri! Ntlo ae \\ith Shakespcnre'rn cqui!alentsr Bhnnsinha (Olhello ), S t! arnalala (Dcsde i'rna) Bhairavsinha (lago), Sarama (Lmiliu). tlrc Grcal Repealed. Therc was a perlornruncc on 8 April 1376 'Lt lBilati J(ta 98 SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STACE April 1889. Translation ol The Coned! o/ Er.rrs. PRODUCTIONS Corinthian Theatr€ Translator and Beogali tille unkoown. 28 January 1893. ,l{dcr?ri. MinerYa Theatre TranslaEd/adaplcd by Girish Chandra Chosh- English ramcs and original situadon retained. Ci.ish Chandra Ghosh as Macbeth, Tinkari Dasi as Lady Macbeth' Haribhushan Bhattacharya as Duncan. Surendranath Ghosh (Dani Babu) as Malcohn, Aghorenath Pathak as MacduiT nnd Hecale. Ardhendu Mustafi ns Firsr Wilch. PorEr, First Murdercr, Old Man and Doctor, Prarnadasundad as Lady Macduff, Kumud Sarkar lts Banquo, Kusurnkurnari as Fleancc, Binodebehirri shnme ls L'nnox' Krishnalal Chakrabarti as Ross. Anukulchandra Batabyal as Angus, Nibarrnchandra Mukheiee as Mentielh, Thnd Murderer and Third Wtch, Chunilal Deb as Caithncss, Second Murderer and Bloody Se€can1, Thakurdas Chatlerjee .ls old Seyward, Nilmani Ghosh as Young Seyward and Sccond Witch, Nandaturi Bhaliacharva as Scvton. Nikhilendra as Donalbain. Chayankumari as Youog Macdull Harimali as Gcntlewonrrn. I'Ir Whcclard as 'stage direclor', Mr.J. Pimm mrke Jt and Jrcs direclor'. DharmuJJ' Su' \rage mrlrlcr. as Dcb[anrhJ R,c.hi music dire(ror. of the premiere in A tita Bazat Pahikal 'Opening night / Thc Minerva Theatre / 6 Bcadon Slrcel / Saturduy, the 28th January 9 p.m. / Shakespeare in Bengal. / MACBETH / I have got the piece mounled by / European Artisls and Dressed / it under EuropeanL Superv ision / and "makc_up'by Mr J Pimm / Fro_m the aarertise,rent G.C. Ghosh, / Manager.' No cxpense was spared to painl the scenes in the 'Scotch fashion ol fie mcdieval pcriod ' lDas Grpta 'It is wcll known fiat Girishchandra was deeply inlluenced by Shakespeffe. Being himself a leading llgure ol thc dramatic world. therc rvas every possibilily of his being able 1(, Preserle thc drantatic quxlity ofthe play in his composi(;on. He ried io lollow Shakespeare fhirhfully... he did indced rcanange lhe scenes somewhal, bul ftat did nol inpair the ideas, languagc, rhylhm and coDlent ol thc original BENGALI 99 Howe\er' olav. He kenl the nume' ot lhc chrrsclers unalletcd " ,"rnd' hc xdded r'rve sons' rhere i' no douhr nn ' lhar th-ese .ong. delracl llom lhc uagic 'pllil Bengali tAhmed: translated liom the a\liience the Although fte critics rcclaimed Ghosh's Mn'heth when ,.l.ci"Jir. ito.t r,l'*"rr $rote lrr nslared from rhc Bcnsdlir: Minerla. rhe hJll war !rduxll) omprv Jiler ,,0'**', lJ* lAhmed IN *". ".'.0 ",,n. one of the early shows ",.i.* ttre nrst icw nighs. A spectalor who attcnded .ra,".". "aO. I have been seeing plays for nearly ten years, but have never been so badly cheated''' ' 1893: From the retort in The E elishnar' 8 February ;s"i" Grtr'h cllandra Ghose, rhe manager lor Minerva Thcllrc]' ,r Mdcherh and lhe ph) as a u'hole s3s trcll rendered' I .,rJ\"a,f,. *n l' i"*r,' r** oi Crwdor hJ' I li\el) 'usgesrtonnlol''nLonsruirv' ir, ,n. ",,',t ic Jn c\ronr'hrre Iclroductt!'n Ihc rLrndard convention oI the English slage'' 1893: From llle report \o l,tdim Nltion' 20 February ii,-'. ol r shdke'penan plav lhar ir hr' been rcreJ r"4".,i.". bul $c cJn '0y ol Ihrs pla) rhJl rL $r' acled scll :rr rhJr ucre c'pccrlll) $cll Jone were rho\e or *, '.*"ir'r.," '.;'M,;J',. *. F,n. appcarance' Macbeth, of Lady Macbeth who had a Mrs Siddons-like rnd ol lhc pnrrcr ...' Laie 1896(?); 21 June 1897. Irantuj GHamkt)'Rsid€nce Chandrakumar S€n and,later, Classic Theatre ,l i", p".to*on""s "urt;". organized by.Victoria of Kaviraj under thc direclion of Chandrakumar Sen' CIub. 1S"n Crp,u l'y Nagcndrrnath ChdLrdhuri The pla) hJ'l 5 J.l' drtidcd uirh to cnorucrcr' erct,ding e\rrd'' lr $r' de'ribeJ ';;;/'..,;'. bascd on on rhe thle pagc ol the printed edition as 'A tragedy AdaDlarion historical evenls'. qtrndari (from 1905' as Srilekha (Gertrudc)' Xusumkurnari.l as Aruna (Oph€lia), Chhotolani L.",.nat*u,}, Dult as Hariraj (Hamtel)' Tx Hor*fr"tn* ol"a"n.ya as Jayatar (Claudius)' Gosthabehari Das as Kalhan' Ctrakrata,ri as Kuladdhvai Golonius). Prama$ana$ as Surama' SaroJmr as Bholanaih Das as Dadhimukh. Kshudibala r"rotinu. rnluri" who tv eu.rrchosh' Directed by Amarendranalh Dutt' PRODUCTIONS SHAKESPEARB ON THE CALCUTTA SIA6E 100 .aie or He has aalded ll ' been songs to the play The dialogue has also oflen a ciear influencc of Girishchandra Ghosh's use of 1925. lAhntcd: trans]aled liom thc Bengali and has a 'Hdliral has nbihirg of rcal hisbry' Il is set in Kashmir wilh lhat of *il"rt in ."uoln o,ern.rts bas distinct resemblance ","., tlorrrui is a prince whosc father has been murdered by his i.L"r. is in love with the murderer' General (Jayakar). His molhe' (S lckha) reveals ihe secrct to The Chosl oI $e murdered king appears and wilhour rouching tru'i,u, anO a.f' t,,,o rrfe revenge on lhe murdercr be lelr lo \ulter on hc- u$n' Silelha' ,n" In",f,* ff,. rn*f'". 28 NoYember wants to supplant her son' who trowever, is an ambitlous woman' She alier his tatbc's is set up by the nobles on lhe firone of Kashmir (who has a wife Malina) to death. Srilekha excites he. lover Javakar is re.""" ffa.i*,: t" ."fe rhe way 10 the throne clea' A conspiracy turn stabbed by hin' Srilekba haichea. Jayakar srarrs Hariraj and is in hcr lile' Orher charrcler' 'rre K:rlhan lriend ," i*o ir," '"i,irr,,,j. sur3mu' Hdrirais riner: KulJddh'dJ J nohlc ' "*, a'" ""n is in love but s coun, w;rfr whose daughter Aruna Hanraj ln tle ting ', murder' whon heicjecls attcr hearing the sordid story of his fathe's observe! commentator and Dadhimukh, a Brahman who acts as an in and also provides rbe humour of this plai Written ,rO of nuruber a iror"n ttunr verse miicd with prose, and coniaining d,ncc'. Harirai 6 a mcludrJrnr $hrch Amrren'trcnalh 1"".** ,.ns' "na Or" f"*a.' acting l 1r8gg. Mocbeth' Clsssk Theatre (sec Girish Chandra Ghosh's translation '893)' production this lead-in n,*.*Or"*,n Dult acted the jaItilti (<A Mills nrnet Nich{s 21 June, 5 Julv lg02' Madh Dream). Minerva Theatr€ Translabr unknown lune lq02 Ad\erri'emenr in Ih? B? 8a1" - 2l Plarlr Alon s s$an in Minerva ' Lakel / Grdnd i,;;";i*"; rhe 2lsl .t,ile;,t- Nishri/ MINTR\A IHLATRE / sarurddv / Adapr'd dnd Iran'larcd irom irr.. .l t pln. , *^onu JAMII'I '/ . Drcaml A verirable dreJm ol Lovelinc" v;,1 .i..., and Love!' llil 1'.rgl,r *" ,,,.^ convenienl rch:ile lor hi'.)un n)lc ... "l fllmboyanl lMukherjee From a rcview in The lw" *rrt .urf"rt theatre-going India lt'lirfir' 22 Mav 1900: that Babu Amarendranath' rightly called by the public the Carrick ol ihe Bengal stage' absoiutely IOI ;""; ,.i#;;; ;";;"-;;;;;;,-i;'; the best actors ;n England'' ['r "- ;;;;;,' exriemell popL'trr anLl rcvrved c'nrinurllv ir $d' aLrtenr'ed .,".,';;;". i" I o"'r"*'*' on 5 rurv Ia02 rarasundan' rePlaced ," ,i":"'"i, ,r.*a.;-m 190s, Kusumkumari Amarendrana& had leoe at the star rheatre ; "i d' ';J;it;;r" ,. ..,"i ,.,*"t", Go'sami a' Javrkar' Ku'uml'umari Janudo dlsl' under al,'.inr rra ,"'***' rBlack)t ds Aruna' 5ce changedr ttrere is 'hoLlJ BENCALI pari and Hari''ajl' l i(rn e\lremelv ditficutr in Lngr'na sho are upro prd)ins ir' and or ".,",' weu as ro compare ravourabrv with some sumassed him\elt in n was the manager of the Classic Theare from I89? 'Nasendranarh Chdudhuris \ersion is not rery tuirhlul ro lhe characler' onei;1.-He ha' acrually sengalizcd the pldy Many ot the the story lhal so anJ incidents are his own crealions and addiiions, the wile is play, a sistcr ofHamlcfs has been grearty moriined.In this is entirelv oi ctauai"us ttre stain tring\ brother' and a comic Brahman he h& inrncare plol more lhe makc Nasendranarh s o$n crcetion. Io king' rhe oi ro murder parr) rhe gamler Hrriral mothcr r IN 5 M^reh 1904. Jahanara Th€atr€ An kA Mitsummer Night's Dream) unique b) Salish\handra Charlerjee' rnauii aq lrhxndrJ Kiran'hi'hi as Ajinard' loreword lrrJn'lJrcJ rrom rhe Bengalil: 'oDera'. adapred iu* i'.- J. :;;;;,;;;,-;' "*.a. been compo'ed rorrowrnP the rhddow r''ria)a bv rhe sreat poer ,i.i*,lt*A ot A Mid'\ mnler Nisht's Dream world' universallv li,;;;;;;, .mperor of the occidenlal poetic of fiat great *"..n-rr"a.l ** *"" 'p m) pen to tbllow the model cu'L, o'ri t r,"* o*, characrer' forced ro mrke man) changc' in the $ornen or our "*i l;",;;; ;ri", interrisrhre ro rhe ordindr) men and rcrins practice currenr bv :-',;;;' ;,: ,.o ro do- 'o arr rhc more IO2 SI]AIGSPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STAOE and the tastes of the contemporary audience. ... I PRODUCTIONS would exhori ,l those who hope to see an undis(orted inrage of ,4 Mldru nler Night\ Drcarr in this litile musical drama of mine. to abandon rhat hope at 1905. Norra Ke (<Comedr of Etots). Classic Theatre by Nagendranarh Ghoslr. Anarendm Dutt as Dromio. Saoddgar (<The Merchant oI IOI uenice), St^r Trcnslared/adaplcd hy BhunendmnJlh Banerjee cnsr: Amarendranath Dutt as Kulirak (Shylock). Dhirendmnalh Mukhopadhyay as Anilkunrar (Antonio). Kusuokumari as Pratibha (Porlia), Kunialal Chakrabarti as Basantakumar (Bassanio), Manmathanath Pal (Handu Babu) as NAanian (Lorenzo), Naravani as Niraja (Nerissa), Ascharjyamayee as Julhika (Jessica), Kashinath Chattopadhyay ls Natabar (Launcelot Gobbo), Akshaykumar Chakrab.rti as Natabar\ Father (Old Gobbo), Nripendranath Basu as Alhade (Nalabar's son), Lakshmikanta MukhoPadhvay as Raja Bijaysinha (Duke of venice). Directed by Amritalal Basu The advertisemen I in ft. Bersdtu?, 4 December l9 I 5, announced 'Dazring SccncrylCostly Costumesl .. Bhupen Babu's Charming New l Translated/adapted lgli- AENCALI Theatre 'Salishchandra has recast the names ol the cha.acters and the selting in Indian guise. Having the popular historical drama of his day in mind, he bls nrade bis characrcrs memb€rs of arislocratic Muslim society Bur although he has made rhe dialogue appropriate to such a society, he has not bcen abte to depicl lhat socieiy in his play. Hc has conrposed a prologue according to the Indian style. and ndded a scenic specracle (krura ko) in verse. He has added many songs to meel ihe demands of a musical play, ciling lhe ragas and raginis, and the talas to which they are set. His dra rtis perso ae are named Mansij, Marirm, Nasiruddin, Nasrat Khan,Jahanara, Ajinarn, Abhaunt\ Amina etc.' lAhmcdi rranslaled from the Bengali 2l January December IN Conredy ... Abuodant Channing Songs and Cracctul Darcesl' Afler the untimely death ofAmareDdranalh Dutl (Kulirak was his lasi rcle), lhe play could not contiDue lor long, though Kunjalal Chakrabad appearcd as Shylock for a few nights fronr I January 1916. fchoudhurY lBhatlacharya 16 lnlr l9l0. Ba abala (<Meds rc fo. Measwe). Natiooal Th€atr€ Trans,ated/adapted by Beharilal Durta. Fron the adve(isement in Awita Baa Parrika, 16 July l9l0: 'A Grand Shakespearean Re\,ival / A New Epoch in tndian Stage / An adaptation from Shakespeare\ / "Measui: for Measure" / Our new T.agi Comedy ...' 5 September 1914. Creopdrlo. Minerva Thcatre A play by Pmmathanalh Bhaliacharya bascd chiefly on Rider Haggad's noyel Cleopatru bur also partly on Antory and CLeopatra. Cast: Surendranalh Ghosh (Dani Babu] as Antony, Tarasundari as Cleopatra, Pdyanath Chosh as Caesar, Niradasundari as Charmian, Sarojini as Oclalia. lRilati Jatra 29 Noyernber 1916. Scenes and songs fmm Harirdi sao,Iagar' ^nd Star Theatre Monmohan Goswani as Hariraj, Akshayku,nar Chakrrharti as Dadhinlukh. Kusum*umad as Srilekha. Ascha4yamayee as A.una, Mrinalini as Malina. 23 Septemb€r 1917. Seshbesh (<A 's lUetl That Ends We ). Star Theatre TrJnJ.rrcd b) sourildramohrn MukhopadhlJ). lBhatlacharya 8, 15, 16 March 1919. othe o, Star Th€atre Translated by Devcndranath Basu. T.r^kna* Palil fdescribed as 'AmateLlr' in lhe adverliscnrent ciled bclow) as OtheUor TaBsundari as Desdcmona, Apareshchandra Mukhopadhyay as lago, Probodhchandra Basu as Cassio, IO4 SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STACE PRODUCTIONS IN BENCALI Nagendranath Chosh as Roder,go, Niradasundari as Emilia, Manimala as Bianca, Lakshmikanra Mukhopadhyay as Brabantio, Atindranarh @nslatcd l-rom the Bengalil: 'A thealrical group called "Bhikharini Thealre" Bhattacharyn as thc Duke. Sets by Parcshchandra Basu (Patal Babu) under lhe direclron or ProL.odh( lru nJrJ BJsu. From fie translator's Prcface to the first pdolcd editioD (March t9l9): 'lf this translation has any merirs, they are owing lo him who has moistened such dry clay as myself inro a state lit to be fashioned. namely. the crown-jewcl of dramatic poers, Girishchandra [chosh]. The defects are all nry own. .-. The work is mcanl !o be acrcd on stage. The language has been guided throughou! by rhis rcquircnrent. ... One more word: wilhoul lhc enthusiasm, labour, boldness and sacrif-ice of lhe present expcri Manager of the Srar Theare. my betoved Srj Apareshchandra. Shakcspeare could not possibly have heen reestablished on the Bengali srage.' lTranslaled liom the Bengali] Advertisement in The Betryalee,8 March l9l9: 'EPOCH MAKING EVENT! ... /OTHELLO/ Rcndered into bearriful Bcngali hy / The well-known literary veteran / DEVENDRA N,\TH BASU/Coslumes and Wigs etc from Euro,/pean Firms / General Makc up by / Messrs Watson and SumDrers / Scenery specially prepared lor the oc-/casion according to the directions / ol such rccognised / Shakespeaiean Authoritics as /MR. c. H. BOOTH and SIR / HENRY IRVING / In n word, / the piece will he produced on a Scale / oi Splcndour / Hilherio Unattcmplcd on any / lndian Stage.' Hiruwnfi From thc rcview in The BeaCaLee, 15 March l9l9l 'On lhc firsl lwo nights. thcrc was a remendous rush ... and we were assurcd hy more than one criric that the acting of Desdemona approached perfcclion and the heroine had shown a remarkablc powcr oi adaptability which extorted unstillted puise fiom rhe Mi 19 JlJne 1920. Kuhaki (<4 u' mer Night's Dfta,/). Star Th€atre Translated by Devendranath Basu. lBil ti Jattu 19 January 1925. BhikhariniThe tret Ha j (4lamrer). Monnohan Natyamandir Nagendranath Chaudhud's adaplation (see 1896 97). From announcemenr in Nocllshar.3 Mash t33t lJanuary 1925. \rill act Hatuaj and or, Monday nex( it the Monnlohan Natydnrandir This group consists enlirely of women. The proceeds ol the show will bc used lor works of public wcll-arc. It is a good sign that, although they rre beyond the palc ofsocicty, the heal1s of hapless l-allen women also respond to ihc suf-fering of thc courtry.' 22 September 1926. Sel€cted scenes fmm Othello- Stat The tre Delendranalh Basu's translation (see l9l9). Ahindra Choudhury as Olhello, Durgadas Bancrjcc as IagotMukherjce 29 Scptcmber 1926. Selected scenes from Macr"lt. Stnr Theetr€ Girish Chandra Ghosh s lranslalion Gee 1893). The occasion lvas the installarion of a slatue of Ghosh. Ahindm Choudhury as Macbe(h. Sushilasundari as Lady Macheth. tMukherjee F€bruary 1945. Selected scenes from Macr?r/r. R ngmahal Girish Chandra Ghosh's tunslation. Perlormed at a function lo pay homage to him. IBilati Jata Bangiya Shakespear€ Parishad Thc Bangiya Shakespeare Parishad was set up in I95l lo organi/e and cncourage lhc study, translalion and produclion of Shakespeare's plays in Bengali. published lhree translalions: Ma.r?/? by Nirendranath P.ay, The Metthatt ol vrr,.e by Sunilkumar Chaterjcc, a.d As You Like It by Sunilkumar Chatlcrjce. Productions: The Bangiya Shakcspearc Parishad sponsored It a partial production of Mdtb?th by the Irdian People's Thearre Associalion in 1952. and a iull-flcdgcd one by Rabindra Natya Parishad in 1951- The Mefth.ui of V.ttice was produced by rhc Li11le Thcat.e Group in l95l and the IPTA in 1955 (sec bclow).'The Parishad celebraled Shakespeare Day on 23 April 1955 (scc Chapto I D) and t06 PRODUCTTONS SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STA6E produced 71e M"rchd"t ol Ue ice ir English in 1964. The Parishad had its offlce al Bangabasi Colleg€ (whcre Nirendranath Ray was a celebrated lea.her ol Shakespeare). lAhnled 23 April 1953. Little Theatre Group: rr, Mercha t oJ Ve ice. Univ€rsity Insti(ute Hall Translated by Sunilkuniar Cha(crjee. Sponsored by Ba.giya Shakespeare Prrishad. Utpal Dutt as Shylock, P.emashis Sen as Antonio. Kllindi Sen aS Portia. Sunil Ray as Bassanio, Sckhar Cliatlerjec as Gratiano. Salya Bandyopadhyay as Lorenzo. Anuradha Ray as Nerissa, cila Sen as Jcssica. Rabi Ghosh as Launoelol Gobbo, Bhola Di*ta as Solanio, Birendra Dalta as Salcrio, Provash Bose as Tubal, Jyoli Sen ris Dukc. Frcnl a 1957 brochure of the Lirde Thcare croup: 'We look a healthy delision: Io slage Shakespeare in tmnslalion. Bu1 aftcr slarting ofl with a lruly territ'le production o, Sunil Chatrerjee's cxquisite translation of The Menlla t d Uenice. wc l-elt somewhar 7 November l9S{. Little Theatro G.olup: Macbeth. Ncw Empire ([requently r€p€ated at various veoues. Th€ p€rformanc€ on 15 July 1957 at Rungmah5l Th€alre 1ra$ announced as th€ Slst. Among olher shows wrrc those at Biswarupa Theatre on 18 July 1958; and oo rhe Utfarpa.a Public Library Grornds, originally announc€d for U May 1958 but pGtponcd to 7Jun€ owing to bad seathet to mise funds for the journal Syadli"ard.) Translnted by Jyotirind.anath Sengup{.t. Utpal Du( as Macbeth, Sova Sen as Lady Macbeth, Sunil Ray as Brlquo, Kan(i Mukherjee as Duocan, Sarya Bandyopadhyay as Malcolm, Dhruba Raychaudhuri as Donalbain, Sckhar Chrlrerjee as MLrcdulT, Rabi Ghosh as thc Po(er and Seyward, Ta.un Mitu as Ross. Prolash Bosc as Lcnnox, Indranath Guha as Flcr ce, Tarun Ch,r erjce as Fi6t Muderer, Samaresh Bane{ee as Sccond Murdcrer: Krlindi Sen. R.rbi Ghosh and Samarcsh Banclcc as Witchcs. Therc wcrc sonre cfianges in laier perfomances. Dirccled by UQal Du(. Lights by Tapas Sen. Stage nranager and set designer Bibhuli Mukhedee. IN BENCALI From lhe programnre note: 'scholars mighl debate whelher lhe poelic qualities oi Shak€spearc are prcserved in translation. -.. The aclor looks elsewhere. If th€ languag€ of lhe translation contains thcalrical polcnlial. and thc true nalurc of the cha.aclerc is prcserved despite the oulward changc' then the plxy is acceplable to the actor. ll is in respect of lhese lwo f-actors that we have bccn attracled to Jyotirindr{nalh SenguPta's Bengali translation of Ma$eth- We arc producing il in the hope Ihat the audience will also conline their iudgment lo lhe\. two issues. il as a shorlcoming lhat we havc nol been able lo prescrve the dislinclive huc and amosphere ol a However. we must acknowledge Shakespcffc play.' Frr)ln the review ;n The Statesnwt, Novcmber 1954: somedrrcs pe raps a lilde 'It was a l-ast moving. noisy produclion wtN shoulcd awkwardly. versc good ol lhe deal and a too noisy porlions were cut out and there werc ... For the sake of spccd some a taw unfbtunate departures from the 1cxt. 