Introspecting the "Third" dimension of Indian Theatre.
Theatre Street Journal Vol.2, No.1 27 March 2018 ISSN 2456-754X Page 123
BOOK REVIEW
Introspecting the third dimension of Indian Theatre
Joydev Majumdar
Two Plays: Badal Sircar (Translated in English by Subhendu Sarkar);Hard
cover, PP:165, Price : Rs. 350, ISBN : 0-19-806549-3, Publisher: Oxford
University Press
“The basic tool of trade of the art of theatre is the human body. It is the presence of
the body that ultimately distinguishes theatre from cinema” said Badal Sircar in his
book Third Theatre. The truthfulness of the above lines has dramatically been
brought down in this book Two Plays.This unique book is broadly divided into 4
parts with few pages of picture in between. The front cover is a hard cover and
carries the name of the book, name of the writer and the name of the plays. The
front cover also carries a picture scene from a famous play of Badal Sircar
“Hattamalar Opare” and the back cover carries a picture of another famous story
named, “Khat Mat Kring” by Badal Sircar.
`The first part is the Introduction part consisting of 36 pages where Subhendu
Sarkar describes about Badal Sircar’s various plays and his style of writing and had
mentioned many events related to him. He has described how the Communists
formed party in spite of so many repressive measures by the Imperialists. He
emphasized the role of All India Student’s Federation (1936) and the Youth
Cultural Institute (1940) in the formative years of Indian political theatre. The role
of IPTA (Indian People’s Theatre Association) has been clearly mentioned in this
book. This introductory part throws light on the use of open air stage. Unlike any
Theatre Street Journal Vol.2, No.1 27 March 2018 ISSN 2456-754X Page 124
hall or proscenium it needs minimal props, lighting and costumes. Reference has
been made of Utpal Dutt’s personal experience of acting in “Chargesheet” (written
by Umanath Bhattacharya), which was the first street corner play in Bengal. Utpal
Dutt’s other playwrights like Special Train (1962), Din Badaler Pola (1967),
Mayna Tadanta and Kaalo Haat have also been mentioned. The next part of the
introduction describes the early life of Badal Sircar and his journey from
engineering to CPI leader and then finally to theatre, one of his childhood passion.
A list of his comedy plays categorized as comedy plays include: Solution X
(1969), Baropisima (1959), Sonibaar (1959), Ram Shyam Jadu (1961),
Ballabhpurer Rupkatha (1963), Kabikahini (1964).
Among his proscenium plays Evam Indrajit, Baki Itihas, Tingsa Satabdi, Sarkar
and Sesh Nei, Evam Indrajit became the most famous one in which his characters
are typical prototypes and caught in meaningless, self-centered and uneventful
existence, they accept everything unquestioningly. The author has portrayed the
whole character sketch of Evam Indrajit to show how Badal Sircar used his plays
to present his ideas which are normally protagonist and has confused ending.
Following the description of Evam Indrajit , the author has focused the idea behind
the birth of “THIRD THEATRE”, the brainchild of Badal Sircar. He also quoted
some lines from ThirdTheatre, “To the performers, the spectator constitutes an
anonymous mass, a faceless crowd. To the spectators, the performers constitute a
band of select skilled people – an instrument of entertainment”.
Subhendu Sarkar has critically analysed the plays of Badal Sircar and has also
mentioned about Sircar’s use of open air theatre i.e. Anganmancha which reduced
the distance between the spectators and actor. He also mentioned the
characteristics of Third Theatre i.e. flexible, portable and inexpensive. He
sometimes attributed the Third Theatre as ‘Free Theatre’, ‘Intimate Theatre’ or
Theatre Street Journal Vol.2, No.1 27 March 2018 ISSN 2456-754X Page 125
‘Alternate Theatre’. At the end of the introduction part, Subhendu Sarkar has
quoted some lines from the plays to show his style and art of writing plays.
The next part of the book introduces its readers to the 1st play Indian History
Made Easy (Sukhapathya Bharater Itihas) which was first performed on 17th
December 1976 at Calcutta Theosophical Society Hall. This play is also a part of
Third Theatre which is played in open arena with spectators on 3 sides of the
acting arena. This is significant in forging a unique relationship between form and
content using the form of classroom teaching and characters of Teachers and
masters – with the teacher instructing and teaching students – the playwright
covers more than three hundred years of British rule without developing a story.