'Bu1 the company showed a great deal of healthy enthusiasm md doggod determination to make the best ol a badly Lranslated play and ir should be congratulated ior its commendable clfort lo prcscnt - - Shakcspeare in Bcngali. ... 'Thc setling of lhe castle with steps and dark pas$ges in fionl ollhc sccnc was excellcnl, ard skilful Iighting cfitcts werc inlroduced b\ 'lrDJ' Scn. Bul 'omc mrgicdl illu.i.n' creuted ,..,,ir..,1 ri" o,rct". u.r# Jrcddlull) ^vcipicrorIrl.' whcn Machrrh From the review ]n S adhhdta [traoslated from the Bengali]: 'The overall production by Utpal Dull descrves high praise. Ir parlicular, Bibhuti Mukherjee's stage design and Tapas Sen's l;ghting enhanccd the technical erpetise of the produclion.' This review. 1oo, nrentions the consi(cotl) high pilch and volunre oi delivery in the murlier sccne, whcrc il is suggested thd Macbelh aDd Lady Macbeth s loud cxchanges nrusi halc been audible in elery comer *d Otl,elo. 23 April 1955. Scenes from nrc Me.chLttt of Ve irc Raj Bhavan Cclchmtion ol Shakesperrc Day by Bangiya SlrakesPeai: Parishad. Scc Chaptcr I D. IO8 PI{ODUCTIONS SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STAGE IN BENCALI 11 Roderigo' Sova Sen Sarya Bandyopadhyay as Cassio, Rabi Ghosh as Min€rYa Theatre ". Chalterjee May 1955. Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA): fte Merchant oI verrce. St Paul's School Hall; (from June 1955) Under the auspices ol Lhc Bangiya Shakespearc Parishad- Nhmal chosh as Shylock, Kalikrishna Banerjee as Anlonio, Asima Chaudhuri as Portia, Tapan Chatterjce as Bassanio, Anjali Som Nerissa, Nani Banedee as Lorenzo, Hasi as Chatter.jec as Jessica, Samir Banerjce as Cratiano. AjitBasu as Solanio. Kamil s'rt'r 'q Salerio' Satya Chakabarti as Tubal, Dhhaj Basu as l"auncelot Gobbo, Dwijen Milra as Old Gobbo. DhecEd by Nirmxl Ghosh. From fte review in The Statesru , l0 June 1955: 'lThe productionl demonslrated anevr' that howcver adroitly a irans lator may do his job, much depends on perlormen lo liit the Bengali version of a Shakespcare play oul ofan unnatuBl and inelastic mould' ... Tlre IPTA, which once scrupulously followed ihese Principles ir their dramatic produclions, havc thrown them .lll away in this play 30 Aprit 1956. Little Theatre Group: Scenes from 'h'elfth Night Julius Caesar. South Poirt High School ^nd The occasion: l-elicitation ol Salyajit Ray lbr Potller Pancllali' Casl ior n .#rlr Nishr: Tarun Mitra as Sir Tobv Belch, Rabi Ghosh as Sir Andrew Aguecheel, Sova Sen as Maria, Utpal Dutt as Malvolio' Cast for Jrlirr Cr€rdi Rabi Ghosh as Casca, Tarun Mitra as Brutus, Sekhar Chatlerjce as Cassius, Ulpal Dult as Cacsar, SalilBhattacbarya xs Trebonius. The scenes presented fron] J lius Caesat werc rhe r urder scenc and rhe scene in Brutus' tenl- The scenes liom Tn)ewh Night werc repeated on I 7 August and 5 Oclober at Tilak HaU, Maharashtra Nivas' (Cf: Dul's English produclions ol J,liur Caevr a$d Tfelfit Niiht in Chapter I-D, 15-17 July and 2 8 sep 1949.) i,niria. Lr,lt.o Cuha as Bianca, Sunil Rav as Brabantio' Chandi Nimai Ghosh as Graliaro. Bidhai Mukher.jee as Lodo!ico' English pDducdon as lhe;ukc, Dipcsh Scn as Montano' (Cf' Dutt's in I948, Chapler I D.) Little Theatre Group: 'I tizs Cdesar' Minerva conEmporary Announccd as a production ol J,lli'r Ca?rdr 'ihrough trans_ cenlurv l9th eyes' ('sanakatet .hoilP )' though ;t used the lation by JYotidndrunath Tagorc' The cast list was divided inlo three groups as fbllows: as Caesa! 'Followcrs ol Caesal ('Caes'rrpa thi?dn'): Utpal Dult l0 April,3 Mny 1964. Satya Bandyop&lhyay as Mark Antonv, Ni'jr l Guha Ray as Ocravius' patanr Oas as Lcpidus. J.ryasri Kar as Cxlpu'nia' Suiil Gupta as RcnLbli.'!n. \-sadt oL\14n\dn'': Arun Rr) r' Brulu'' M:rli) v',irrcrrec r, C*su', Brrc'htrnr \rrkhel J' Ca'ra' SdnrJnu Gho\h rs Decius. Anil Mrndal as Trcbonius, Bircn Majunldar as Mcrellus Nilima Das as Portia' Cimber. NabakumarDas as Cinna ftc Conspirulor' Krishrn Kumar as Ciccro, Anil Ghosh as Popilius lrna (rd,a/.i): including Pralrv B.lsu as Cinna tlrc Poet- 'Tlrc Pcoplc 1964 bv RoyNK From rhc repori in air,,l, slum Sta daftl' I? Apdl aN.K. Rov): :sLatespcrre ncsti,rt tnauguralcd. As u\ual wilh actor-producr Ulprl OuLr anrl nls troupe, rtrcre was a good dealofsplendour ol lerbiagc prcduction about thc show. ... The distinction ahout lllc and scenes play located the givcn 1o was thc modern shape of idcological strugglc - The lcliisl in a lasoist counlry comPlcte trith ils diabolical insignia Lhe pertor bias' could not be nlissed Lrtpal Dutl [spokc hilbrc consciousness'' sooial manccl learnedly on the Poe! dramxtisl\ (Cf. Dutl's earlier producrion in 1957 and English prcduclion in l9:19.) FebruarJ 1957. Little Thcatrecranpt Julius Caesar- Venue unknown Translatcd by Jyotirindranath Tagorc. (Ct laler cnlry undcr 10 April r964.) 8 Dec€mber 1958. Little Theatre Group: Orrre o. Bismrupa Ulpal Dutt 3s Othello, Nilinrn Das as Desdemona, Tarrn Mitra as Iago. 23 April 1964. lndian People's Theatre Associstion {Sirnantik Sakhnl:./xlias Ca€sa,: Ambasan Nlaidan ai Dtrm Dtrm Dircctcd bY Chirrunjan Das. lrcor the From the rcporL in Ja.q.7nn , l8 April 196'l [lranslated Bengalil: IIO PRODUCTIONS SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STA6E 'The Simanlik Sakha of rhe IPTA has organircd a monlh-long progmmmc 10 celebrate Shakesp€are's 4tuh birrhday. J lius Caesar will b€ prtsenled. There wil, also be rhe snging of selecred scenes from O/,ello. one-act plays and discussion about lhem, and seminnrs and debates. These even$ will circulate round Calcuua and rhe suburbs. A souvenir volurne will also b€ issued. The tint pcrlormancc ofJ!/ids Cderar will be on 23 Apdl at the Ambagan Maidan at Dun) Dum. The play has been.direcred by Chiruranjan Das. The music and lishts are h€ing direcled by Kshilish Basu and Rabi Chakrabarti 24-26Ap.il,9 and Jrliet Minerva 17 May 1964. Little Theatre Grotpt Ronteo and Translated and dirccrcd by Urpal Dutt. Cast lis1 divided as iollows: The Capulels: S ntanu Chosh as Capulct, Nilima Drs as Lady Capulet, Reena Ghosh ns Juliet, Sova Sen as the Nurse, Arun Ray as Tybalr. S|nrar Nag as Peler, Ami Gupta as Sampson, Bireshwar Sarkhel as Grcgoo. The Montagues: Anriya Bisw,rs as Montague, Jalns.i Kar ns Lady Monlague, Malay Mukherjee as Ronrco, Nabakumar Das as Benvolio, Pralay Basu as Balthazar, Sujit Gupta as Abraha . Thc Valeniinc lamily: Jiten Bhaltacharya as Duke ol Verona. Urpal Dutt as Mcrcutio. Palash Das as Paris Priesls ('Sa,n ar6'): Satya Bandyopadhyay as Friar Lawrence. Indrajit Sen as Friar John. Mrch-doctor ('OJrd', prcsumably representing the Apothccary): Biren Majumdar. (Cf. Dutt's English production in Chaprcr I D, 6 March 1949.) 26 April 1961. Udayachal: Ha,rla. Nlahajati Sadan '16 May, at the Biswarupa Shakespeare [estival at Bissarupa Theatrr 20 MaJ, at the Rabindra Nlela at Rnbindia Kanan, in Beadon Square Amar Chosh as Hamlet. Dircclcd by Anar Ghosh. Frclll reporr in A/rrira Ba.ar Patika. 18 May 196,1: 'Sri Suhtid Rudm. General Sccret$y. Rabindm Mela, announccs thc obscrvancc ol the Qutrrter Cenrcnary lri.l of William Shakespeare on Wcdncsday 20lh May a1 6-30 p.m. at Rabindra Kanrn. On this occasioo artistes of IN BENCALI "Udayachal" will III slage "Hamlet" in Bengali.' ISee also Chapler 26 Apdl IVI 1964. Shotrvanikr O.rlslro. Muktangen SubsequenL shows and,27 Novernber I964 onwards, regular perfor- mances. Tolal ol 9l nights. Translaed by Krishna Kundu. K slrna Kundu as Oftello- Shuvra Ghosh as Desdemona- Govinda Gonguly as Iago, Gope, Mukherjee as Cassio, Gaur Charcrjee as Roderigo, Aloka P3l as Emili4 Ruma Goswami (laler Jyolsna Bancrjee) as Bianca, Ashok Milra as Brabanlio, Gopal Sanyai as Montano, Shibu Majumdar as Duke of Venice. Dirccted by Krishna Kundu. Sets hy Bimrl Chakraba.li. Lights b), Swarup Mukherjee. Music by Debashis Dasgupta. From the review in Jtga ta\ 2 Oclobe. 1964 [rranslated i.om the Bcnsalil: 'Although this iive hour ls,.l play has been reduced lo tryo and a half hours, and somc cuts havc becn neccssrry to achieve this, fte subtle lhrcad oflhe originalplay has never snappcd. Rather, the aciion has acquircd a new pace. ... Thc design, wilh r single sel uscd throughout, is excell€nl.' 27-29 Aprtl,T Mar,24 August 1964. Little Theatr€ Group: Chaitali Rater Swap a (<A Midsunner Night\ Dream). Minerva Translated and direcred by Utpal Du1t. Sets by Ninrxl Guha Ray. Lights by Tapas Sen. Cast list dividcd as lolklws: The fairica: Sanlanu Chosh lls Oberon. Sova Sen as Titania, Samar Nag as Puck, Manisha Sarkar, Seenra Bakshi. Mitra Bakshi and Swari Bakshi as fairics. The aristocrat! ( ab,trAri?/a ): Arun Ray asThescus, Chhanda Chaxerjee as Hippolyta. Santaresh Bandyopadhyay as Egcus, Salya Bandyopadhyay as Llsrndcr. Ami Gupl| as Demetrius. Nilinla Das as Hcrnria, Gita SEn as Hclcna. Arup Bakshi as Philonute. The workers ( rr,zrrit,u ):U1pal Duu as Boltorn, Arubinda Chakraba(i as Quiocc, Bireshwnr S,r'khcl as Flulc, Dcbesh Chak.aha(i as S out, sLji! Gufra a. Srr\rlin.r. Indrujll sen r. sntr! I SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STAGE 12 From fie revie\r' in A frcln the Bengalil: Ih a da Bazar Patrika l Mav PRODUCTTONS 1964 ltrans]ated I' erquisite. Thc 'el\ dre 1' rrlrac r\e J\ ('alot,ra)a'). The show bcars u0mistakablc signs dre magical lighling of eood planning and skiltul technique The aciing is of a high orde' ln r $ord. pruducrion The icanlwork is admirablc:everyonc has acled well.: However, special menrion is made ol tlllal Du1!, Sova Sen, Gita Sen, Samar Nag! Salya BandyopadhyaY xnd Atri Gupta. Jdnasebak' May 19# ltramlated iiom the the review I i\ From Bengalil: 'Chaitali Rtter Str?pra has madc us laugh our hearts out. hut thc shali ol concsaled sxtire has rlso pierccd and stirred our coxscious' ness again and agrin.' From the review in ,€Jlr, 16IUly 196'1 ltranslal€d from the Bengnlil: 'Tlrc {?y thc pl|y has teen presenred in Bengali' lreservins lhe mood and i]awur of Shakespeare's orilinal, calls for high praisc- ' Thc produclion calls for the wannesl praise. The stage design is as excellcnt as rhe lighls. The ahosphcrc and hackground ol lhc aclion have becn wonderfully hrought out bv the Ilawless scls and bewirch- ing lightins. ..- The music is pleasing-' This revicw, too, fraiscs thc ge crallv high levcl oi thc aclors Seo and lhcir teanlwork. lt singles oul Ulpal Dull. So\,a Sen and Gila I 1948. Chapter in for special traisc. (Cl. Dut's Erglish Production 1989) D. Hc aiso reviveil Chah ti Rdtet Sro,,ta: see 15lanuarv IN BENOALT I 13 19$(?) Macbeth. Bangabasi Coll€ge (?) Translated by Nircndranalh RaY. Cast: Murarimohan Sen as Macbelh, Ajitkumar Ghosh as Banquo, Sadhankumar BhatlaclBrya as the Porter. Directed by Sadhankumar Bhattacharya and Murarimohan Scn. [Ghosh 7 Apr 1965, Shouyanikt The Mercha t of Venh?. Muktangan 25 August 1965 onwaltls, regular performances. Tolal of 30 nights' Translaled by Govinda CangulY. Govinda Ganguly as Shylock, Krishna Kundu as Antonio, Mamala Chatlerjee as Porlia, Copen Mukheriee as Bassaoio. Nimoo Bho\''lmik as Lorenzo. Jyolsna Bancrjee as Jessica, Nani Das as Cratiano. Bireshwar Milra as Launceloi Gobbo. Sukumar Chosh as Prince ot Morocco. Directed by Golinda Gangulv. Adviser, K shna Kundu' Scls by Bimal Chakrabarli. Lights by Swarup Mukheriee Music bv Debashis Dasgupta. From the review ]n Hind$than Srazda.rl. 3 September 1965: ' "The Merchanl of Venice" is at once a drama ol matchless lii€ndship juxtaposed againsl a nation s torlured pcrsonalitv svmbotizcd bv Shylock. the Jew oI Venice. The performes oi the evening lilied themsclves admirably iolo an exotic sel_up 3nd extracted the cream olfie tbemc wilh compctcnce. None helped them b€ttcr than Govinda Ganguly. whose Shylock was a tleiLt to wa1ch. He went into the very marrow of the part and projecEd Shylock\ tragic image like a truc Shakespeare Festieal Directcd by Sekhar Chatrcrjce. artisle. Krishna Kundu did good jusrce lo the charucter of Anlonio' ... Mamata Challcrjee's portrayal of Ponia had lhe requisite d.amalic bearing about it.' Kironmoy Raha cxlls it 'an excellen! prodLrction' ('Shakespearc and the Bengali Slagc , in A Tribut? to Shake\pearc)' r 28 April 196,1. The{tre U nitt Julius Cus.rf, Nlahziati Sadan, at the Jun€ 1980. N.B. Enterprise: Bhla tibilas (<The Coneb of Enom). Aban Mahal t2 Nl^y lg(A. Othetlo. Rabindtt Bharati UniveNitv Cast: Ajitkum Ghosh as Othello. Anrar Ghosh us Iago Mamata Challedce as Dcsdefl)na. Dirccteo b) Sirangshlr Maitrr' The director and nrany actors werc leachcrs ol thc Univcrsily' lGhosh Translatedadapbd as a prose na ative by Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar' Dramatic adaptation by P.ashanm Deb. Cast wift Shakespearcan equivaientsi Santosh Dalia as Chiranjib I and 2 {Antipholus of Ephesus and ol S}racuse), Nimoo Bhowrnik as Kinkar and 2 (Dromio of Ephesus and of Svracuse)' Bulbul Chaudhuri as Chandraprabha (Adriana), Shibani Basu as Bilasini I I I'1 SHAKESPEARE ON TIIE CALCUTTA STACE PRODI]CTIONS (Luciana), Subir Ganguli as Basupriya (Angelo). Rabi Sinha as Sulradhar (narraror). Produced by Nimoo Bhowmik. Directed by Sanlosh Dalta. Sets and lighting by Anil Laha. Music by BhaskdrMilra. Songs wrincn by Sunil Baran, sung by Manna Dcy and Shipra Basu, Anita Majumdar. Haimanli Shukla. From Ihc review in Ananda Bd.!1r Pattika,27 June 1980 [lranslated from the Bcngalil: 'In lhe cinema it is possible to work rricks wilh rhe camera, bul il is difficull to sustain a dutil role on stage. Ycl rhis fear was performed very smoothly in lthis production]. .-. The audito um is conlinually fillcd wirh pcak ot '[t laughter. is a bold task to ltcl S hakespeare and \.ldyasagar's Bftrardbilas on stage..Prcducer Ninroo Bhowmik's boldncss has paid ofi. The actor-director Santosh Da(a has cnsured lhat lhe comcdy ol'errors grows inesistible by the pace ot' action. ... when linally Sanrosh Daita's dLrmmy Subhash Sinha Ray [as rhc scrond Chiranjib/Antiplrolus] appcars, thc hall resounds with applausc.' The other actors too arc praised. lt is noted rlut rhis is lhe first time Manna Dey sang playback 2 August 1980. Theatre lor the stage. Unir Srinati Bhalankari (<The Taning o! #e 5?,r?l,). Bijon Thcatre Translared/adapr€d by CauLam Ray. Cast with Shakespearcan equivalenls: Sekhar Chauerjec as Pralay (Pet,uchio. Basabi Nandi as Dolon (Katherina), Rabi Ghosh as Milan. Ofier actorc: Kalyan Chakrabafli, Ulpal Ray, Gautam Dey. Soma Mukherjee, Sudhana Raychaudhuri. Dircctcd hy Rabi chosh. Sets by Sushil Ray and Anil Saha. Lighls by Bijay Chaiterjec. Music di.ccred by Anup Ghoshal. Song, Soumilra Chatteljee. Produced in inodcm From rhe review in A andt B.tur Paoika, August 1980 llranslared from the Bengalil: 'tThe productionl has all the qualities ftal make fbr a popular hit. ... The ingredients are tmditioflal, bu1 direcror Rabi Chosh has o(ercised serere control over fte production, so that the traditionnl returns as the ne\!. ... His own actirrg makes the characH oI Milan exceptional: his conric trail is the use of chaslc Bengali diction. ... IN BENCALI I 15 Sekhar Chatlerjce also did not relax his restrained hold over rhe characterization of his prrti in such prcductions, lhcre is always a danger ol cxcess. ... When Pralay arrives ibr his wedding, h;s vcry coslurne js his theatrical rfump card. . [Bu1l Dolon's stock of fou] words is too limitcd: her abusiveness comes to appear an eccenh.iciry rdrhcr lhdn d lurld. .1cntdl ol ch .acrer. . 'Thc lightirg nralchcs rhe rcsl of the producrion. It is never cxcessive- At one poinl thc interior ol-a train is suggesred wirh a lew deft touches. Sushil Ray and Anil Saha have nor done anything very original about thc se1s. Ar times they sccm to have recyctcd ex ier sets: clsc why should Namdurlabh s house have a iireplace. as thc sedng is enlirely locai and conlcmporarll It mighr have been symbolically nlore acutc and suggestivc ro have had a Uij exlinguishe. Anup Choshal's rnxsic is convenrional. Sounirra Chxrrcrjee.s so.g is well,written, but was it really necessary?... At one poinr, lrJ Dolon is shown in I nrclancholy nrood. which jars wirh thc spiril ofthe play. -.. 'Quilc a few times noe: small thearrcs have been druwing big audicnces. This is an encouraging change. Suclr prcducrions ncces, sarily nrake compronriscs. bur neveroirhe tearsomc conventionat sorl. tlany pcople view thcsc ellarts in thc srnre jight rs rhe rraditional commcrcial staget but they arc difLl.lrnr in narurc and nr flavour, 29 December 1980. I00th pcrlbrnrance oiSrn,Eti BtuDa kai a\Bijon Thcal.e. Report in.4,,,"ra Bd:ar Pan il&1.2 Janlaty l98l: .Mr Amilava Chowdhury presidcd ovcr lhe l-unction and Mr Sunjt Gangopadhyay was thc Cucsl-in,Chicl.' See also l0 March t992. March, l8 and 27 Ap l, 2 lvlay 1982. Open Th€at et Hantet. Max \Iueller Aha\an. Sr Paul . Calhedral ground\ Directed hy Anjan Durr. Anjan Dult as Hamlel, Pradip Sahi as Claudius, Chhanda D0( as Gcrlrude, Milali Bhalticharya as Ophctia. From thc rcview in Tlrc Sdatnan.30 NIarch 1982: 'No cogent interprcrarioi appears to govcrn rhc reworking ot rhe rexr. The scenes which come oli hcst are rhose Jeli intacl. '... Dult rcliains liorl rcordering thc sccnes. Thc one exceprion ooncerns the ccllarage sccnc (he Ghon ncver pronrprs Hanrct rnd PRODUCTIONS I 16 SHA(ESPEARE ON THE CALCLMA I I? Shekhar Biswas. Lighls bY JoY Sen Horalio fiom "benealh" ) fun scenes. Insl€ad of the tamous opening, two drunken en'ries make Prince The fathe' Hamleas as ihe Ghost of HoBtio for identitying tries io rape Ophelia oD their first appearance together As in Zadek's veNion, a death mask covers his face and he holds a flower in his with hand- Hamlel presents The Mousetrap, reduced 10 a dumbshow, omircd' players are lbr the Ouildenstem, the help oiRosencrano and In the closet scene, lhough Polonius remains absolulely silcnt' the clairloyant Prince kills him. 'Fron Stoppard's Rosencrantz a6d Guildenstern Are Dead Mr secrel Dufl gets fie idea for the tableau of Hamlci dangling Claudius' lelter in tronl of its original carriers, the attend'nr lords The mad screams at Ophelia wea.s an immacularcly ironed whiie d'ess and lo regular inlervals. She is not drowned ofl slage, but slabs hersell d;th. Laertes dcsc.ibes his quarrcl with Hamlet as 'class struggle"' Laeftes' The swords are not exchanged during fte final duel, Ieaving suioide commits death a mystery wodhy of Sherlock Holmes' Hamlet drinkine lronr lhe nor\oncd cup' Iorlinhrl' cnrer' Ihc 'uge he rcrnotcd' 'Ndking rt,rougtr rtre .,rairor,rrnr and orders lhc bodie' lo pliblior .lenocr,cl. E\celr lor u 'ummr^ ol -To he or nor Io hc ' mu'ic inc gcngr,t; rran'tarion ej.clude' all rhe 'olrloquics lhc 'uccr ... dulls the impact of the $accalo dialogue- h\ 'Yet this rigmarole deserves attention, the Principal reason bcing Pradip Saha's Mr Dutt's superlatjve perlbmance in the title rcle' shlewdness'' Machiavellian poise with Claudius combines regal " T\e ron' Raja ladr' Academy of Fine Arts, Rabindra Sadan Translalion assisted by Diptosh Majumdar as Cloticester' Salil Bandyopadhyay as Lear, Biswaroop Purakayas&a Pari Diptosh Majumdar as Edgal Babu Dulta Ray as Edmund' Regan' Arundhali Bandyopadtryay as Goneril, Sanjukla Basu as Bandopadhyav as Kenl' Bandyopadhyay ad CoLdelia and Fool, Mantu as Cornwall' Chakrabarti Raychoudhuri as Albany, Bijay Debashis BENCAII STACE which takes place belore the first court 25 June, 2 and 16 Julv, 13 Ausust $A6' tN Bursundv' Sh\antlcndu Bcnd)onddhlay as frinrc' 'druP Dey a' nriruLCh.rlrahenia' O.wuld. DirecreJ by Salil Bxno)opadhlJ) Scrs Music by and costumes designed by Arundhati Bandyopadhyay' Bengali]: From the Theatron brochure [translaled fmm the is in A:nlg depicls 'The purelying sociely thal Shakespearc '?ar dosire and tamltiur to u". it;s story of man's greed' envy, ambition we live is eDacted around us every day. The darkness of the time like in is aki to Lear's mcntal blindness we do not know whether' that this hope we bul Lear, we can find rclease lrom this darknessl part'' in some can illuminate the darkness production, 300 years 'ater, 10 Jsnuary 1987. Grafihik. Macbeth' G'D Birla Sabhagar ai Lady Casl: Bipla; Dasgup€ as Macbelh. Regina Bandvopadhvav scn' Macbeth. Sets by Manu Dalta. Lighls by Joy 1987 From review by Snehashis Gnha in Baia an' 22 Jxnuary [lrans]atcd from the Bengalil: :ttrere is nottring let 1o be s.rid about this plavi bu1 it does need and ncted in saying ihat epic drama of this sort needs to be acled' Bengali.' l5 Ja uary 1989, folowed bv regular run from 26 Januarv' Paschimbanga Naaya Ak,lderI,i: Chaitali Rater Sr)qpM' Rabindra UtDal Dull ' lrdnsldrion (\ee 27 2') April 1064'' Nrlvr AlJdcmr rGovemmcnr ol lnaugurrt iunrrion or Pdschimbanga various Wesinengal Theatre,lca<lemy). The actors were drawn from actors' namcs: iheatre groups. ciled in parentheses afcr $e Satya Bardyopadhay (Calcutta Choir) as Oberon' Snigdha Banik eandyopadhyay (Calcutta Choir) as Titania. Ramaprasnd Bidisha Chakrabarti Bidipta (CbenamLrkh) as Puck; Pollv Sen, (Class Chakrabarti, Sudjpla Chakrabarti as Fahies; Omkarnath Chosh as Thealre) as Theseus, Mala Bhattacharya (Pcople\ Liide Thearc) (Thcxtre Hippolyla. Subhas Sarkar as Egeus' Sabvasachi Dasgupta D€metrius' (Samikshan) as Commun") as Lysander, Pankaj Munshi Simr Mukhopadhyay (Rangakarmee) as Hcrmia, Bishnupriya Dutl (PLT) as Helena, Saibal ChdttoPadhyay (Samikshan) as Philostatei (PLT) a{ Meghnad Bha(acharya (Savak) as Quince, Mrin'l Ghosh Botiom, Biplabketan Chakrabani (Chehna) as Flute, Pradip Bhatucharva as Snug' as Snout. Paran Banrllopadhyay as SlarYeling, Sandip Das I 18 SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STACE PRODUCTIONS Thcre wcre some changes in later performances. Directed by Utpal Dutt. Lighls by Tapas Scn. Sets by Manu Datta. Costumes designed by Bishnupriya Durt. Music rekcn from Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky. Fronr rhe review by Aflanda Lal in Th? TeLegraph.24 January 1989: 'His [UIpal Durt'sl trandation is on thc $,hole laithful, and wherc he does deliale Iiom thc original as in the Pyramus ltnd Thisbe enactment his interpolations seem permissible. justified by the spirir of bulToonery that infbims the cralismen's an(ics. For inslance. Dutr adds considerable horseplay ro the dealh of Pyramus. But he str;ves to relain couplels in Bengali for the play-wirhin-a,play and otherwisc, too, uses an adequatc vcrse lorm lbr Bcngdli delivery ... he paints the lorest as a darker. morc mysrerious placc than Slukespeare pcrhaps intendcd. The lighl-heared tiivolily oirhe r€xr makes way iora mthcr Ioo'serious approach until lhe sccond hall. 'None of the cast outshone the others. which in one respect is a good sign. Puck (Ramaprasad Banik) appeared the nro( energetic. bul his somewhal sinisler laugh and aspcct seemed oul oi place in an early Shakesp€are conrcdy. Oberon (Satya Bandyopadhyay) and Titania (Snigdha Bandyopadhyay) failed ro express a proper royal bcaring, evcn it they merely rulc orer lairyland. BishnuJ,iya Duit acted in character as Helena hut was allowed io overshadow Hcrmia (Sima Mukhopadhyay). thereby oplettiDg the balance belween ihe roles. Lysander (Sabyasachi Dasgupra) and Dcmerrius (Pankaj Munshi) - made a valiant attcmpi 1o individualise pa(s ihar Shakcspeare probably overlooked. The besl perfo.mances came lrom lhe citizcns, parlicularly Botlom (Mrinal Chosh). whose pompous air and asinine lransfolmation camc across well. 'Although thc se1 lbr the forcst gave the inrpression of a magical environment, Tapas Sen\ scheme ol- chiaroscurc placcd too much oI il in enignratically sombre hu€s, fic(uri0g a shdowy narure that contmdicls ils essenlially henign quality. ... The use ofMcndclssohn s Wrddittg Llarch lot Mitlsu l tu Night's Drca as opcning (and lheme) music sl.uck one as illogical when rhe s.lme composer has leli behind a beautilnl Oye,1!r.e to the play ftar would have been ideal.' Frcm rhe review hy Samik Bandyopadhyay in Ad,dd Bazar Patrika, l6 June 1989, of a special performance lbr Shakcspeare's 425rh birth IN BENOALT I 19 anrdversary ltranslated lrom lhc Bengalil: 'll rnigh seem ar firsi sigbl that A Midsumnrcr Ni9htb Dredrr is easier ro produce than Shakcspearean tragedy. Aclually. the reverse is lruc. This single play combines rhrce plays in one that touch one anolher ftom time to time. or even get enlangled; but they demand the creation of three dislincl styles. ... Ulpal Babu has nol faced up to the problem at all. He does nol even aLlempt to realize in dramatic Iems his splendid perception of lhe piay's signjficance in his Director's Notel JThe critic fiDds gra,re faults in the presentation of the .ourtiers and ihe fairies.l Finally. Chaitali Roter SnpM gathers force only from lhe humour of the Mcchanicals.' In this performance, Bottom was played by Meghnad BhaMcharya. 28 April 1989. Thestre Arts *brkshop: /rr)n?/ Rat (<Tyelfth Nianr). Sisir Moncha Translation, direclion, art, design and music by Daxatreya Dut1. Casa Bhaskar Chaxerjee as Orsino, Mahua Challerjee as Olivia, Rituparna Chakraborty as Viola, Suraj Mukherjee as Sir Toby Belch, Siddhartha Dey as Sir Andrew Aguecheek. Nandini Sen as Maria. Jayanta Chowdhury as Malvolio. Daltatreya Dult as Feste, Kaushik Mukherjee as Fabian, Raja Mukheiee as Valentine, Milind Kulapkar as Curio. Debu Chakrabarli as Sebastian, Dcbabrata Chakrabarti as Anlodo, Siddhartha Biner.jee as the Captain, Parthasarathi Kumarand Shubhrajit Cha(erjce as Oficers, Arka Basu, Shabidul klam and Submla Banerjee as lhree Jeslers. Songs in Bengali se1 to original Elizabclhan lunes. Revellers' song riten ,iom O,ir?//o ll.iii. (See also entry on revival, 13 August 1991.) May-Jun€ 1989. Calcutta Group Theatrc: Svapt,alatulha (<A MidSadan, Academy of Fine A.ts, Girish Mancha A play hy Parrha Chanerjee, based on ,4 Mihunmter Night's DreanTbe relaiionship ro Shakcsp€are\ play cmerges l'rom thc reliew su ner Nietu\ beam). Rabindra Casti Seshadr; Mukhopadhyay, Runu Chaudhori, Molly Goswami, Debanjan Sur, Diiip Majumdar, Dibya Bhallacharya, Prabha Sivastax SHA(ISPEARE ON THE CALCI]TTA STAGE 'Shibsharma' in ca ashakti t2l IN BENCALI Sec account of original produclion,28 Directed by Anal Gupta. Irom rcview by PRODUCTIONS April 1989. The l99l revival [rranslated from the had the following major changes in the casi: Barna Maitra as Olivia, PrasanraBhattacharya as Sir Toby Belch, Antara L,tukherjee as Maria. '\Nhen Clnita| Raaer Swlpna has been regaling the Calcufla audience for four and a half months, a second version oI the same play might draw plaudits for its boldness. ... The Calculta Group Music by Pranab Das. Frc the review by Ananda Lal in The Telegtaph,26 August l99l: ',,, not so much a aranslation as a compression of Shakespeare's play, Done in undea two hours, and be.eft of many verse passages, it turns morc into an exposition of plot ... than characte.. . . , B ut then the Bard himself subtilled it Whar you will --. 'lDaxatreya] Dutt simplifies fie lext into a stmight comcdy, his interprctation sunrmed up in his owo performance as Feste. A line singer and nlerrymaker in molley, he nonetheless neglccts Fesle\ detached, lhoughrful sidc. ... Only Jayanta Chowdhury touches this sombre note wilh an accomplished portrayal of Malvolio. '... Dutt's set design makes some cffcclive use of backlighiing.' Bengalil: Theatre has not cited Shakespeare\ name anywhere neither io the announcements, nor ar rhe srarr of rhe play irselt _.. why conceal - lhe dramatisl whose very name would acl as a dra\,r'? The reason 'In Svapnakbdha. the setting and chamcters are all Indian. ... The play wiftin a play at the court is based on the Mesh adbadhkabla. ... B mos( striking of all is a novel character callcd lhe Computer. The Compuler Inusi count as a characrer! for it speaks (though i1s words cannot be undersrood) and aids o. opposes varjous acrions on stage. Whatevcr rhe imaginarive impulse rhat created such a cha.acter, ho\y is ir that an experienced lroupe could not realize how much il slackens the structu.e of the playl ... 'Were these superfluities meant to outdo Shakespeare? h thal why his oame is not menrioned in rhe play? If so, the atGmpt fails, because whatever is vilal and enjoyable in the play is solely ou,ing to shakespeare. of 'But takjng an overall vie\ the play sarisfies us by rhe quality its production. This is chieUy owing to the direclor's skilful of the actors. There was no scopc 10 follow authentically Shakespearean techniques here, ,or has rhe director made any such cffon- The production contrasts in this rcspecl planning and the sincere eflom \tith Chaitali Rater SNap a. ... 'Before the play opens, there is an a(empl lo present another play wilh the same characters. This pa( is nor related ro the main plol, and may appear sup€rfluous. -.. [n the same way. towards the end of the play, near the climax, there is a long song whose neccssily might be examined afiesh by the direclor. ... 'In scts, ligh6, direction and acting, the Calcutta croup Theatrc retains its brighl reputalion untamished.' NMr). Muktrngar Augnst 1980. From the review in Basu tati, 3 April 1992 [translalcd from the Bengalil: ... 13, 15 August 1991. Th€atr€ Arts lv)z- Madhurcna (<The Taming of the Shrcr). Univcrsity Institute Hall Translated/adapted by Gautam Rry. See also Srimoti Bhq"a kati, 2 lO March Workhop: Ilbrirr Rat (<Tteewh 'When Gautam lRayl lransforms The Taning ol rhe Shrc|| into MadhurcM, rhe laughler becomes only the extemal covering ol thc play. in the fotm of satirei within it, it retains the Shakespcarean ideology. Naradurlabh Haldar. the avaricious. mcan mindcd trader in dried fish, Milan. Kanak, Dipak- allenter the play as representalives capilalisr values. And beneath the wrapping of arrogancc, Pralayshankar [=Petruchio] presenls the audience wilh an unclu(ered oI humanity that surely repr:sents the value-system, prized by Shakespeare, that had been pillaged by feudal and capitalisl society. Pralayshankar raises alofi the pennant of hu anily and human relations rhat had been crushed by the weight of weallh.' 3 Octobe. 1992, Chetana: Corrolarrrs. Sarala Memorial llall Brecht's veEion of Shakespeare\ play, lranslated by Suman Mukherjee. TotaUed I 9 performances. Supriya Dutta as Coriolanus. Nandila Ray Chaudhuri as volumnia. PRODI]CTIONS SHAI(ESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STACE Mihir Banerjee as Menenius, Sudip Chakrabarli as Aufidius Prabai Valeria' Kanti Ray as Sicinius, Supriya Palas Brulus, KalPana Panda as bv Dipak Lights Sen' Directed by Suman Mukhcrjee. Sets by Kaustrbh Mukherjee. Sound by Kalyan Chakrabarti' Fro'n th; review by suraj il B andyopadhyay in P'a"dl'r, 24 December 1992 ltranslalcd fiom the Beogalil: 'The dircclor Suman Mukherjec has succeeded in preservirg lh€ guided proper mood and atmospherc liom beginning 1o end' He has UntbriunaElv' onlv ihe reins oI a dilficull plav with a finn hand' extent llhe ones any nolable puryose to rwo of the actors assisi his " playing Coriolanus and Volumnial ." 'it" ,"lt helP in rccreating thc pedod and seltirrg oi the plav' it so The idea ol bamboo scafiblding is cxcellent, and Snman uses well thal il can suggcst everylhing l'iom $e palace to the balllelicld ir an inslanl. Tlrc ambicnce has becn vitalized by lhe sound ol sticks and thc clash of weapons coo$ircd wiih microphonic sound'' From fie review by Dharuni Ghosh in TIrc States nn' 1992: tbr what 'Chchna's Coriolar.rr... needs to be praised not so much ,' howeleL achicves as tbr the couragc of its youlhiul direclor withoul aoy tcxl a difiicult b€' cxploring amateurish the atlempt may vielvcr the In the end rewa'd hopc of commcrcial success has hs own gains somc undershnding of the political mrn 'The version tirst pcrfomed bv the Be iner Ensemble in 1964 ' does no1 shows no more than two nrajor cuts' "' Since Mr Mukherjee beyond sinking fionr him saves make further delclions, .. Sh*espeare ir and green 'The bed.aggled costumes (russel-coloured forRomans tor Volscians), noi to menlion thc omission of leathcr t'iom soldicr's of staging uniiorms on bolh sidcs. once morc demonsnale fte futility greal expense at Brechl on n shocstring budsel Hc ob! ned ausierity 1() stir ... A revohing disc ought to carry Coriolanus, who reluses Mr out of h;s corner, to rolcrs during his campaign tbr consulship' walk up ge$eml lhe arrogant having by Mukherjec spoils thc eflect would il to do that able lo cvery ordinary cirizen. Wcre lhc man hJ\e hecn J dilicrcnr slu).' I 991: From rhe review by Anan da Lal in me Telesr'tph ' 23 Januarv re as Rrechr deridcd what chatlcnges 'The productbn ... rarelv political conllicrs lhe several "bour;eois lhealre", nol allowing anv of lo attain me\imum impact t21 IN BENGAL1 ... 'The unlikely, diminulive Supriya Dfta in the eponymous role holds Ibe show logethcr with thc only Brechlian pcriormance' onc is reminded of Brecht's own commcnls on this pffl which does not requirc phlsic.rl iorce to inspire fear, therelbre no nced lbr a'sixleen_ srone Coriolcnus' ...' Apiit 1995. Hillol: J liur Cae&tr. venue unknown Translalor unknown. SupriyaGupla as Caesar, Rakesh Sahanias Brulus, Alok Mitra Thakur as Cassius. Abhijit Mandrl as Mark Anronv. Directed bv Abhijit Mcndal. , l9 Mav 1995 [t'ansFrom Ipshita Mukhopadhyay s review in D. lared iioln the Bensalili 'Thc renson why $is noble lragedy has suflered a loss of weight is the naturc of thc translalion. ... The translalor has sclected quick llowing colloquial prcse as his mediurn' - Bul '/'li's Caer'ir cannol be judged sole,y by lhcme. without considering thc distinctivencss and lariet) 23 April oi its P.osody.' 1996. Shakespeare Socieav ofEast€rn Indis: Sc€nes from Hamler. British Council. Amar Ghosh as Hamlet Dora Mukherjce as Gertrudc' Frcm Tie strrerr,.,r, 29 April 1996: 'Thc evening began wiih the rcading ol ShakcsPan: sonnec by {he English pocl Joc Winto and was lbllowed bv a rcmsftable oreali\e tlre stoty ol Macbeth rendered drrough qanntti 8a ' " orrow" Su;g in the Bcngali style \T ere'Tomorrow, tomon)w and to of laughter' in spl ils ''' and 'Out ou t briel candle" that had fte audience from Hamlet 'As if io bring in an element ol scriousness Acl lV was cnacted in Bcngali bv Anrar Ghosh and his group'' output lSikdar 23 April llx. Theatrc Nbrkshop: Scenes fmm Ma',e"L Madh$ndan Nlanclu Dirccted b] Ashok Mukhoprdhyay' 20 June 1996. Theatre Passio n* Translaled by SYed Shamsul Huq. Tempest A/lademy of fine Arts SHAKFSPFARE ON THE CALCI]TTA STACE Chandan Sen as Prospero, Saplaparna Basu as Miranda. Manik Das as Ferdina d, Kharaj Mukhopadhyay as Ariel, Shanlilal Mukhopadhyay 3s Caliban, Barun Gangopadhyay as Alonso. Deb.anjan Nng as Conzalo, Shahzada Parlez as T.inculo, Arun Tapadar as Stephano. lndranil Sa.karasAnlonio. SukeshChakraba(i asSehaslian. Dircclion by Ramaprasad Banik. Music by Baniprasad Banik. Sel and costumes by Manu Dutla. Lights by Bdal Das. Makeup by Saflrirr De. From the ,€yiew by Shekhar Samaddar in,4,ard, Ba.ar Patrika, l'7 Augusl 1996 [translated from thc Bcngali]: 'The Tenpert has not so far been performed ti.e.. in Bengalil ... using Syed Shamsul Huq s fairly faithtul lranslalios, Theatre Passion has slagcd the play in a manner suited to our limes'The dhecror has on the one hand crcated rhe illusion intended by &e dramatist ... hut also. atnidsl it. certain scenes rhai touch rhe mind, like rhe ]caves sudde.ly lighting up with a green ghw when Ferdinand and Miranda join hands. or Ariel at ihe end flying a nag on thc mast of the moving ship. Septemb€r 1996. Saurabh (women's r,trine')t stimtti BhaJankari (<The TaDins of the Shrelr). Kalakunj Gautam Ray's adaptalion. (See 2 August 1980.) Casl (all women): Polly Mukherjee as Dolon (Kurherina), Sandhya lliswas as Pralay (Pelruchio), Kalpana Nlitra .rs Naradurlabh. Swapnaiekha Ray as Kanak, Moli Ganguli as Alu. Shubhra Mitra as Dipak, Dipali Ray as Chatak, Sunanda Mukhcrjcc as Sanalan. Directed by Kalpana Mitra. Froin the review in P,zrdni,27 Scptember 1996 [lranslatcd liom the Ben*qalill 'This play was bng perfbflned professionally by well-knowrr actors on thc professional stage. I had been afraid I would bc disapfDinlcd by rhe prescnl production. But as lhe play progressed. the hall filled with more and more laughter ... By olie ng a resume o, thc story in song bctb.c the play started. and by making the chrmcters inrrcduce ftemsclvcs anrong coloured lights. an excellent cinematic 'All the roles were played hl women.... The coslumcs 125/ PRODUCIIONS IN BENCALI and makcup were so effeotive drat lhis could only be madc out lmlll lhe voiccs- B. Brothers [the makeup lirml can lay claim to praise.' 22 July 1997. Total The.tre: Ilomr?, Rsbindra Sadan 2 Norember 199? onwards, regular run at Sarala Nlemorlal the Fort Hall; willia 6 Iuay 1998 onwards, open_air performances grounds and the gmunds opposite th€ Academy ofFine Arts' apart from pedormances at Sarat Sdan, Howrah Adapted by Santanu BandyoPadhyay. DirecSantanu Bandyopadhyay as Hamlet. Indranil Pal as Polonius 't tion, design, music, costumes, lighiing by Saolanu Bandyopadhyay From the review by Ananda Lal in The Telegraph,25 Julv t997: '... lrom the starl, we become pleasantly conscious of walking inrc an unusual show: a meticulously_planned se( oi dark rnetal abslrac_ tin barrels heaped on the side. a nanow bridge downstage' tions an ominous hollow coffin dangling overhcad. a lone 'in slowlv all backlil by a blue grcen cvclorama' The bcaiing a huge drum - lights remain this colour throughout ... 'Marc€llus and Bernardo enler flashing lorch€s into the hall' " When Hamlet enters in white (against the black coslume schenre lor the rest oI Deninark) we smile, recognising thd Bandvopadhvay knowingly upsels the acccpled convenlion of drcssing hnn in blrck' unheroic' 'He charactcrjses th(r hince e.ccntrically too grimacing and stammering, his gangty {ranc someLimcs leaping aboul - like a wildebeest. This invenlive yct apl streak manilests ilscll' variously- Claudius speechifies into a mike: Hamlct traps thc Ghost fte dumb in a nct and asks him questions raised on signboards show involves two hand puppets wift nasal nlllradot ' Claudius interogales Hamlet, trussed and hung up lrom a rod' about Polonius' body; Laerles displays prowcss as a martial arlist' 'Not everything, of course is praisewonhy. ... A pas dc deux bct\,ren him lHrmlel] and Ophella is ludicrous, but the big mislakes " 'He makes Hamlct guilty oI Polonius' prcnreditaled murdcr, and rhc las! scene fealures a hallhour duel reminiscent of Hindi iilms; hesides, Hamlcl rciuscs lo dic and ins;sls on having the lasl word' Neverlheless, a fine altempt holding promisc of grcater things to From the rcvicwby ChailiDhar in P,add,n, 30 Januarv 1998 ltrunslaled the shge, the i'om the Bengalil: Thc aclors lake over lhree areas - PRODIJCTIONS SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STACE auditorium wherc the audience is seated, and the balcony abovc as (hcir acring space. This rcmoves thc distrnce belwcen the ac1i,s and fie audience, but prevonls cerain scenes liom gelling properly. 'Sanlanu Bandyopadhyay's dramatic version is not only a trans' larion: il is a synlholic presenlalion of the prescnt rcality of our smicty. This is brought oul though many scqucnccs ol diakrgue, soliloquy and song.' 1997. Anya Theaire: IclYt lu Tithit Calpa (<h+,elfih Nrgrrr). Sarala Mcmorial Hal, Translaled hy Dattakeya Dutt. (See als{ Jll)r,idr ]?rr, 28 April 1989.) Bisrvanath Mukh€dce as Orsino, Seenia Blrdlacharla as Oli.,,ia Mahua Srrkar as Viola. Uiiwal Chalt€rjec as Mi},olio, Dcbabrata Chalirabarti as SirTohy Belch, Bidhrtridev Sarka. as Si.Andrew Asueclcek. Aiur) 5 August IN BENGALI Thc production was part of the Colden Jubilt' celehrations o{ the grorlp Srimrncha ot Paikpam, Calculln. See review in P'a'dr' 8 November 198. (R) BY BANGLIDESHI COMPAN'ES 3 D€cernber 1988. Nagarik $nd Theatre, Dhaka: of Fine Arts (at the litth Mac""' Acad€mv Nandikar National Theatre Festival) Chakraba(i as Feste. Direcled hy Dallrtrcyn Duti. Translated/adaptcd by Shamsul Haq. Aly Z.tkcr as Macbeth, Ferdousi Majumdcr as Ladv Macbeth' Akur Hayat Rahman as Banquo, Khairul Alam Sabuj as Malcolm Atxlul ,s Duncan, Tari.tAnam as Mrcduli: Direcieil bv Christopher SaDdford' Han'ison' Stage dcsign by Kim Witchcr. Light a'd sound bv Howard Frorn thc relicw by AnandaLal;n The Telestaph,28 Notcrrbe. I997: Fm '. - Dult does not adapt but mnslates Shakespcarc\ TvelJih Niqht lailhlully - albeir not in vcrsc. .. The rppealing aspecls oflhis show are Dutfs dircctorial mise-en-scene ... and his abilit! 1() cast a Viola and Scbastian who hok rcasonably alike.' Dulr acted Sir Tohy in this show. From rhc rcview by Saumitra Basu in Anokla Ba.dl Ptnrika,29 November 1997 flranslated lionl the Bengali]: 'A.ug is laid out in dre middlc ol rhc auditorium. Steps co'ne down lrom thc slage to the levcl oflhc audicncc. A slrelch ofolen sprre, likc a coffidor surnunds thc audience seatcd on lhe rug. whcn thc play opens. iL is sccn thal the entire area, ercept for the pa.t where Lhc andicnce is seated, pl.o\idcs lhc acting space. ... For vrrious faclors, this dcsign fits in ve.y well wilh thc play: it does not secm an exrinsic gimmick. ... The acting spacc c.rn be expanded or contaclcd ns necessary. ... Inslcad oi spccially dcsigned scencfl,. th. aclual airhitccturc oi the auditorirm is put to usei even ils delccts ean be turncd to good purpose. ... Unxhlc lo drcss lhe shge as hc rnighl wislr, the direclor has had lo corry)cns:rlc by somc ertrn rnd in Lhe .lcting.' brightncss in fie coslumcs and makcup - 2 November 1998. Srim{ncha: Cofl.rl,trxs. Cirish Nlanchg lhe relicw in Jegdrrdr.5 Decembcr 1988 llranslatcd iiom rhe Bcnsalil: 'Th; ranslrtor is lhc lamous Bangladcshi l,e1 Shansul Haq " Bul cxcess of rhcloric a lot ol the diahguc has bcen rcndercd heavv bv 'ii r. h..r .- Direcrcr unahl. rndallireralion, which mostottheacrorsarc poor skill of thc by the bud Sandfo.d's grand design lvas nippcd in (hc actorsi yet hc ha.l a(empted to introduce some bold choreography did and an cpic notc. Slrangely, the lighting direcror Howard Harrison not avaiiot a singlc opporlunilv to create stage'illusion \''hich could have madc up lbr many oJ thc shorlcomings ol lhe producdon "' The .ostumcs werc altrxctive.' From the review by Dharani Ghosh ln The Stat"t nn l0 Dccembc' r988: the rhe dislrcssing spccracle ol a oast at cross f'urposcs wilh rhythrrr lo thc without a clue dirccior... bewildered nren and \\'onren, ftc hcadlong rush ol elcrts demands, dispose o[ lhcir lincs 11 '... breakncck spccd, as il rliaid that the words sould cxplode like trombs honr thc rc!iew by Anrnd rLal hThe Telesaph l0 Dccembcl 1988: The Nasarik'The.rlrc productnnl sanely ioUo\lcd thc iexl " not sn,rying into intcrprcti!c nuances. It convcvcd adcquately the classic pla)'' case ol selffuliilling prophccv rcprcsenlcd bv thc '... SIiAKESPEARE ON TIIE CALCUTTA STACE '... Questions could atso b€ raised abour Christophcr Sandford.s direclorial decisions. He dropped - needtessly, it seemed the scencs of Banquo's murder lnd young Siward's dealh at Macbeth's hands. He cunailed the dagger scene and the conversation betwe€n Malcolm and Macdufl which conrains essenrjll retiections on chamcter and political rarnilications. Aod why was Lady Macdut} stabbed to dea$ on slage bul Macberh dispatched offstage, in contralenrion of rhe m PRODUCTIONS IN OTHER LANGUAGES lext?' 3 May 1991. Nagarik, Dhaka Darpa (<Eantet). Academy offin€ Arts (at the Bohurupee festival) Adrpred and directed by Ali Zaker Khaled Khan as Hamler/Daryan, Nima Rahman as ce.trude/ Begum, Kaisar Chaudhuri (as Claudius), Abul Kalam Shamsuddin (as polonius), Shahin Khan (as trertes), Shannishrha Rahmao (as Ophelia). From thc review by Ananda Lal in The T"tegrph, t7 May l99l: 'Nagarik ... refer lo Da,Zan --. as an efforr to make Hanld.,more deeply ou. own". They nced not apologise, for ir is a iairl) straighttbrward albcit sho(ened prose tmnslarion with the cha.acters and ,rluJrion Irrn,po\cJ inru Lhc rL,Jl BrnplJJe\hr cn\ onnrcnt. 'Among rhe more successfrl alrera(ions, thc ghost ot Hamlel Senior remains unseen. its presence suggesred by an eerie spottight that shines up cenlresragc liom above, iIS voice heard over the sound slstem. The roving playcnj get rransftrmed into one main ilincrant minstrel,bard, and Zaker pcrceptively rerains rhc elaborate dumb show prccetling rhe ll,lousetrap plry. ... Pcrhaps the only maior irritanr in Bengalifying {hc tragedy is rhe conve.sion ot Rosencra.tz and Guildenstem into identical lookiog mu ahs. 'But in Acr Five. all o[ a sudden, Shakcspeare gcrs thrown fbr a toss (panicularly in rhc final scene whjch abruplly opcns wilh Hantel and Laei(cs wrestii,rg). In an almosl imparienl hu.ry to end. Zakcr curs lhe Fortinbras subplot, the G.avediggers, sccne ... and the episode wilh Osric. Alrhough a rheatricalty lense duel lollows when Hamler and Laefies brandish rasry swirchbtades atier rheir wrcslling bou( ... the truncated conclurion finds Hamler slabbing Claudius but nor ib.cing him to drink liom rhe poisoned chatice as Shakespeare (A) BY LOCAL COMPANIES 'Al lhat time [lhc lgth ccntury] some phys of Shatespeare werr trarslated into Urdu by Ahsan Lakhnawi. Aficr him. the most importani pcrsonaliry and successtul dramatist ofthe Urdu thcatre was Agha Hashr Kashmiri. --. To produce the plays, he set up the New Shakespeareao Theatrical Company.' lTranslated from the Bengali of Rafiq-ul Islam, 'Kalkatat Uftlu Natak'('Urdu Drama in Calcutta'), Prat iitt.26 Febt.uary 19951 Dec€rnber l9lS. Parsi Alfrcd Theatrical Comprn): Some Shak€sp€arean adaptations in U.du. Alfr€d Th€aare B^zm-e-Fa'ri lRomeo a n Juner) Shaheed-e-Naz (Measxre Jor Measuft, Mureed-e-Shak (7rr? Wintet\ Tak\ Khoon+-Nahaq (flai, re, Thc leading ackess was Miss Gohcr [a laDous singer loo, known as Gduhar J.,nl. [The Be gal?e. Dccanbet t915 ii thp Bcryatpe. l ' Defembcr IqI5: 'Afrcd Thedtre / 9t. H$tison Road / The Parsi Alfred Theatrical Co. / will perform / To-night, Friday ar 9 p.ni. / Mnfted E Shak / Shakespeare's Wi er's Tale / (In Orienul Garb) / Prices:- Rs. 3. 2, Ad\<ru.emenr I Anr l)&6 In the 1920s, Calculta had lwo 'Parsi Theares' (rheatres run by Palsi 129 I3O PRODUCTIONS SHAXESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STAGE managers for the staging of commercial Hindi-Urdu plays). the Corinthian on Dharamtala Street and the Alfred on Hanison Road. The mosi celebrated writer for the Parsi theatre was Agha Hashr Kashmiri, an Urdu poet who could write quotable rhymed lines and knew the art of atracling an audience wilh plenty of melodrama and music, grand scenery and colourful costumes. and enchant;ng visual settings and illttsions' [Mukher]ee By i950, the Parsi thealre had closed down comPletely except for the Moonlight Theatre in Calcutta under the renowned Fida Hossain. He produced adaptations of Shakespeare. I'Calcutla's Urdu Theatre Revived', Atnrita Bazar Patrika,g May 1981 April 1964. Prachlav,nij Venice-Vanijon (The Merchant o/ yedc€ in Stnskria). Biswanrpa Theatre, Mahqiati Sadrn Translaled by Jaindra Binal Chaudhuri. Pandil Anath Sharan as Shylock, Urmi Chatterjee as Porlia, Anindyasundar Chatterjce as Bassan;o. Dirccied by Jatindra Bimal 25 and 27 Chaudhuri. From the report in Antita Bazar Patika. S June 1964: '... ihe Prachyavani Sanskrit-Pali Players' troupe staged lhe Sanskril version of Shakesp€are's Merchant of Venice. This is lhe first-ever staging of a Shakespearean drama in Sanskril. The excellent lransla_ tion, singing and acting ... drew applause. ...' From the review in Darsldi. vol. 4, no. 20. 1964 [tmnslatcd from fie Bengalil: 'Venice-Uanion was such a failure as thealre thai il is unworthy of discussio$. The audience referred to it fie nexl evening by the witty query, "How did you eojoy The Comeb ol Etots last evening?" ' lsee also Chapter Ivl 5 November 1988. Padatik n4la kdr (Hindl). Gl'an Manch Translared by Ak.hay Upadhyay. Shyamanand Jalan as Lear, Shakil Khan as Gloucester, Cheha Jalan as Gonenl, Sanchayita Bhattacharya as Regan, Shampa Ghosh as IN OTITER LANCUACES I3I Cordelia, Arun Sharma as Edgar, Ashok Walia as Edmund, Mehmood Alam as Albany, Kunal Padhi as Comwall, Pradip Ray as Kent, Rajaram Yagnik as the Fool, Balmukund Hada as oswald. Directed by Fritz Bennewilz of the Weimar National Theatre, German Democratic Re_ public. Siage design by Franz Havemann. From the review by Ananda Lal in The Tekgraph, 15 NoYember I 988: '... it did not offer any new angle, style or adaptation: it was a faithful bur )omeqhal condensed lranslalion. 'Indeed jt nay have been this compression fiat diminisbed the impacl one normdll) anLicrpate( from l^Pdr. '.-. Shyamanand Jalan's approach of underplaying the role lof Learl cannol rLselt be laolled ... a qureler charactert.rtion providcs a welcome and different perspective. At the same lime, Jaian's Irar never rose to he;oic heights... so thal the downfall was not steeP enough to sufficiently arouse either our pily or tenor. .. 'lt was Rajaram Yagnik. fte Fool, who made lhe most of one of Shakespeare's splendidly theatri€al parts. ... [I]n the mid-seciion of the play ... there is a buill-in tendency in the lines for the FooI 10 overshadow the king, wbich is wha! happened as Yagnik imper- ceptibly cornered lhe spotlighl ... '[Gloucesiet Goneril and Regan a]so said to be too muied l In comparison. Ashok walia's depiction of Edmund, evil manifest in buman shape, proved much more convin€ing .-. building up a confidential reladonship wilh the spectators by employing glances direcied knowingly at $e audicnce. ... 'Franz Havemann's stage design disappointed. centring on a massive throne consisling of an amorphous torso, the groin of which (for som€ reason) seNed as the seat. Overhead was susPended a rocky ceiling, as backdrop a cyclorama on which clouds flew past during lhe slorm scene, and upstage a few sPodighls mounled on scatTolding to give the eff€€a of Brechtian alienation. The use of masks in the opeling scene was inleresting and suggestive of hypocrjsy: the actors her mask embodied remole.d them after Cordelia - Iifled - honesly and utiered her firsr speech-' From the review by Sekhar Das in Aajkal, 16 November 1988 laanslated from the Be,tgali]: 'To €ome ftom the rear to the main acting arer, one has lo cross soma psnitiom of broken planks and drawn cunains: a stage \rithin 1..;a-;i,:E@q-''j-- I32 SHAKISPEARE ON THE CALCUTIA STAGE PRODUCTIONS IN OTHER LANCUACES a stage, the gate ro "the greal stagc of footi.. From a few iron rods geometrically arrangcd there hang two lamps on each side, as wel as a crdne: clear sign ol the lron Age. Ihc certing eloke, rhe Srone Age. Alrhough nol obtrusively. rhe srage is divjded inlo three liers as on the Shakespearean srdge. On rhe middle stage, and ro the tefl of the back stagc, the.e is brighr modcrn fluorescena ljgiring. ... Bur to the left of rhe lronr slage is the ruined Rcnaissance archilecrurc of Albany's paiace, with a royal flag stuck on it. To rhe righl is a throne made up of broken images. ... The dramalic tlllte extends from the primeval to (he modern. of Raja Lear '[Of LLar after Cordelia.s retusai in I.i:] Where is that rnger? It begins 1o seem as though Lear is not a king but the head of a middlejoint famill! and thc story rclts of rhc breakup of such a fhmilv. class The piay fem. ro hr\e bcen srificn l-) C\ethov. \\h e i. rh;l surge of emotion. rhat grear craz_ed griel, the rhsorplion in the poetry of pain? ... 'This play h very much a director,s producrion, and thc director does not like emotionat renderings .... 5, 6 Septemb€r 1994. Pad ^tikt ll,Ianch lo Dil Chahe l<TwetIth Night). Cyan The Hirdi .itle means 'Whar your Hearr Wanls'_ Casa Shakil Khan as Feste, Sanchayila Bhaliacharya as Olivia. Seema Adhikary as Viola, Subrat Chowdhary as Orsino. Azhar AIam as Malvolio, B. M. Hada as Toby Belch, Luna pan as Maria. Dirccled by Israfil Shaheen. Music direcred by Debangshu Sengupta. From the review by Ananda Lat it The Teteeruph, g Dccenrber 1994: '... direcror Israfil Shaheen neglects this aspecr [of Twelfth Nilht beingadarl.omcdil.Lon\cnlionatt) tahetrng il.the g,eJle,t con,eJ) of the greatest playwright, the ultimate challengc {or alt theatre directo.s," withour recognising rhc sombr€ rrurh behind his hyperbole. 'Thus, [the aciors playing Orsino. Olivia and Malvotio] ... miss thc gloor ier nuances ol rlrcir moody melancholia. ... lFesrel sings dreadlirlly out of tune. ... Seenta Adhikary (Viota) and Luna pan (Mar;a) managc to save rhe show with some effervcsceor acting and rhe former\ colouriul cosrume design.' (B) DY YISITING COMPANIES 13-18 April 1981. National School ofDrama Rep€rtory Compary, NewDelhi. BarnA Ua d (Macbeth inHindi). Vidya Mandir, Kala Mandir, and lSApril st Academy of Fine Arts Adapted by B. V Karanth (into the Kannada traditionat forn oi' Yakshagana). K. K. Raina as Macbeth, Utara Baokar as Lady Macbeft. Fron the rcview \n The Statesna .24 April l98l: '... Karanlh purs the tempestuous action inlo the slrairjacket ofa style. Maskcd witches wave pieces oI cloth with rre€s paintcd on them. In Act IV the appadtions greer Macbeth from behind hand,hetd currains. Apat flom these irnovations, lhe production looks qujte shabhy. The exits and entrances ol all characten arc in rhe same way. Rolt hLl of drums rendcr large parts of Macbeth's grcat speeches inaudible. Thc appearance oI Banquo's ghost at rhe banquct and the concluding batlle scenes yield no1 a single memorable image of horror or violencc. Even if excuses can be offered for rhc'omissjon of th€ porrer and thc kiUing ofMacduff's family, Macbcth slaying Malcolm amounrs 10 oflhe Shakespearian design oforder succeeding disorder. K. K. Raina's excellent Macbelh is shocked at lhe evil within himseli Handicdpped by a clumsy dance in rhe sleep walking scene, Uuara Baokar nevertheless brings out the savage tenderness of Lady a perversion Macberh.' 27 July 1984. National School of Dram, Repertory Company, New Delhi: Orrrlo (Hindi). Academy ofFin€ Arts (sr the trirst Nsndikar Festival of Theatre) Trttnslated/adapred by Raghuvir Sahay. C.ll NJnrde! ,,, Orheilo. Hinrdri Bhafl J, DcdcmonJ. yu\rdj Sharmx .ls Iago, Lalit Tewari as Cassio, Basu Paril as Rodcrigo, U(ara Baokar as Emilia. Directed by F tz Bcnnewitz. Sets by Robin Das. From the revic$ in ?Ic Sr.r/"rnra,r,30 July t98,1i 'Benncwilz avoided any kind oI interprclation, telting Shakespeare "spcak for himself'. adding nolhing, subtracling nothing. The result was a babel of individual voices, each speaking tb. ilsetf. 'Ir is nor rhat Bennewitz ,ever interfbred wirh lhe action. He PRODUCT'ONS SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCI]TIA STAGE 134 ,eedl€ssly began with the ending, interpolating Cassio\ words from rhe drinking scene: "Gods above all, and there be souls thal musl be saved. and there be souls musl not be saved", and treating the rest of thc play as a nashback. A translucent panel bearing Othello's line\. ".. lit severrl times during the pcrformarre Lrp perdirron crlch m/ 'oul lelc.l ua' lit.d near rhe fli.\ and ... 'Robin Das's setting broughl to mind Caspar Neher's design for The Life ofCalileo, particularly because of the economic use ofprcps, including a geographical globe. aDd the criss_cross of two wide strips olcloth above. .:. The coslumes lvere an uneasy mixture of the ftodern and the semi-Elizabelhan.' Fron the review by h Anatula Bazar Prabodhbandhu A.lhlkati thc Bengali]i fronr Pdrl,?d, 30 Augusl 1984 [iranslated 'The enrire produclion was in the spirit of a light Hindi fiIm ... One feels like asking Bcnnewitz, is a( only a literal reproduction of ils ptucessed fbrm? ... 'Thcrc was no struclure on stagc, only lwo crossed swathes of light greenish cloih, like an awning, overhead. ... This reviewcr is nol aware that Ot ?llo had ever been slaged on such a widowed_looking experience, or ' From the review by Chittaranian Ghosh in D?rr. 8 Seplcmber 1984 [translaled from the Bengali]: 'Thc chiefquality of Bennewitz's productiofl is ils clear_cut trimncss. There is nothing superfluous. As a rule, we do nol make this lype of play so free of flab. Everything is minimalr unchrtlered, sharp, lbcused. The slage is devoid of propsi only once a high throne, once a bench, and in the last scene a white unadorncd bed. Only $e lighting is lavish.' 191 National School of Drama Repcrtory Company, New Dethi: Julius Caesat (Hindi). G.D. Birla sabhasar Directed by Ebrahinl Alkazi, lransiaied by Arvind Kumar Shrivallabh Vyas ,rs Caesar, Abhijit Lahiri as Anlony, Ravi Kaushal as Cassius. Ravi Khanwilkar as Brutus. Fmm the review by Ananda Lal in The TebstaPh, 3 April 1992: 'Jllius Caesar... was the biggest distrppoinnncnt IiD a wecklong a festival of plays by the NSDI. .-. tcassiusl behavcs as if permancnl fienzied fit. Brutus ... has no clue of the man\ dilemma 9 March ir or nobility. ... OTHER LANCUAGES I]5 'N '[Antony looks] more like a strapping wrestler lhan an idealistic ycl shrewd young man. ... Alkazi's own sel desigs. of imposing steps topp€d by pillars, tlorks well in $e first half but becomes a major negotiatory nuisance during the batlle scenes. Arvind Kumar's Hindi translation misconslrues several passages.' 2l Dec€mber 1993 Pratvav, Kolhapur: A naJ:o r'sd' (Marathi) Acad' s (at the Tenth Nandikar National Theatre Festival) emy of Fin€ Translated by Vinda Kamndikar. Sharad Bhuthariya as tear, Prakash Phadnis as Glouccster, Anjalika Tamhane as Coneril, Rupa Gokhale as Regan. Manisha Rajopadhvay as Cordelia. Hrishikesh Joshi as Edgar, Sagar Talashi*ar as Edmund' Anaod Kale as CornwaU, SamirDaini as Albanv, Sukum Patilas Kent' Direcicd by Sharad Bhuthariya. Stage design by Sharad Naware, Anani Rashilvadckar and Vinayak Bhonsle. Sets by Anil Sadolikar and Kimn Khcburkar. Lights by Anil Sadolikar and Bhushao Kheburkar' Music hy Narzar Kulkarni, Pawan Kheburkar, Avinarh Yadhav and Nivedita Khare. From the revicw by DharaniGhosh in Ir," St letnrd,r. I I January 1994: 'Erccpt lbr ahe stamina evidenl in a thrce houl perfornrance' there is noi nruch to praisc. -.. If the evenls on the slage still sustain inlercsl till the cnd, the entire credit goes to Shakespeare. . . Sagar Talashikr's Edmund eclipses the rest of the cast, including .. Lear ...' From the review by Anar'[J.aLal itt The TelegruPh, l4 January 19941 '... too much fidelily can bc counterproductive, as proved by $e Mararhi edition of Rajo Lear' ... On sLrgc, nexl to dircctor Sharad Bholhariya's lirtuoso periormance as Lear, thc resi ofthe cast behavc so unresponsivcly that one relalls the l91h century aclor manager tradition i. which lragedies wcre merely vehicles fbr stars' r€, ka Apna' Basattt Rilu ka Svap a (Hi lit'Scen.{ frotJJ A Mi umnt Night\ Drcam')' 23 December 1993. Naya Theatre, Delhi: l:am Academy of Fine Arls (at the Tenth Nandikar National Theatrc r'6tival) Adaptcd by Habib Ta vir Govind Ran as Bollom, Ram Charan as Quince, Chait Ram as Flute' Bhulwa Ran] as Snug, Cirish Bhai as Puck. Directcd by Habib Tanvir. (o'rume' anJ prons b) l\4oneeka N4i'ra Tantir. From fie review by DharaniGhosh in 7re Sralerrur, I I January 19941 136 PRODUCTIONS IN OTHER SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCU'ITA STA6E '-.. colourful, boisterous, and hence Elizabethan in spirit 131 edited, slicedup and reassemblcd in a purposely random nonsequenlial ... 'Habib Tanvir removes the Lysander-Hermia-Demerius-Helena subplot without causing the least discomfo(. ... The loss ofthe coualy comedy is balanced, in parl i{ not enlirely, by the Chhattisgarhi actors' enlhusiasm for the fhrce of the mechanicals. 'Nandikar's l0th National Thealre Feslival has yielded nothing more delightful than ihis rehearsal of Pyramus and Thisbe: ... Puck\ final apologia to the audi;nce becomes a haunting song by Bhulwa Ram siepping oul of his role.' Fron the review by AnandaLal in The Telesrapl, 14 January 1994i 'This venturc mises furlher questions on thcatrical fidelily. Tanvir omils Ihe Hermia and Helena subplots completely, pushes theTheseusHippolyta story to the baokground, and concentrates on the {airies and fie artisans'play.... Yet he is failhlul in his own fashion: in the scenes rhat he does incorporate. he lraoslales blank verse into Hindi blank yerse, rhyme into rhyme, and prose into prose; he lavishes much care on Shakespeare's allention to planl and animal life, rcdiscovering the Bard's love of naturc, which most contemporary critics neglect; he transposes the dramalic rdrd into the Indian context supe$ly for once the Baslar lribals. who know nature so well, lll in perlcctly. 'Among thc innovations he inlroduces. the mos( elfective arc his musica, compositions. all in metre, lvhich owe a lol to the s/arals - thu j/is of old-time Parsi thealre and Nautarki. ... Tanvir\ Chhattisgarhi probges make for ideal caslingl they dre carpenlers, weavers, tink€rs and Dilors anyway.... Ultimalely, this may not be Shakespeare's play, but Tanvir's comedic direction captures Shakespearct spirh nonetheless.' ad 25 NIarch 1999. El T€atro, Trois: Orrdra (Arabic). Rabindra Sadan Sponsored by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and Govcrn- ncnl ol West Bengal. El Teatro is a Tunisian group. Directcd by Taoufik Jebali. From lhe review by Ananda Lal in The Tel"Enph.g April '... a morr unlikell decun"uucle,l rcndcring. .. LANOUAGES 1999: 'Taoufik Jebali, the director, created lhis highly unusoal OlYllo for lwo players, in the parts of othello and Desdemona, who occasionally mouthed olhe$' lines as well. namely lhose of lago and Bmbantio. They delivered the lext in Arabic lranslation. ruthlcssly manner slariing Irom the end, while slides p.ojecled the equivalent English passages and a Tv played C{'son wellei' film "' 'switching the Bard's typcs, the Semitic aclor and Moorish actress physicalised the inGracial passion rnarvellously, even daringly by what we know of north Afiican Islamic cullure. Bul lh€ only other polilical angle comprised taped recordjngs of lhe US Presidenfs anliSaddam dialribe. The high-contrast lighting, black and white monolilhic decor anil cosume design proved effeclive: however' the colour scheme looked obvious. Most obviouslv of all, Othello kcpt donning an apish mask whenever in green eyed monsler mode a rcading.' - far too lileral l]9 SHAKESPEARE QUAT.ERCENTENARY FESTIVALS Minerva Thealre, using recorded songs' The programme was revised, as evidenced by laler newspaper reports: see relevant entries by date. IV (2) SHAKESPEARE QUATERCENTENARY FESTIVALS A rita Bu bi 'The Qualercentenary of Shakcspeare's will be celebrated across the wor,d in 1964. On thisoccasion, the Little Thealre Group has undertaken an exlensive programmc. Thcir Shakespeare Festival will begin on I0 Apr,l and end on 2a April. Thc fro3rrmme i, gr\cn l0 April: Discussion at Mi.erva Thearre on 'Shakespeare's Social Consciousncss'. Strging of a few scenes in Bengali and English. 17 April: Public meeting on the Maidan. Discussion on 'Shakespeare, the Poet of rhe People'. Performance of parls of Co tiolanus and JuLiLts Caesar in Bengali. 23 April: The programme will be inaugurared by Mr David Hughes, Rcgional Representative of the April 1964' reported a 'Shak€spcar€ Utsab' tf€stivall: 'The Calcutta Arl Society is holding shakespeare Utsab ton Bengau New Year's Day, 14 Apdl. at Singhi Park. 48 Girriahal Roadl. 'Thc special featu.e of this funcdon will be readings liom languages of the world anang€d missions in Calcutta.' dilferent lbreign Shakespeare (l) Litde Theatre Group: Shak€sp€are restival, April-Msy 1964 Arnouncement ;n lhe A anda Daz Pattika, l? January 1964 ltranslated from the Bengalil: Patrika, 1l in different by the (3) To c€I€brat€ ahe 400th anniveNary of Shakespeare's birth, the Biswarupa Natya Unnayan Parikalpana Parishad organized Shak€speare performances from 25 April to 1 May 1964 and 9 Mey ro 13 June, every Saturday (excluding holidays) at Bis$.rupa ThestrtLH ittdusthan Stund!1rd,24 April 196'{ 'fhe Hindustla S,arrlard announced the tbllowing programme for 25 Ap.il. Prachyayani: vsni.e-Uaniiam (<The Mercha t of yeni." in Sanskrit). See ChaplLr III-A. 9 May. IPTA (Simantik Sakha): "I lrxs Carrar (in B€ngali). See Chapter IL ganre, (in Bengali). See Chapter IL 30 May, Ainateur Unit: The Tenpest (in Bengali) 6 June. Rupadaksh.: Mrkha'mu*l&n kThe Tuni gofthe 511I?]r,, in Bengali) 13 June. Eureka: As You ait? L 16 May. Udayachal: British Council. Othe o will he suged in English. (4) A Shakesp€are Festiyal was held f.om 25 to 28 April 1964 at Venue: Minerva Theatre. (See Chapter I-D.) Mahqiati Sadan. Midsu €r Night\ Rrier S,',ap q lo be staged in 24, 25 and 26 Aprili A Dreant (Chaitali Bengali at the Minerva. (See Chapier It.) ln addition, there will be a programme of Shakespearean music on 23 April momjng al 133 the [Anita Ba?ir Pattika,24 April 1964 25 April. Aikatan: fre Me rchant ol Venice {h Eng}ish). See Chapter I-D. 26 April. Udayachal: Errrre, (in Bengali). See Chapter It. 27 Aprif. Prachyavani: yenice-Vania t kThe Merch^ of ve"i." in Sanslffit). See Chapter [I-A. SHA(ISPEARE ON t40 28 April 196,1. Theatre lHE CALCUTTA STACE Unit,Irrirs APPENDIX A Caesa, (in Bengali), See Chapter U. Bazar Patika,6 May 19641 'Procceds liom Shakespeare Shows to Army Welfare. The Shakespeare Festival Committee, represenling the Amareurs and thd Dramatic Club ofCalcutta. will stage two dramas at the New Empire Thealre to celebra@ the 400th anniversary of william Shakespeare. The commiitec will donate all of the nett proceeds of the shows for thc welfare of troops in Eastern Command.' See rhe relevana entrics in Chaptcr I-D. (5) Announc€ment in A.n ta (6) Reports of performanc€s of Shakespearcan plays in Baruipur' Chinsurs, Jalpaisuri i) From lhc report in Anvita Bazar Pat'ika, 19 May 1964: '[On l0 May. at the Hooghly Mohosin College Hall, under the auspices of the Shakespeare Sociely, Hooghly-Chinsural Two scenes of Julius Caesar were enacted in play-reading by lan Hastie as Mark Antony ard Mirza Mahammad as Brutus and the bed-chamber sccne fionl Olhello was stagcd with Miss Aparna Bhattacharya as Dcsdemona, Sri Narayan Roy Choudhury as OrhellD and Miss Dhira Dutta as Emilia.' il) Dainik Rasunnti, 25 May 1964, carried a photograph of a performance of t'lacbeth ar lalpaignti organized by the Jalpaiguri Shakespeare Quater-centenary Samiti. iii) A review in Dairit Earxmari, I June 1961 ltranslaled from lhe Benga,il: ' organized on fte occasion ol Shakespeare's Qualer-centenary by Baruipur Cullural Unit. ... The second balf consisted of singing of Elizabethan songs and thc performance ol the last two scenes of Orrero. The aclors were 'An a(raclive programme was Basudev Chakraba(i, Baladev Banerjee. Jaydev Chaknbarti, Ramaprasad Khan. Mukul Bhatlacharya, Shyamali Cbaudhuri, Kumar Nath, Gopeshw$ Banerjee and Mohinimohan Chakmbarl;.' (7) Report in Hindxslra Sta dqrd,19 JUn.e 19641 'Chakra Baithak staged selecled scenes from Jlllixr Ca€rar on June 14 on a specially conceived Shakespearcan slage to celebrale the quarer-cenlenary of lhe Bard of Avon.' PUBLISIIED SHAKESPEAREAN TRANSLATIONS AND ADAPTATIONS IN BENGALI $sumed to be the samc lwhere oo Bengali title is gilcn. il can be ;s the Engtish. Sources for this compilation - which is no doubt inctude Ahmed. Ah'Jn S' V;lra' A T'ibut' to lncomolete \hnl.'n.are a Choudbtrry' ed" A Checklisl ol Tran'lalion\ of Europ;an Texts in Bengali"l CoI€{tions of Shakespeare] 1895: Hitabadi, Shakespeare cranthaboLi [Vr'orks (12 volumes) 1896 1903: Haranchandra Rakslrit, S/ule'?ea'? of ls23: Basumali Sahilva Matdit, Shakesp"nre Ganthal'ali [works Shakespearel VOLLTME l. 2. I Macbeth, Munindranath Ghosh Maner Matan (<As You Like It L1D' Saudndramohan MukhoPadhYaY 5 Cledparra' Devendranath Basu Rotneo Jutiet, Hemnhandra Batdyopadhyay veto ar Rhodrqiusat (<The T\')o Centlenett 6. Saurindramohan MukhopadhyaY J lius Caesar, Jyotirindranath Thnkur (Tagore) 34- Anto,\- o of ven a)' VOLL]ME tr /. ? Oriello, Devendranath Ilasu Vznicer Banik (<TIE Mercha t oJ Venice)' Saurindranohan MukhopadhYaY J. Raia aear. Jalindramohan Glmsh a. Dwadash Raiani (<T\'?lfth Ni8[r' Pasupati Bhathcharya 5. Riti,nta (<Measure for Medslrc) Saudndramohan MukhoPadhYaY 6. Crmbeline,saurindramohan Mukhopadhvay of 1974: Reiact Publications shakespeare Rachanabali lwrilings Shakespearel l4t 142 t43 PI]BLISHED SHAKESPEAREAN TRANSLATIONS SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUT"TA STACE IndiYidual Plays 1892: Surendrachandra Basn. Roneo and Juliet 1805-1809: C. Monkton, fre Tenqejt l?l 1848: Gurudas H?ira, Roneo evan Jutietera (<Ro teo ann Juiet) 1852 | Jogendrachandra GuDta, Kinibitas (<Hamten 1853: Harachandra chosh, Bhanumati Chitabitas (<The Mercha t 1892 93: Lalitmohan Adhikari, Ha,t/e, 1893: Kaliprasanna Chattop ddhyay, OtheLlo 1864: Harachandra Ghosll, Charunukh Chitahara (<Romeo an,.l 1894: Siddheshwar Gupta. Chondranath (<Hamlet) 1894; Chandiprasad Chosh, Hdrler t894r Hemchandm Bandyopadhyay, Ro reo Juliet 1894: Nabinchandra Sen, Naidagh Nishith Swapna (<A Mihunmet Juliet) Ni9ht's Drcanl 18681 Satyendranath Thakur (Tagore), Sushita Birsinha Natak 1895 96: Nagendranalh Chaudhuri (published in Amarendranalh Dult's (<CJmbeli e) 1868: Chandrakali Ghosh, Kutunkunati (<Ctnbeline) 18681 Hemchandra Bandyopadhyzy, Natini Bajanto (<The Tempest) 1872: Kantichandra Vdyaftina, S shita Channruketu ( <helfrh Nigh, 1873: Benimadhab Ghosh, Bhtanakautuk (<The Co e4 of Etots) I874i Rabindranath Thakut ("talorc). Macbeth. Onty a few scenet a.e 1874: Harachandra Ghosh. R drapat (<Macbeth) 1874i Pmmathanath Basu, Annni ha (<Hontet) 1907i Jyolirindranath Thakur (Tagore), Jtrliur Cderdr 1909: Bircndraoalh Ray. Biiimat" (<Meas e lot Measure) 1875: TarakDath Mrkhopadhyay, Md.rd, 1875: Tarinicharan Pai, Bhinsinha (<Othello) 1876: Biharilal Adhya, Madanmanjari (<The Whter's Tale) 1877: Piyarilal Mukhopadhyay. Srrdlara (<The Merchant ol Venice) 1878: Jogendranarayan Das Ghosh,,4rFdld o Bitasbati (<Roneo 1878: Radhamadhab Kar. Aasantakumori Natak (<Roneo a d Jutiet) t878: Kedarnath Ganguli, fte Tenpes, I 882-83: Charuchandra Mukhopadttyay, prakriti Natok ( <The Tenpee) 1882-83: Nilratan Mukhopadhyay, Sharatshashi Natak(<? A Midsum mer Niqht\ Drean) 1884: hhwarchandra Vtdyasala\ BhrantibiLas (<The Cotnedy ol 1885: Nagendranath Basu, Kannbir (<Ma$eth) f887: Gobindrachandra Ray, Roiteo Juliet 1888: Gobindrachandra Ray. Bhishak-Dfita (<ALl's l9l3: l9l4: Jiarura ( <The Tenqest) Pramathanath BhaMcharla, Cllop.rrfa (disputed: some influ ! ot Anto a d Cbopatro claimed) 1914 (1918?): Dhanadacharan Mita, Rani Tanalini (<The winter's Tale) l9l5: Bhupend.analh Bandyopadhyny, Saodagar (<The Merchant ol ence 1915: Krishnachandra K'rrld\, Cleopatra (<Antonr and Cleopatra) I9l5: Nagendmnarh Raycha h$1, Sadkhot o Saodogar (<The Mer" Basu, Sonq Soha?a (<The Merclant 1919: Pashupati Cha(opaihyay, Tenqest l9l5: Manojmohan ol Uenice) WetL That En(ls Devendranalh Basu. Arr?llo 1920: D€vendranath Basu, Kuhaki (<A Midsunner Night's Drean) 1920i Pashupati C-haltopadhyay, Merchant aJ Venice Surendmchandra Ras]u, Dtuma 1923: Upendrakumar Kar, Macr€rl, l92l: ( Nagendraprasad Sarbadhikari. l9l9: Well) l89l: Dhirendranath Pal. Bhtanar (<Macbeth) l89l: Surendrana6 Bhauacharya. Surusundai collected plays), Harimj (<Hanlet) 189?: Annadaprasad Bas\, Anangarunsini (<As you Like h) 1897: Satishchandra Datln. nn Bhaqini (<KinE Lea, 1900: Ashulosh Ghosh, Mocbeth 1902: Jalindramohan Chosh. a?4," 1903: Girishchandra Ghosh, Mdcber, I 903: Salishchandra Chatt opadhyay, lahanara ( <A Midsunlner Nis}'k <Othelto) ba Rat apuri (<KinB kor) SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTIA STAGE 1925-26: Ashutosh Ghosh. Merchant of Venice 1926: Mahadeb De, Ve ice Banik (<The i|erchant ol Ve ice) 1952: Nircndranath Ray, Ma.rerl 1956: NirmclkdnU Mallik rChduJhuri:r remp"v 1956: Manindra Darta. Ma.rzri 1956: Surilkumar Chatlopadhyay (Chafterjee). Mercha t of Venice 1956: KalyaDbrala Datta, l,lercha t of Ve ice 1956: Manindra DaBa. Midsu unet Night's Drcant 1957: Kalyankata Dalta. r(rua Ze.r. 1958: Suoilkumar Chattopadhyay (Chauerjee), Ar yor tiie /r 1959: Ashok Cfia, As You Like tt 1959: Ashok Cuha. Ma,I'erl 1959i Ashok GD.ha, Melchant of venice 1959: Sudhindranarh Raha. Julias [email protected] 1959i Sudhindnna$ R*,a- Ma.t)?th / 196l: Ashok Gufia- ,ralr/.i 1960, Ashok Gt]l|,a, l lE Tenpest 1960: Sudhindranarh P.zha. Rotneo.Juliet 196l: Ashok Cuha, Azrol) anl Cleopatru, Cohe.b of Ertun, 1962: Ashok Guha, lrerry Vlll, KinE Lear 1967: Sunilkumar Chattopadhyay (Chauerjee), Orlello 1976: Abu Shariyar. ,ex nn*et RajkuMt (<Ha"let) 1995: Sunilkunrar Chalropadhyay (Chalterjee). Arrary and Cleopatru APPENDIX B A MISCELLANY OF BENGAL SHAKESPEAREANA 1772: 'An oliicial document of 1772 indicates ftal David Gariick helped in the slaging oi plays al the New Playhouse. At lhe request oi lhe directors ol Johr Company, Ganick senl his associale Bernard Massinck(?) 1o Calcutta, who irnparted spccial inslruction in lhe srAging ('l Richard ltl and Hatnlet.' lTranslated frotrr Ahmed 1790: A number oi lhcalte patrons trom Calcura sent a medallion to Mrs Sarah Siddons in apprecialion of her hlcnt in playing the rcles of Shakcspearern heroirles- 1798: 'In Novembcr 1798, Shakespea.c was paid homage in Calcutta bv an unusual and altractivc ,neans. A paintcr named Mr Monis adorned ihe walls of the Calculta Thcatre wilh various piclures represcnting lhe Garick Thealre on the banks of thc Thames. One piclurc showed Garick staoding bctbre the slatue oi Shakespeare This was reported h the Caldita l o,tthb .lotmal' lTranslated Ircm Ah'ned 1827: 'The following extraordinary scene occurred by Sir Charles Metcalfe on fie r! an enteruinment given 21st December 1827 to the Right Hon'ble the Govcrnor-General and th€ Countess Amhersl. The com_ pany amounrcd to about 400 persons comprising all thc ranks, bcauty and lashion of Calcuth. In the course of the evening, a group of visitors madc their appearance in the proper oostuore ol lhe principal (he rear characters in Shakcspeare's plavs, lcd on by Prospero and broughl up by Dogherly. On reaching lhe gorgeous pdvilion where 145 146 SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STAGE A MISCELLANY OF BENCAL the Govemor-General and his parry were seated, Prosp€ro delivered an appropriate address. The several perconages in rhe group then mixod in the dance, exhibiting sundry amusing anachronisms. Fahtaff led out a fashionable beauty of the ancie regime. The chost of the father of Hamlet too might haye be€, observed holding commerce wirh Titania until scared a liltle by the suddcn appearance ofBoitom, who jusl brayed his appreciation of the scene and then vanished. Shylock also, for a moment, forgot his bond and spoke to some lady whom he recognized. while Henry VIII addressed Lady Percy and Anne Boleyn replied to Drrcaius who did not at all ger surprised to see Oberon treading on (he toes of the vernacul.r Dogberry or rhe haughty Wolsey holding a long confab wirh a jolly car!er.' [w. H. Caren The Cood OA Da!-s ol the Hon'bte John Companr. !ot. t, pp. t24-2s 1854: 'Nothing will giye us g.ealer pleasure than to behold Shakespeare springing inlo new ljfe under the hislrioric talent of our cducared countrymen, but wc cannot calmly look on while the old genlleman is being murdered and mangled.' lcirishchandra chosh. foundecediror of the Hinrloo Patriot (nol to b€ confused wilh rhe actor of the same r]?'rf,e): Hindoo Patrior, 11 May 1854 1917: '... Our literary gods then we.e Shakespeare. Milron and Byroni and the quality in their work which slirred us most was srrength of passion. In the social Iife ofEnglishmen passionale outbursts a.e kept severely in check. for which very reason, perhaps. they so dominate their ' literature, making i(s characteristic to bc the working out of exrravagandy vehement feelings to an inevitable conflagration. At least this uncontrolled excitement was what we leamt quintesscnce '[n the ld look on as rhe of EngUsh literatureimpetuous declamation ol' English poetry by Akshay Chowdhury, our initiation into English literarure. rhere was thc wildness of intoxication. The frenzy of Romeo's and Juliefs love, ihe fury o{ King kar's imporcnl lamentation. lhe all-consuming fire of SHAKESPEAREANA 141 Othello'sjealousy, fiese were the things lhat roused us to enthusiastic admiration. Our restricted social li[e, our narrower field of activity, was hedged in with such monotonous uniformity that tempesluous Ieel_ all was as cahn and quiet as could be ings found no enlrance; So oLrr hcaris naturally craved thc lile_bringing shock of the passionate emotion in English literature. Ours was not the jubilant welcome by stagnation of a turbulent wave, even though it should stir up to - the surface the slime of the bottom 'shakespeare's contemporary literalure represents the war-dance of thc day wheo the Renascence came to Europe in all the violence of its reaction against the sevcre curbing and cmmping of fie hearls of men. The examination of good and cvil. beauty and ugliness, was not the main object, man then seemed consumed with the anxicty ro break through all bariers to the inmost sanctuary of his being, there to discover the ultjmalc image of his own violent desire That is why in this literature we find such poignant, such exuberant. such unbridled expression. 'The spirit ofthis bacchanalian revclry of Europe lbund entrance inlo our demurely well-behaved social world, woke us up, and madc us lively.' lRabindranath Tagorc, Remiticences 1964: 'From this morning Calcu(ta will have a road named aftcr Shakespeare. Theatre Road will now be called "Shakespeare Sarani". 'The renaming of Theatrc Road was proposcd by ihe Mayor a1 Friday's meeting of Calcutta Corporalion, and the Councillors unanimously agreed to the proposal.' Hhdustha Sta dnrd,25 April l9(,4 lFrom a rcport Thcarc Road had been so named after thc Chowringhee Theatre. The reason for its renaming probably had less 10 do wilh this historical association rhan with the facl that the Calculla office of the British i Council was. and is, located on this road. tg87: 'Why then is Shakespeare so neglecled in our theatre? Can he not salisly us aoy more? Has he grown old? It is hard to accept this'. STAGE SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA I48 APPENDIX C is al the In the most modcrn and progressivc counries' Shakespcarc poprta.ltv. in soviet Russia, Germany and Englttnd' in our counlrv rn shJkesDe.re is being pre'enlcd in new way'' Bul oeut of li" ur) in thc lq40r' ue moaern thearre movemcnt lhxl gol under lo be modern' wenl Doinlcdl\ isn.rrcd sha[e'pcdre and' in our 3n\icly .HAMLET' AT A BENGAL FAIR (Blackwootl's Magazine, October 1910) te tr,. dooF ol r$cnlierh-ccnlur) Euro$Jo rhedrre' Ir i' a i""J.t;.,'", rhc dr.rmdrisL ror all rime couu n'rr drcs us'sorld .r,,.4"r' Or.'**.'rf," advanccd lhcatricJl culture ul lhepoet andir ,,r., * *.* Jnd u'e Shdte"pedre: -bu( lhi' PIcd d.amalist hxs becn exlled from our ttrge' i",,irr,' lTranslated from SuPriYa Dhar' 'Ban|la Thedre e Ni'bdr'a S'dt"rp?4rc'('Shakespeare f;m fte Bengali Theate')' Ganashakti' 5 April 1987 Exiled 'Hamlef played It was at an Up counlry Fah in Bengal that we saw in an inslroctive by a nadve company, and it rounded otf our fairing and delishtful wcy. .r-'... '" i" w:rndering lrorn lhc Farr' and lhc chi'l c\cntthein place la1er in it, which was the pertbrmance of'Hamlef' I! look mrd.lighr' Ir drrer Jrv. hcsinn,ns ar eighr o cl.'ck' and lasled u,]lrl ."'.c".,"-fu p"L,rrnce ro $hich rhe Railh hdd invired u' rnd We it ;as thereforc not to be wihess€d without duc ceremonics' lcod save tne ring' had BanisleF as we entcred, and wcre ushered bv the which liom satin suite in green brocadcd ui-ir* to th" aro*;ngrnom tt was now the tronl $'e had been privilcged to watch the camel-iighl' ihe theatre' row of the siaus in the big marquee thar consrkuled on (l) hamonium-player a of The inside orchestra consisted rightthe playor on of the stagei (2) a lom bm thc lett wing Whal it may bc asked - had this orchesrA to do with Hamlef l 'Hamlef l what - as far as ihat goes - lras any orcheslra 10 do with ior 'Hamlef As a matier of fac1, lhis pai. was pretty busily engaged; tragedy of in Bengali is - if I nay attcmf,t a delinition - a musical ol action) lots (and was there imbrogiio. wbencvir the action palled bv the orc oi rtre players sang a song not so much accompanied had u, a"l"a ly 1,. Hamlet himsclf was the only man thal o..t penetralingly "rtro lo the was duc chance againsl lhe harmonium, and that a nasal qualiiy of his roice. Again. I have nevcr hcad any onc as Hamle!. ... Here, belbre I enlargc upon the acting, I will so nasal set down' act bv the ploi was specially acl. the progrannne ofthc play, ofwhich ibrus in lnglistr. so lhat we rnight uDdcrstand' 'The plot in it is called. it lics bctore me as I wrile I givc it as priitcd' prirtcd sho(" in a The lii\r (ene olc.s with thc King chcltins $ith the Queen 'ooi' \hetuupon' tsleepr f'lls subeqkntl' anil drcurv fcels $en nr lhe c!(10. tte ior hcr husband\ brorhe' Fatrukh nd induccs hnn to drop ii" d,*" "*. 149 I5O SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA SfACE .IIAML,ET' in his ea. Tho KnrE dies of ils elTecrs, rnd lhe Queen gives oul, nnponunately atdbutng the cause to a ieee.au bie. ,ahangn mou,ns hn larlEfs death and AlhBr, his i,iend .nd Nociate, conlons hih. a lit(le disappoinling. Here is the syllabus of it pokon This, it will be observed is Shakespeare, though not in the order we know it. Liberties have b€en taken, but what aclors have nol taken rhem? The point to be noliced is that the plot servcs India admnably. Look al the Queen imporlunalely atlributing her husha.d's death to a serpenfs bile. k is rhoroughly Bengali. Olficial returns of to'day atlribute an enormous proporlion of dcaths among natives to snake- bite: individuals say that lhe variety of snake is a human one. Anyhow, the pi1 understands. Jahangir is. of course, Hamlel. In his make up he conformed to the English tradition so fhr as to wear Hamler's black cloak. Otherwise he was an innovator. He wore rowing shorts, puttees, and a pair of football bootsi also a big pislo! in his girdle, such as highway-men used to carry, and, fully exposed like a decoration. a large gun-metal watch and chain over his hean. We supposed at iirsl from its calibre that the watch was merely a der:oralion. bui this was not the case. It had a dmmatic value loo. You remember the famous lines in Act III. :- 'Tis now the lery witching time of nisht, When churchyards ya$n and hell nscrf bB0rhes oul Conrigion ro lhis *odd : now could I dnnk hot blood, And do such bitter business as th. day would qu*e to l@k on. Well, Hamlet wanted to make quite sure that it was the very ol ,ight when he could drnrk hot blood, and he gun'melal waich accordingly. There was a pleasing consulted the accuracy about this thal seems lo indicale fiat the actor took the view ihal Hamlels madncss was only feigned. what with the watch and the pistol. Hamlefs was a sporiing rather than a historical makc-up, and I think Akhtar (Horalio) was rather envious of il. He was somewhat of a Job's comfoner. but nothing wns likely to qucll Hamlot's mouming. ln Bengali it had to be of a prisdne ceremonial order There was no possible doubt about its inieDsity. He simply 'waked' his Falher. and, wilh the assistance witching rime of the harmonium, approached the banshee ai its best. One fell lhat some acrion was bound lo ensue. and Acl lI. was in the circu rstances At lhe openine AI A BENcAL FAIR of lhe s(o.d of anxiery fd Wuiz.d! talls lore wilh acr Faftukh I5I - in coun putine on the guie hhrngn's s.fety shows concems dd enqunes. Musoor Ihe Meherboo. Sulenun ente^ lnd 3 conle6ado' pNses on Akhtar @ox s the lccidenl of $e gr.ve to Strlemar Seine Jahangn enrenng, Sulemln wirhdmws. Akhhr quenions lahangn lho c'ifidcs th€ disclosor€. Mansoi in tEn2, il€clffis his lov€ for h€r hin wilh 'Her' h, of cou.se, Meherbano or OPhelia. The chief inlerest of ftis act consisted in the introduction of fie characters new to Shakespeare. Mansoor ihe Wazirzada was the most importa,t in rank. but Suleman was more important dramatically. He was, so to speak' rhe ShdlerDeJrian cloqn lndidni.ed taler he became lhe Firsl m'n nol GrJ\edigger. The (hing abouL him was Lhrt hd w's 2 hl"l a brown one. Thal was the comedy of him. The audience laughed when they saw him. Everylhing he said was ajoke. I could not make out quiie whai his rclations were to lhe other chara.lers, bul I'do not think they greatly matered- The clown may enter arywhere. He giv.s relief, and in lhis act one was g.aleful for reliei The acting was all very emotionally pronounced, and fte harmonium was at his most energer,c. With .exl scen€ we come lo o r@m wheE lhe Quecn is *en ervrnlkins Then enteB Hum,yun th€ Lord Ch.mbcrlain vno. s@n lfter. i; despotched lo console the Poncc. The Queen, then, gives publicitv lo her union *ith Fanukh. Meanwhile e Wazi. des to solae lhe PrinF who hea6 hir wnh flighliness .nd cynical disdain, dnd PouN fonh in soliloqv hh honor at his Motheis mafiileo. uiil, Fdrukh 'soliloqy' hardly expresses the prolonged and rampant vocalism to which Hamlel. undetened by lhe harmonium and the tom-tom, treated us. Bul here again. of course. his horror had lo-be very great. Not only was his Qucen Molher marrying her hrrhind\ mtrnlerer' but she was remanying; and to a Hindu Hamlet a widow's maniage would jusrify any oulbursl. The Queen's action rcpr€senled shame lessness and passion, or was supposed toi bu1 none of the womcn in the play showed any emotion comparable wilh thal of the men. would not havc been proper, or, presumably, like real life. This took away a good dcal of the interest of Ophelia, who had her chance in I1 Act ,HAMLET: AT A BENCAL SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCI]TTA STACE I52 IV. as the programme shows - infoming hinr ol hn death. to lne, the very meekcst possible her maids-of_honou' had liltle or and for Jahangir, 'went' lo hc.love no difficully in sooth;ng her, though ihey spread fteA consolations over a considerable period. Meherbano was a small artiste, wilh thc voice of a iield-mouse. She had on a chcrry-colouled satin drcss' which reached barely to hcr knees, and with a view to caplivating Hamlel. no doubl - a pair ol European black stockings' No shoespiecc The exccedingly loose fit oftbc stockings led to an uninEniional love by ol by-play at one point. She was giving 'wenf io her good dcal squeezing a liny pocket handkcrchiet ol which she made I i1 on laying and lingen ber passing it lhrough of use throughout. when In Bengal ir vou her hreast. when she accidenlallv dropped drop a thing. there is no bothedng to sloop and pick it up You usc yo r fooi. One of the courlicrs not very courbously - nudgcd Meherbano gave. it it rcn lengcance. It was a grcat c{fo , thal dancc' laslirg roughly lor at and shrickjng with his sword, mirrutcs. Hamlet tloing Iadian clubs sn at the harmonium 'the top ol his voicc throughout. The young Hamlet appeared to be rcally moved by it, and, as il \n're. challengcd did one Hanrlcl wm a forcgone conclusion ro musical combar. The ;ndefinitely harmonium with a hi\ hest. but a man cannol contend in The young instrumentalist rcduced Hamlet 10 a hoarse imPotencc jusl 10 show the end, and went on by himscll for n minutc or two. when wbat an agony of organ notcs the hamonium crn give forth it in lhe wav His going in lhc Mcnrcor's md Sahelink iestins wnh each orher ui O..u"nP hh lo\c ro MlnerbrD HJr oc lin're' Cotr'ing "',n FJnurh h rhc 1J"''re i1 or e\e4onr ,*" *4. -,*" il;;;" il;;. ;;il,-;,,."i' r"'u prrrormJn'e' The Llc'rh ol rll ..d ;h,"",, ",,"-*s scemed Ophclia. and pointcd to the tallen handkerchiel' Absenl-mindedlv she p;l ou! one big toe at it grrccl-ully, lralf raiscd it, and then had thc morrification of seeing il lall again. She hxd forgotten hcr stockings' pdsoncd in which her prchensile toe had lost its cunning She had it io bend down lo gcl lf this act gave ophelia her oppo(unitv' also gave Hamlel his al the graveside. That was after lhe ippearancc of the Ghosl. who looked, il musl be allowed, more English than thc part' rest of the drd,aris pelro,l"' and had a fairly good speaking taking Roused by h;s tale, Hamlct did a sword dance. prepurltory to I53 seemed After this, Acl V, though full of incaent' pli'e in ils'way qujet. The Iollowing eYents look fte master wills Meherb!.o\ siving wenl lo her love lor .,ahatr-qir Her ]tuids_of_honour going Fatheas ro hh smvc. Alhrxrs aM Sulem" s soorhi.s herl lahrogir's md oleFighring him Th€ openins ol rlE smvo. The arpeanng of the Ghost FAIR lr nol perlecll) clelr' A( lar ds I relnelnber' Il he *", inro rhc garaen $ilh lhcrr l'clp ' Arrlhos The nrosmrnnle *^ r"r-*"** *,.," rrrc ,:"raen, in<l rahdngir canrc cnd IillcLl h'rn' Hc killed him hJck wirh r 'hinv nc$ b. hind 3nd shoorrng hrm in lhe nrve Frven rdhangir rhe ruok rifle JI rhe cnJ ip ,,].i'.iii.. tJ,** .," he had no1 of .t.t tV, p".t ap. instead ol a bouquet' I teel surc ."..".*a ,, U.,o,", or he w.'uld hJ\e hruughl il on' The sounJ bv c,minc br rr. be!,je. bcins m^rrJl. wlc ot a \er) Tiinlul nrrure apJn ttom la,n'.,or aenicrea il sirh con'umnrste 'krll' lndceJ' ",".r,,cea i'"i u",.r"'.'**a a""",-JIhcdeJrholdll whrrh lollo$ed larcr'thcre On lhe English stage was nolhing more apprecialed by fte audicnce llalinn opera lhey aeatt, ar" io. ttte lno"t part swilt. il dranralic' ln lrrt the ciforts oi the artisrcs are concentratcd out successlullv ftan upon depicting ,J", ,i', *c o,,,,rle'lnO 'rrrrhing' in undulv hdnoqrng la't Ihr'i*'IoSinge^ i"..*.frf ot rhem'el'es' 31d' as c rulr' too n^ul urrrhe iof." fo"g", *.y "li"r, g"i,l"g fteh notes "." convincingly. flere sct werc no such disabilities here' Mansoor had k) strcve them' upon camc a sublimJexarnple, and all' $hcn dealh occurreJ' olall ldo nul kno$ wh) rhc dearh rr't ",r.,i :r hcsan ro do 'o quirc iuddcnl\ I J!^uld ii' *,i"r..*. li o,o'- 0,,," 'J)' pi'tol *ia"nrr. - -a though il canre in rhe lorm oi rhc po}on cup l.ss.jr. ir came s xh 'rmilJr lingerins $rilhing' .i"^ ,"a,rr. ',"t.r " and preriIninuties. Ophelia relained her breath the longes! had She her cnd.r disiinct touch of thc star aclr€ss' ,irii"a n"'"",r;" g".a,ime with a verv large sragc dagger wrought *a .i,*.-p^p", which puckercd' hut she rcservcd hcl death "i:*o.a hour lbi the oficrs for the last. She aliowcd ahout a quarter of an A lo ono then staggered lo &e ho$t and was aboul a ".iin", packed with lhe dead ditficully presenEd itselt Thc stage was so heroine was lacking' oflhe fbr llrc deceasc ti"i.p*" r,oiJring ifr",..".-f" hll iJi"" "a"q*,e 154 SHAKESPEARE ON fHE CALCUT"TA STACE at any rare in Iie fronr. Ophelia showed rhe practical common-sense that has before now distinguished arrisles. Nothing daunled by the affair of the handkerchiet she agajn used her foor to kick one of rhe crowd in the ribs. With one of ftose convulsive spasms that have been known lo occur even after death, he jerked himself 10 one side. Hamle( was rhe other too foNard corpse. but a poke in his ribs enabled hjm to pertbrm rhe same phenomenon. Then Ophelia coutd really abandon herself t6 die. and djd so. . The.e was susrained apptause from the whote 1hettrc, particularty from the front row of the stalls. and, after ir was over, Mr Chundar. who had been busy between the acls handing us chocolate and biscuils, carne up to find out what we rhoLrght of the performance. 'You like ir? You think it was wel acrcd?, he asked us, smiling. but wirh an anxious eye on the Rqjah at the same time. We all declared that we liked it immensely, and thar il had been acted very linely indeed, and Mr Chundais smile expanded and expand€d. Only rhe Rajah had yer ro speak, and hc, judging rhat we had been plcased and satisfied. and that nonc of the faiture araching to the camel races could be assigned ro this perfo.mancc, said wirh complacence! 'Yes_ ll was rletl acted. you shall rell the cornpany that they did well.' And he added courreoLrsly to me, who sal on ono side of him, 'It is a good little play. Yes., Next moment rhe band oubide slruck up .God savs ihe King, for positively the last time, and to thesc toyal skains we walked out into lhe Bengal night. It was a lovely nighl. The srars glinered from a black velvet sky. and in the srarlighr, as we drove back, we could see the shrouded Bengalis shuffling home atong the dusty road_ Though we had. all of us, been seeing Shakespeare's .Hamlef, I had lhe strange feeling that we were moving in some lime and place that were pre-Shakespearian. R-E. }ERNiDE APPENDD(D HAMLET, HARIRAI AND A BENGAL FAIR l Exactly a hundred years ago, a drama review was published in a local ne\|spaper,The tndian Mirmr(22 May 1900), which slaled: 'We musl confess that Babu Amarendranath, righdy called by the theatrc_going public fie Carrick of the Bengal stage. absolulely surpassed himself in ir. It is an exlrenely difficull part and there arc not many actors in England who are upto playing it, and yet he manages it so well as to compare favourably with some of the best actors in England ' The'extremely difficult pan'being refened to is thal ofHamlet, morc correclly of Hariraj in Nagendranath Chaudhuri's Ha,zlel adaptation of the same name. HarrraJ. The play was first pcrformed on 2l June 1897 (perhaps a private show in 1896 predated the premiere) by Amarendranath Dutt's lroupe at rhe Classic Theaire. It held an imporlant place in his rePenoire and was coniinuously revived. ln lhe first decade ot the lwenticth cenlury' Hariral was playing at the Slar Theare with a new leading actress, Kusumkumari. Amarendranalh, a remarkable cntrepreneur ofhh age' sold his play texts lo Basumati, a Bengali publishing house Thus, being mhtakenly incorporated into thc €orpus of Amarcndranalh's plays, the text ot Hatimj hns survived to this day. Gramophone records of the songs and dialogues of dariral also survive, ahhough in private colleclions. However, I have been alerted by Dr Amlan Das Gupta to the danger of assuming that the facl ol re€ording is in itself an index 1o the popularity of the play. Recordings of Hotimj rnighl have resulled from the availability of alistes mther than public demand; moreover, Amarcndmnaft had his own interesls in the new gramophone company. The success of ildli,ai on the commercial Bengali stage is difficult to gaugc. The ge0eral chorus of apProbtrtion to its popularity while maintaining that lhe play is a poor imihtion of r/drler. The only dissenting voice is lhal of Ahindra Choudhury, celebraEd actor of the generaion afier Amarendranalh. His reminiscence merits lo be quoled in full, since il discusses the !iabilir, ol r Benglli Ha'alct producrion ttom erpericnce. atlests 155 t56 I',4ML'I SHA(ESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STACE 'He (Amarendranath Dult) made a great deal ofendeavour to see thal the drama docs not obtain lhe samc tate as Mrcbel,ft. It was ibr this reason that the grealtragedy was re-named Hari Rai in Bengali. The quccn was madc Srilekha. Enough money and labour was spent for making il a grand success. But unfortunalely it could not anract sullcient public applause. The author of this articlc had seen it pcrfonned by amateur cluhs in Calcutla to whom il proved to be of immense success. It wa6 also highly appreciated by amalcur clubs as such even ;n 1906 and 1907. In his mighty rcle Amar Duita played in such a magnificent way that nobody dared to perlorn again after his death. parlicularly in $e hero\ role.' ('Shakespeare Worship In Bengal', Rabindra Bharati U iversitr JounaL. Vol. 2, No 2, AprilJune 19tu, pp. l3- l,l) Ahindra Choudhury's repofl nra*es it clcar lhal the Bengali versions of Shakespcarc\ grca1 imgedies whclhcr Girish Chandra Ghosh's translalion of lt'Iacbeth ot Nagcndmnath Chaudhuri's :rdapcould not win thc heans oi Bengali playgoels. tation of tld,ir.q Amarendranalh s subsequent production, Kshirodprasad Vidyavinod's Allrdlrd. brcught grcater commercial succcss. Then could thc reason - behind thc continuous rcvi\,al oI Har?i be the parcity of good trying to c$h in on the fascinalion playsl Or was Amarcndranalh wi& Shakcspeare in rhe Bengalj nrind? Latcr rdvcrtisements sought -Hindu Hrmlet'. Conlrary 10 to draw audiences by calling, Hatiraj t Ahindra Choudhury's report, Monomohan Goswanri had arcmpted a rcvivalaller Dulfs death. The extendcd lile oflhe play on Lhc Bengali N.r.rglrr-, thc Bcngali theatre journal, which stalcs lhal Hdlirat will bc pertbrmed at Monmohan Natyamandir in January 1925 by rn all wooran t oupe named Bhikhaini stage is besL illustrated by a rcporl in Thcalre. Morcover this would bc acharily show and the noncy raised by selling Lickcts would be spent fbr sonle public beneiit. The announcenrenl b NLtchshar,3 Magh l33l (January 1925. tmoslatcd irom thc Bengali), slalcs: 'A lheatrical group called 'Bhikharini will nct Hariruj and Hin nn)i on Mondxy next at lhe Theatre" Monmohan Natyanrandir. This group consists cntirely o1 women. The procccds ol lhe show will be used lor works ol public welthre. h is a good sign tha(, ahhough they are beyond the pale oi society, the heads of hapless fallcn women also respond to the sutlering of lhe I,/IT/RNJ AND A BENGAL FAIR A play that could atracl altendon over de'ades and be considfemale erea as iit iext for a ctraritv show by a group of 'disreputable' on the tidc page arristcs requires closer alte.lion. HdriraJ, desc bed historical is neither history, ol- the printed texl as a lragedy- based on passron or a lragedy but a melodrumatic tale oi murdcr, revcnge' and ,nO ae*t. ittit is Hdrl?1 sans madfless sans Rosencmntz niighl bervail Guiklenstern. sans the players and lhc mousetrup' Critics cultural na'tigating problem of all- Il thc that this is not Hdnlet issue hcad_ th€ lackle mores is raised, the playwrighfs solution is !o ^ on. He solves the problcm oi Ihe widowed Gerlrude's inccstuous parrner to the crime rcnlarr;age by nraking Hariraj's mother Srilekha a to fie king but not brother who is commllled ry Ceneral Javakar gmve crimes' commil an lspirant to the firone tn HdrirdJ' characlers inlo givc ihLrnrlerous specches or mcel in gardens and 'cgularlv brenk arnbitious iongs (eleven. in thcr). Inslearl oI Gerlrude. the ruthless and Iemne\lrn' Cl) 1e'cmble: n plol 1;11 1,.,6q lo who hal(hc. a oucen '6n rhrouuh which Srilckha tnck( her lover Jdlatur are fie lifted straight trcrn Macbeth (pcrhaps this lends credibililv lo who Basu' conjecture thar Har,rdJ was conceivcd by NagendraDaih character new enlircly An in 188'l) Kd,,L#ir as haJadapted Md.rs Indian is a tradilional who introduced, ca,led Dadhimukh has be., Hariraj' ot a sympathizer surrxdhar (aBrahman direcior manager) and well playing a choric rolc ol comnrentatot messenger and clown as his ," on r.,-. gariolt princely dignity remains inlacl as all mad Dadhimukh His ill speeches have becn tanslerred to the moulh oi hirn and is moreoYer to betroihcd ;enl.rcnt of Aruna/Ophclia, who is could not have thal he a chitdhood swcethearl, is assuaged by$e lact il,. .p..ct". marricd betore thc cuslomary year of Hindu mourn;ng He takes of Aruna when Kuladdhvaj/Polonius goes awny convenienlly a brolher' on a;ilgrimage, and then neglects her Aruna does nol have whoor Kalhan/Hora'o txr iariraj nas a younger si(er Suranra. vr'i1h is in love. In $e end, afler Javakd( stabs Hariraj and is slabbed in rcturn. Srilekha iumps inlo fie river h end her lifc and Aruna drops alive down rlead alier showing mild signs oimadness' Kalhan is lefl of the tnstedd ftrone' to mal-ry Surama ani:l presumably to irheril the ic rhe vale olKashmir cold and bleak cdstle ofElsinore. the backdroF charge with its gardens and rivers- The ghost appears onlv once' appropri- I53 I/,4MIEI, H4Rl(A,/ AND A BENCAL FAIR SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STAOE rtel] ar rhe hurning gha!. Il whal happens in Hrriral seems funny, lhen anorher related Iext could bc scrutinized jn order to conduct, as it were, an anatomy of such laughler- This other rexl is an article by R.E. Vemede entirted 'Hamlet at a Bengal Fair', published in (he Brirish periodical Bktckwood\ Maed.ine in October 1910. This article ctaims to be an eye.witncss account ot'lhe perfonnrnce of a Bengali version of Hanlet at an up-counrry .fair,. Ir was a command performance, held in honour of rhe visir o,'some Englishmen to fte estate of a local raja. An English-educaFd barrister, Mrchundat had been enrrusted with providjng eniertainment and he had arrangcd for an orchestra playjng 'cod Save The King'. a camet race and Hanlet. yefiiAe informs us thar the synopsis of ihe play $,as prinred in Engtish specially for rhe visirors, and proc€€ds to quote yerbatim from this syropris, 'Thc plor in shorr', as ii is callcd: 'The firsr scene opens wkh rhe King chatring wirh thc eueen in a room in the casrle. He then fcels drousy and suhsequentty frls aslccp; whereupon, rhe Queen sends for her husband's bmrher Farrukh and induces him b drop poison in his car. The KiIlg dies of ils effects, and the Qucen gives our, impo uDalcty attriburing rhe cause to a serpcnl's bire. Jahangir rnourns ,ris thrhcr,s death and Akhtar, his friend and associare, comforts him., Vernade ften commenis: 'This, it wiltbe observed is Shakespearc, lhough not in rhe ordcr we know ir. Liherties have been taken. but what aclors have not taken them? The point to be noiiced is rhat the plor serves India admirably. Look ar the eueen importunarely altribudng her husband's dearh to a serpenl,s bite. Ir is thoroughly Bengali.' The whole accounr is writen in rhis vein: a kind of discourse thal ol]e associates with colonial racial pre.judicc and which lhrolvs up randomly such commenrs as: 1) Harrler in Bcngali is _ if I may allempl a definilion - a musical rragedy ot imbroglio. Wlenever ihe acriol) palled (and thcre was tors of acrion) onc of the ptayers sang nor so much accompanied bv rhe orchesrra as dei]ed by i(. 2) "'Soliloqy' hardty cxprcsses rhe prolonged and rampanr vocal, ism to which Hamler, undcten€d by the harmooium and rhc ron_ tom. treated us. Bul here again, of course, his horror had 10 be very a song - grcat. Not only was his Queen Mother marying her husbandh niuderer, but she was remarrying; and ro a Hindu Hamle( a widow,s marriage would juctil) any ourhu^t.' It is (o be noted rhat VernBde forgers rhat Hamlcl a\ Jit\angir has undergone yet another l.ansformation and rhat a Muslim widow maffying a brother-inlaw would nor b€ as objectionable. The slip is curious. Why the Hindu Hamler becomes the Muslim Jahaogir is anybody's guess. The changc mighr have been effected to draw audiences in a part of Bengal wirh a sizeabie Muslim populaiion. Furlhc! it may be conjecrured rhal the change was made, and the plot Iurned inside out, in order to claim originality for a rural production which was obviously borrowing heavily from rhc play on thc Calculta stage Ha,ir.r/. A comparativc sludy of the three plays - Shakespete's Hdhiet, Harifti the Hantet at thc fair , reveals rhat ihe inspirarion for ^nd ce ain sccnes in rhe hirground Hamlet.ould have come only f,om Hariruj. Fot inslance, there is a sceoe in which. according ro rhe prinled plol included in Vernide's accounr, Meherbano or Ophclia givcs 'wenf 10 her Iove and her maids of honour soothe her. Vernade thus describes the scene: 'Mcherbano gave, il seemed ro mc, the very meekest possible 'went" to hcr love for Jahangir, and her maids ofhonour hrd li(le or no ditljculty in soothing her though ftey spread lhci. consol.uions over a considerablc period.'This seems ro mc 10 bc a dirccl borrowing frcm fie scenes in ltdn'lal involving Aruna./ Ophelia and her ra*nis or nuids of honour. The consolarions spread over a long period are mos( probably the songs. The batflemenl causcd by the addition of a clown called Suleman is dispersed when one remembcrs the role played by Dadhimukh in lrariraJ. Howevct I must meniion that this perlormance of H6nlet, ;n spite of having plenty in common $)th Harirat, is by no mcans a slavish inrilation. The unknown playwrighr had nor only changed lhe names ol characters and added the scencs of the murder of rhe king, bul he had also worked out his own sokrtion ofHarrl?r. A hve triangle is introduccd by adding the ligurc of Mansoor rhe Wazjrzada, wbo corresponds struclurally 1lr Laertes but in this play is not Meherbano/ Optelia s brother Mansoor/Laenes is, rather, in lo,re with Meherbano and thereby Jahangir/Hamlefs rivaland encmy. The faul fight berween the rwo rivals is rhereby retained- As to thc delails, the synopsis of 160 {I]AI(F,SPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STACE ,,AMLEI. Act V as given by Vcrnede does not enlighten us. Ii says: 'Mansoor's and Sahelin's jesling with.each olhel in the way. His going in the garden with their help. DeciFrirg his love to Meherbano. Herdeclining. jn Coming of Jahangir and his kiUing Mansoor. Coming of evervone rhe Tamasagah. Farukh and Jnhangir witnessing pertbrntance The' death of all.' This version of lrdrnle, deviates so much tmm Hrr,raJ in the final ac1 that a suspicion lingcrs in the mind (hat one ma) bc commilting an error in hssigning 1o HaIil4J the posilion of an Ur_ Text. Therc are indced other conlenders in the liay The eadiest tanslarion ol Harle, inlo Bcngali is Pramalhanaih Bas]r's A a$inha (1874). A sudden spate of Harle, translations i, thc last decade of thc ninelccnth century yields three more: Lalitmohan Adhikari's Hdnltet (1892193), Siddheshwar Gwra's Cha .lranath 11894\ and Chandiprasad Ghosh s Hd,ret (1891/98). Moreover, Hamnchandra Rakshit ranslated the whole ol Shakespeare (obviouslv including lra,,1el) io twelve volumes between 1896 and 1903. Nonc of these plays, howevcr, suggests a Muslim adaptation. ln the second decade of the twentieth century. Parsi adaplations ol Shakespeare, fbr example, Khoon e'Nahak lHanl?t), werc very popular. ln 1902. a gramophone record was relsased containing the songs ol Hoimi and Khoo -e-Nahak- In I915, an adverlisement ol Khoon'e'Nahak tlcscribed it as Shakespeare's Harle, 'in oriental garb'. In the absence of more inlormation regarding Parsi adaptations, onc can only specu_ larc aboui i1s influence on Bengali theatre. Vernade. upon encountering a Bengali Hd,lei in oriental garb and wilh language and slyli7-ed acling posing barrie,s 1I) undcrstanding, look recoursc b aivializing the performance as a kind of inferior aping. Thus he can snceringly ridicule the unintended byp,ay created by Ophelia picking up a handkerchief with hcr lbot with such comments as: In Bengal. when you drop a thing, there is no bolhering ro stoop and pick i1 up. You use your fbot.' The racisl discoursc raises ii is wrilteh in a lypically type otiournalistic iict;on a recognizable aboul Mr Wopsle/Waldergarver's does nol know But Vernadc evidently Hamler in Chzptlt 3l ot Great Erpectutioni. All the esranging or outlandish elements of production menlioned in VernEde's account have thek coqnterpar(s in Wopsle's lrdnl€r histrionics, uninlended byplay, the orchestni, even Ophelia's 'slow musical mdnesJ. So our indignation till one realizes lhal Dickensian comic vein AND A BENGAL FAIR l6! 'Ai,&.1J are when the Bengali actors die Painful and prolonged deaths' they inches by had dicd H€ loo mc.ely fotlowing in Mr Wopsle's foolsteps' from ankle upwards'. Unfo{unalely for us, the Bengali language proves io be an obslacle 1() any rea, estimtrtion ol the production's Thc Dickcnsian mould of Vernadet account resisls our classifi_ into catory impulse anll'HamLet at a Bengal Fair' cannot be fitted In lact' any catcgory. cifier Bengati lranslation or Bengali adaptation' tre accoint resurfaces ln acolleclion ofBritish w'ilihgs aboutcolonial from Vernade\ A l?norunt In lndi't (1911)' k lndia as an excerpl A An lolo$ oJ Hunbtous was published in British Lile In hditt: Wrnrrgs, edited by Vernede, by ftc Oxford Univemity Press and is availablc fbr public consumption. This pmblern of cl;ssificalion brings us to a final problemi of while chaning onc's course through a bewildering nrass olinformation rracing the history of Shakespearcan productions in the nincteenth Bengali and early twcnlietlr centurics. This is the period in which the the com_ rise oI The Shakespeare' by thcare was mosl inf'luenced or indig_ European lhe earlier mcrcial stage was lacilitated through need cnous amaleur producrions oi Shakespearean plays in English l nol go into the history ol the sprcad oi fie Shakespeare canon ihrough figures like D L. Richardson and Derozio ai the Hindu College. The cntire galaxy of Be.gali stalwarts of the Lhcalre' bc it Nlichael Madhusudlran Dutt or Girish Chandra Ghosh or Dwijendra l-al Roy, was inspired by both the lorm and lhe cootcnl ofshxkespeare's plays. ol Shakespcare have in ihat lls the transladons furtherjng Shakespeare worship? One suspecLs originated as tribuies lo Shakespcarc' their targel audience also was thc English-educaled Bengali man. Thev tolr'hed thc rest of lhe Thus masses, whether able |o read English or not' only tangenlially such of journals revicws carrying we had instxnoes of indigcnous publicrriors; lbr irrs[nce. The Be,ryatee ot 25 i'rnc 1902' an English Whal role did the lranslated versidns periodical, carricrl a revie'v of Jatindrantohan Ghosh's ranslation ol Bengali trunslations of Shakespeare are divisible inlo lwo main calego.ies: Iitcrxl renditions with lhc nanlcs of placcs and charactcrs rclained or changed to Indian namesi and frec adaptrtions with H,\MI-ET ,'I,4R/II,4./ AND A BENcAL SHAKESPEARE ON THE CAICUTTA STACE 162 varying degrees of Indianization. On stage, lhe adapled versions were generally more successlul in the nineteenlh century. Prompted by the ol Kuswnkumari (qnbeline' 1874:)' Rdrapal (Macbeth, staging Bhbnsinha (.Othelo, 18'15), Girish Ghosh attempted his ranscrealion ol Mrcbe./1 at the Minerva Thealre in 1893 He adver_ lised it\ the Antla Bazat Pdrrita in the following manner: 'Opening night / The Mincrva Thealre / 6 Beadon Street / Saturday. the 28'h got January 9 p.m. / Shakespeare in Bengal. / MACBETH / I have it under the piece mounled by European Arlists and Dressed 1814) ad / / European Supervision / aod "make_up by Mr J Pimm" The adver_ isement poinG 10 Girish Chandra's altempt al an authenlic Shakespeare The play left reviewers. but not the audience, overflowing with praise. Evcn today, cridcs praise Girish Chandra's translation while songs to the tragedv But the diseochrn@d - by Girish was tolally nineteenth-century audience i"g."uirg lri" addition of exlra Chandra's own admission, the Minerva Theatre was emPly afler the firsl few nights. one of the vjewers had commenlcd in his presence never that in his ten years' experience of watching theatre, he had Dcspite this commercial failure. Girish Chandra showed the way dressing for latcr experimentation and also evolved a style of acting, and slage sedng which proved of immense aid 10 Amarcndranath' College' Righ! from the days oi Richardson's teaching in the Hindu watchins to bound plays had been th; appre.iation of Shakespeare's oeriormance' A hetghlened emolionah\m. flambolant :peeche! antl a .pccracular drrmotii Iorm hao rcsulted which owed ir' rnspirarion io prevalent Britisn theatrical practice. The efforls of Bengali actors or an; acrcsses were repeatedly measurcd against those of Garrick compared being was slill Mrs Siddons. Amarcndranalh as Hariraj Mirror anachronisiically wilh Carick as late as 1900 i the Indian When we ideniify rnelodrama as the vehicle for transmittiog must Shakesp€are 1o Bengali audiences in this period, we 'emember scene' thal ihe \ictorian fondness for melodrama I'ooms large over the vi€bnan {air' the upcounlry at At a lurther stage of transmission, the two forms melodrama meets indigenous folk fieatre or Jatra and grasps this perhaps mingle to become one are trans-formed Vernede FAIR 163 'as we drove back' new form when he muses al fie end of his reporl: the dustv we could see the shrouded Bengalis shuffliog home along Laflle'' Shakespeare's seeing been road. Though we had, all of us, place and tme some I had the slaange lecling thal we were moving in glamour of Shakespeare' thai were prc Shakespearean.' Divested ofthe of Honlet sncve(ion this recogoitiot, beyond the plot ;hanged applause ceeded as thealre. Vernedc contirms: 'There was sustained the stalls'' of row from the wholc thealre. parlicularly from the front viewers question Mr Chundar anxiously asked tl]e English thal The I think' ,ike it? You rhink that i1 was well acted?' - relcals' -not'Y;u anxiety but pride in his counlrymen's ability to malch standards ol c\cellence by acring Shake'peare ' HafllP/' a take- . If wc accept th^t Homlet al the Bengal fair is actually and not the ignorant half_educated Indian's version of frdnlrt, the entire entcrpnse can b€ viewed in a less Dickensian lighr Walter Benjamin, raling the translatability oftexts by ayardstick Translator' oiher than linguistic fidelity, slates in 'The Task of the of fiom flarrai tlntiiotion|. oanslated bv Harrv Zohn' London: Fon'an'Collins' does it remain ISZO, p. St), 'ftt" tigt", the level ofa work, fie mor€ This' lleelinglv only upon transiatable cven if ils meanjng is louched hand' olher $e of course. applies 1o origina)s only' Translations' on prove to te untranstatable not because of any inherent difficulty' but to lhem' ;ecaose ol the looseness with which meaning altaches of i/amkl' tanslation Judged in this 1ilht. Hairaj is a successful explained be Eve; ihe unintelligibility of &e fairground Ha'nle|can performance by jis being a translation ol a tmnslatiot' Success in say that Bengali forces Lrs to deviate from this formulation a little and (l which versions of lramler succeed as they.achieve thal 'lransparency' 'A real lranslation as the hallmark of a rell Benjamin idendfies same tranilation is transparent,' Benjamin writes elsewhere in the its lighl' but essay. 'it do€s not cover the original, does not blo'k medium' i's own by allo;s the pure language, as lhough rei'forced (p we need (o 79) to shine upon fte original all the more fully'' in reconsider;nd rehabilitaie the Bengali productions of Shakespeare this light. RANGANA BANERIEE THE APPENDX E THEAIRES Kumar Bhaduri in lhe 1940s, when TIIE THEATRES lAn asterisk indicates that the theatre is still in operation.l it 165 was called Srirangam. Brislow The.tre (1789-90) Establjshed by Mrs Emma Brisbw at her Chowringhce residence. An all women amateu. company. f,{e CaIc ta Cazexe. ? May l?89, it as 'a perlecl thcatre dilTering only fron a public one in ks dimensions'. It was olosed after Mrs Brislow leil for England. described *Aban Mahal (establish€d 1974) Located in Dhakuria. Set up by the Children's Litlle Theatrc group. +Academy of Flne Arh Calcutta Th€atr€ See N€w Playho|lse (established 1970) Adjacent 1I) Rabindra Sadan. Atlached to what is (as its nalne indicates) primarily an art gallery and exhibition hall, the audirorium is thc maior ltnuc for Bcngali group lheatre. Approximarcly 750 seats. Alfred Thertre (est blished l9l0) Locatcd at 9l Harrison Road (now Mahatma Gandhi Road), rhe iornrer sitc of the Curzon Thcalrc (cstablished 1904). A nujor vcnuc lbr the CholYringhee Th€atre (1813-39) Localed al the crossing olchowringhee Road and Theatre Rond (now Shakespcare Saftni). It was the longest-running and besFknown English theatrc in Calculta. Allhough,slyled a 'private subscriplion thealre', il dcfiayed the cost oI consnuclion by selling shares, Parsi theatre. Now Grace Cinema. supplenrented by agencrous donaljon fronr lhe Governor-General Lo.d Hastings of Moira. The building, crowned by a domc, was described Athenaeum (1812-14) by Stoqueler as a 'clumsy edifice'.It was controlled by the Amateur Dramrlic Society, also known as the 'Chowringhce Theatrc Becfsleak Established at l8 [Lower] Circula. Road by Mr Morris. Poor periorin dwindling audienccs and haslened its closure. mances resulted B€nsal Theatr€ (€stablish€d 1873), briefly Udque Theatre (1903-04), Natioml Theatre (190s-191r) The first permanenl stagc ior proiessional Bengali theat.c. Lmalcd at 9 Beadon Strect, the prcsent site of $e Beadon Strcet Posr Oflice. Inlroduccd actrcsses on stage. +Bi&n Theatre (esrablished 1979) Acommeroial theatre al5A Raja Rajkrishna Slreet. Apprcximately 550 Biswarupa (established 1956) A mrumerci.tl theatre at 2A Raia Raikishra Streeq rhe site ofthe earlie. Club'. The male rolcs were played by 'gcnllemen amrtcurs' and the female roles by wonren who rcsidcd on the prcmises and receivcd monihly salaries. Among lhem were Mrs Bland, M.s Francis, Mrc Godieb and Mrs Eslhcr Leach. Among th€ amaleur malc actors was one Captain W.D. Playiai.. who 'as Faislaffhad no equal' [Cal Stage]. The Chowringhce Theare rcached its highest celebrily during Lord Amherst's Govemor-Generalship. Perfomances wcre held every week, usually on Thursday evenings. The charge was Rs- 8 (boxes) and Rs. 6 (pi1). In 1835, when lhe Thealrc was lacing closure owing 1o a huge debt, 'Prince' Dwarkanath Tagorc came to i1s rcscue. Some changes in the mantrgemenl were inlroduced subseque lly. In the €arly morniog of 3l May 1839, thc Chowringhec Theaire was htally dcslroy€d by firc. Natyanikekn (established l93l). This stage was made l'amous by Sisir Corinthian Theatre Located at 5 Dharaml a S1ree1 (now t-cnin Sarani). Now thc Opera TllE SHAKESPEARE ON THE CALCUTTA STACE 166 Cinema. t61 TIjEATRES +Madhusudan Mancha (1995) along wilh Localed near Dhakuria flyover in south Calcutla Built' more crea(e to Girish Mancha, by the west Bengal GoYemment seats' spaces lor performance. Approxirnately 850 A maior venue for the Parsi theatre. Empire Th€atre Locatcd at 48 Chowringhee Place. Now fie Roxy Cinema' *c. D. Birla Sabhagar (1984) at l9 Localed Queqn's Park, Ballygunge. Perhaps the Unest auditorium in the city, bul owing to high rcntal charges used mainly to stage shows by visiting companies Approximalclv 650 scats *cirish Maftha (opered Girish Chandra Ghosh. Approximately 750 seats. Thc foundation nation' emanalcd lrom Notaji Subhashchandra Bosc' ihe building but Tagore' stonc was laid in 1939 bv Rabindranath lmo Approximately became operaiional well alcr Independence' Located at 6 Beadon Street. Built by a group oi theatre cnthusiasts includirg llnancier Bhuban Neogi and archilecr Dhrrmadas Sur *Gyan Manch (opened 1981) Locatcd at ll Preloria Strcet. on the premises of Abhinav Bharati School. Populnr venue for the Hindi and English language iheatres' Approximately 400 seats. (1$r) Establishcd by Pmsinna Kumar Tagore at his garden house at Sura' or two +Ntaharashtra Nivas commuDily Localcd at 15 Hazra Road. A ccnlre lbr the Maharashtrian Hall' Tilak ir Calculta. Has an a$ched auditorium named *Max Mu€ller Bhavan (1969) Creat National Theatr€ (1874'77) Functioned for only one lhe 1986) Located at 7611 Bagbazd Streel Built by the West Bengal Covernment in the locality famous tbr its past rcsident. $e aclor-manageFdranatist Hindu Theatre tMahajati Sadan (optred 1958) ihis 'hall of Located at t6e Chiitaranjan Avenue The idea ol years. Circular Road) Localed at 4 Pramathesh Barua Sarani (Ballvgunge $ith puryose in Calcutta' The cultural cenlre ofthe Germrn consulac built audilorium. Approximatclv 220 scats *Min€rva Thcatre (established 1893) Thcatre OPcned Set up on thc sitc of thc fomer Great Nationat was with Matheth. on 28 Januarv l893 The original building chicf of lhc as one desiroyed by tile. The new building continucd decline in lhe 1950s' commercial stages of Calcuk till it i'ell into tt was thcn taken o!€r by Ulpal Dutl's Li(tle Thealre Croup' who stngcd many ol their signilicant produclions herc' including several Shakcspeare plays. Jorasanko Theatrc (1854) The venue of pcrlbrmances organized by Pcarymohan Bosc in his residence at Baranasi Ghosh Strect, Jorasanko- Not io be confuscd with the Tagores' thcatre ofthe same name in thc;tJorasanko mansion' *Kalakunj Basemenl of Kala Mandir. Approximately 360 seats' +Kata Mandir (te68) Located at 48 Shakespeare Sarani. Appmxnnarcly 1100 scats +Muktangsn (est^blished 1962) theatre owned Locatea ai tZ: Stryamaprasad Mukherjec Road Small stage (hcnce by lhc Beogali grcup, Shouvanik. Origirrally lcmporarv ,Mrtrarga,r, 'frec' or 'open stagc')' The pcrmanenl slage tire naorc zl00 was buil( atter a lire. Approximalely scats' National Theatre (1872'74) Scr up 3t Madhusudan Sanyal's housc in Iorrsanko (365 UDrrer 168 SHA(ESPEARE ON TI]E CALCUTTA STAGE THE of the Bagbazar Amateur Thealre or ShyrmbaTnr Natyasamaj. Among them wcrc N0gend.anarh Banerjee. Ardhcndu Se(har Mustafi and Dharmadas Chi(pur Road, now 279A-F Rabindra Sarani) by members Sur Empire Incated at I/2 Humayun Place. Now a cinema hall THEATRES 169 Seminary, Ie.d by Keshabchandra Ganguly and Priyanalh Datla. They financed themsehes. Ire BensaL Ha,'karu,'7 Aptil 1853, reported that alumni and sludents donaled Rs 800 to build a theatre dedicatcd to slaging Shakespeare. They tvere directed by Mr Clinger, fonnerly of lhe Sans Souci. and larer rrdincd b) Mr. Ellir. N€rY New Playhouse or Calcutta Theatre (1775-1808) Located at the crossing ol Lyons Range and Clive Sreet (now Neraji Subhas Road). Founded by lhe auctioneer George Williamson, also known as 'Vcndumas(er'. Patrons;ncluded Wanen Hastings, Richard Barwcll. Elijah Impey. David Garick was approached for help. Hesent an associalei Bernard Massinck. Sec Appendix BFron a lerter by Mrs Eliza Fay, 26 March l78l (OrigitruL Lettercfnnl Playhouse (?1753-?1756) Located opposite St Andrew's Church. cast of lhe present Wrilers' Buildings. Established by the 'Young writers of John Company'. Productions aided hy David Garrick. No inlbrmation exists about any plays sraged here. Reportedly deslroyed when Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula arrrcled Cnlculta fte *Rabindra Sadan Located at the crossing of Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Road and Cathedral Road. Planned as the leading auditorium in the slale, one of the chain sel up in Indian s1a1e capilals to mark the birth centenary of Rabindranalh Tagore in 1961. Approximately ll00 sea$. European stage .-. RqiBharrn An imposing colonial buildbg. now (he office and residencc of the Governor of West Bengal. Contains lhe Marble Hall, used fbr 'The house was buill by subscdption; it is very neatly fitled up, and scenery and decorations quite equal to what could be expeclcd here. The parts fie entirely represented by amat€urs in thc drama no hired performers being allowed to act. t assurc you I have seen characlers supported in a manner thai would not disgrace arl '... lor my own part I think such a mode of an evening highly I not debarred by the expense should seldom miss gold mohur is really loo much to bestow a representalion - but a on such a lemporury gralification.' twe also learn that lhe price lor a seai in the pit was eight sicca ruppes, and that actresses were originally barred from appearing on cerenronial occasions. rational; and were stage.l Opeaa House Located at Lindsay Strcet. Now the Clobe Cinema. Rungmahal (€stablished 1931) Commercial theare al 76ll Cornwallis Street (now Bidhan Sarani). Sans Souci Theatre (189"40, 1840-44/49) Mrs l-each, who had been in England when ihe Chowringhe€ Theatrc was burnt down, retumed soon after and renled a large warehouse at the comer ofGovernment Phce East and Waterloo Streel. This was converled into 'an eleganl theatrc lo accommodalc four hundrcd p€rsors'. I1 opencd on 21 Augusl 1839 and ran lill 1840. raised lhrough subscription by Mr Sloquelc! a contribulion lro rhe Governor-General Lord Auckland, and a morF gage on the propcrty and its contenlsi a new thealrc buildiDg was erected in Park Strcet, where S1 Xavier's College now stands. The architect was a Eurasian genlleman named J. W. Collins. Il was wilh funds Orienbl Theatr€ (1853) In Cour Mohan Auddy's Orienral Seminary, 268 Garanhata, Chitpore Road (now Rabindra Sarani). The first attcmpl by Indians 10 se1 up a commercially-run English-language theatre, though the acton were amateurs: a company of studenrs. old and new, of thc ental o SHAKESPEARE ON THE CAI,CL]TTA STAGE ll THE THEATRES I completed in May 1840 and the first perfbrmance was held on Monday, Star The.tr€ (1888) 8 March 1841. new Afr,er having to vacate their old iheatre the Star company built a Burnt playhouse at 7613 Cornwallis Street (now 7913/4 Bidhan Sarani)' Besides Mrs Leach. notable acto6 at the Sans Souci included Mrs Deacle, who as Miss Dadjng had made 'a gorgeous Cleopatra ar the Adelphi', Miss Cowley, and Mr and Mrs Barry- down in a fire. 1991. On 2 Novemb€r 1843. during a show where James \aning rendered exiacts horn The Merchant of Venice, Mfi Lgach's dress caught fire Thestre Royal (1872) Also known as Mrs Lewis' Theatre, on Cholvrjnghec' during the subsequent Dedormance of a farce, The Hanhome Hu|6afld. She was severely burnt. and succumbed to her injuries on 18 Town HaU (1814) November. Soon afler Mrs Leach's death, the Sans Souci was plunged into financial difficulties- The last known per{ormance at the theatre (of priinarily Situated to the west of4 EsplanadeRow. Needless to say. noi a theatre, but some perfolmances were hcld ficre' othello) rook place on 24 April 1844. Ir that year, rhc building was sold to Archbishop Carew for Rs. 40,000. bul pcrformances by the *University Institute Hall (established 1891) company continued elscwhere till played a1 14 Wellington Square, Mr Barry's residence [according Das Guplal. 1a49. OtheUo (18.18) may have 1o *Samla Memorial Community Hall Located at l/l Hadsh Mukherjcc Road. Part oI Gokhale School and College, and named after their lbunder Samla Ray. Shri Shikshayatan A womenh college at 11 Lord Sinha Road with audirorium. Rabindra Sadan. Buill by lhe WestBengal Govenrment in the memory S(ar Theatre (1883) / Emerald Theatre / Classic Theatre / seaB. Momohan NablMtardir in 1883 at 68 Beadon Slree! by Girish Chandra Chosh and Binodiri Dasi, wilh finance from Gurmukh Rai. It changed namcs and hands many times. It was known as the Classic Thealre liom 1897, when Amarendranadr Dutl took it over. In the The Slar Thcatre was sel up 1920s, it was also krown as the Monmohan Natyamandir. Demolished 193 t. suppon 01' Bancrjee and the Rev. Pralap Chandra Majumdar, with fie collcges' Calcutla various pdncipals ol Sir Asutosh Mukherjee and the Originally called the Society for lhc Highcr Training of Young Men' theinstilute quickly becamc lhe most important centre for thc cultural plays from activities ot college sludents in Calculla. It suned staging Ialenl' young theatrical of 1899. and Soon becxme fic nursery assistance wilh rebuilt It was destroycd by llre in lhe I9?0s and from the West Bcngal Covernmenl *Sisir Mancha (1978) Locatcd at l/l Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Road, next to of celebrated actor-director Sisir Bhadui. Approximately 400 Located at 7 Bankim Chatlcrjee Street. beside College Square Foundcd ;n l89l at lhe initialivc of some eminent lgih-century Bengalis such Rev Kalicharan as Dr Mihendralal Sarkar, Sir Gurudas Banerjce. the 'vidya Mandir (loflnerly Hindi Localed a1 I Moira Strccl, owned by Birla High School High School). Approximalclv 800 sents' wheel€r Phce Thdatre (u97-98) Established by Edward wheeler, Council. 3 member of Warren HastiDgs' B'BLIOCRAPHY Tagorc, Rabindranath. Re,,l,,ir.€rc?r. London: Macmillan, 1917. A Ttibute To Shakespearc. New Delhi: Theatre & Television Asso- BIBLIOGRAPIIY lRetiews cited in the rnain text aft not i I-13 ctuded hele,l Bool'3 Articles Ahmed, Shafi. Ran?adeshe Shakrspearc. Dhaka: Bangla Academy, Banerji, Brajendra Nalh. 'Thc Early History of the Bengali Theatre'. The Mode Rerie$., Oclober l93l and November 1931. 'The Calcutta Srase'. The Stites n , 22 and 29 October 1905. Choudhury, Ahirdra. 'Shakespeare Worship in Bengal'.|^ Rabindru Bharati Uttitersiry Journal Shakespeare tssue (Vol. 2, No. 2. April- 1988. Ahsan, Naznrul. Shakespearc Tratstation in Nineteenth Centur) Benqali Theate. Dhaka: Bangla Academy, 1995. Bhattacharya, Shankar BarSta Ranqalqer ttihaser Upada . Vo1. 2 O901-I9@). L 3 0 9I G 1919). Calcuttr: paschimbanga Natya Akademi, 19+96. June 1964). Ajit Kuma. 'Shakespcarc In Bcngali Translalion' in WodAr Word: Essdrs o,t Tta llation in Memo.- of.lasa na l Chakruwry'. Ed. Visvanalh Challeriee. Calculla: Papyrus, 199,1Gupta, Nagend.anath. Some Celebrities'. The l4odem Reriew. May Ghosh, o Bose, Amalendu (.ed.). Calcutra Essals shakespear.. Catcnr,sl Calcuxa University, 1966. Chakrabarti, Rathin. (allotar Nat)acharcha. Calcutta: paschimbanga Natya Akademi, I991. Chowdhury, Indira (ed.). 'A Checklisr of Transtations of European Texts in Bengali I 800, I 900' . Calcutta: Deparment of English, Jadalpur Universily, 1996. Contenryomtt htdhn Thearrc. Ne\t Dethi sangeer Natak Akademi, 1989_ Das Gupta, Hemendra Nath. The India,t Thedtre_ Delh i: Cian publishing Hous€, repdnr 1988. Kendal, Geoffrey. Tre Slzr kespeare Waltah. Harmondswonh: penguin, )9n. Lahiri Choudhury, Sheila. 'All the Depa,hent's a Stage' . Souv ir ol irc Depaturcnt of Ettglish, ladat,pur U ersit,. 198'7. Mitra. Amal. 'Some Celebrated Artistes of Shakespearean Drama in Old Calculta'. Hindunha StundarLl, 19 April 1964. Mookerjee, Kanli (intorvicwcd). 'From Srilckha to Shylock'.In Or:|8rn ,V"',r lQuarterly House Jounal ollndian Oxygen Limiled]. Vol.4. No. I & 2, January-Junc 1964. 1986. Typescript Milra, Sanat Kumar. Shakespeare o Bongla Nard*. Calcurta: pustak Bhattacharya, B. K. 'Shakcspcarc Translation l97l-1996' (Nalya Shodh Bipani, 1978. Mukhe{ee, Sushil. The Story ol the Calcutta Theatrcs t7S3-1980. Calcu(tar K.P. Bagchi, 1982. NambooJrr). Ud:r)un. St- Xavier\. Thc i4dking of a Catcu a tn\tirrrion. New Delhi: Viking/Penguin Books India, t995. Raha, Kironmoy. 8?rgall Trearre. New Dethi: Nalional Book Trust, 1978; second cdilion 1993. Raychaudhuri, Subh (ed.). ailart Jatru Theke Sfodeshi Theatre. Calcutla: Jadavpur Universily, t972. Satka\ Salll. Theatrc-et Kalkata. C^lcul],a: Mirra & chosh. 20m. Sikdac Lipika. S/ri?rp€a rc in the Media. 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