Badal Sircar has very intelligently used this type of setting so as to give vivid
information about the Colonial period and the way how they used to exploit the
Indians. Dialogues spoken by the characters are seldom lengthy, thus provides the
play with dramatic pace besides helping the audience to concentrate on the action.
An example of such dialogues:
TEACHER 1: You!
STUDENT 1&2: In.
TEACHER 2: You!
STUDENT 3: dus.
TEACHER 3: You!
STUDENT 5&6: tri.
TEACHER 1: You!
STUDENT 1&2: al.
TEACHER 2: You!
STUDENT 3&4: Re.
Theatre Street Journal Vol.2, No.1 27 March 2018 ISSN 2456-754X Page 126
TEACHER 3: You!
STUDENT 5&6: vo.
TEACHER 1: You!
STUDENT 1&2: lu.
TEACHER 1: You!
STUDENT 3&4: tion.
MASTER: Now, all together.
STUDENTS: Industrial Revolution.
Teachers, Students and Master take up different roles making the entire period
come alive before the audience. Here though the students are taught, it is the
audience who learns about the mechanism of colonial exploitation. The events
have been described in a chronological and geographical order which gives a clear
picture of what he wanted to portray through his plays. Appropriate use of songs in
between the dialogues adds some more interesting flavors to the play. The play
ends with a scene where all the students lying in the floor and crying for food i.e.
the condition when Britishers left India in a miserable position.
From page 51-55 there are some pictures of Sircar’s famous plays like Evam
Indrajit, Khat Mat Kring, Michil etc.
The next play “Life of Bagala” (Bagalacharitmanas) starts with Stage Managers
calling and introducing the Hero of the play Bagalacharan Batabyal or Bagala. This
play revolves round the life of this innocent boy who is orphan and stays with his
maternal uncle and aunt. His name was his greatest problem of his life. His
classmates and friends constantly keep nagging him and teasing because of his
name. It was difficult for him to find any job because of his name, quietness and
personality. Even his maternal uncle and aunt are so unjust towards him, and
Theatre Street Journal Vol.2, No.1 27 March 2018 ISSN 2456-754X Page 127
wanted him to marry so that they could get a dowry of Rs.50,000. In this part it is
somewhat relevant to real stories what happens with peoples having such type of
insane names, personality and character. In the later part when Bagala runs out
from his uncle’s home fooling them and tries to attempt suicide lying in a railway
track, entry of an old man is shown with a lighter in his hand and talking to
someone invisible. Reading further the reader comes to know about Nila a magical
creature that saved Bagala by pulling him from the tracks. This story shows how
by supernatural intervention Bagala is able to recognize himself, gains self
confidence and takes a stand against injustice. Sircar has given an interesting
climax to the story where Bagala returned whatever he owned to his maternals,
gave away magic, got a job and stayed with Nila together. The play reminds us that
no change can be brought about by magic; it is only through human action and will
that something worthwhile can be achieved. Through this play Sircar wanted to
convey his audience that one needs to change his perception towards life to stay
happy and successful, and for being successful an insane name or being an orphan
is not a bar. But some irrelevant scenes have been shown in this play where Nila
saves Bagala from the railway tracks,
The fourth and the last part of the book includes a conversation between Badal
Sircar and the writer of this book Subhendu Sarkar where many questions
regarding Open Air Theatre (Anganmancha) and Third Theatre has been asked and
Badal Sircar has very beautifully answered and discussed about his personal
experience. He also discussed about his workshops in and outside India, the
techniques he used to adopt in his workshop and many more. At the end Badal
Sircar has also mentioned that how h used to decide his characters in his plays
keeping in mind the shortage of lady actresses in his group. He alluded that he was
deeply impressed by Dr. R.P. Dutt’s India Today and to make the history analytical
Theatre Street Journal Vol.2, No.1 27 March 2018 ISSN 2456-754X Page 128
and understandable he exploited the form of classroom teaching in the play “Indian
history made easy” i.e. (sukhapathya bharater itihaas). “I Dream of Jeannie” has
been an inspiration for him to write “Life of Bagala” i.e. (Bagalacharitamans).
In the last page of the book a whole list of Sircar’s plays has been given in a
chronological order, their venue of first play and the group to perform it first. This
book is very beautifully compiled by Subhendu Sarkar and gave the whole idea of
Badal Sircar’s writings in a nutshell in the introduction part of the book. This book
is helpful for those who are researching about the concept of Third Theatre and
Badal Sircar. Even the plays are interesting for students who are interested in
history and loves reading comedy plays.
Joydev Majumdar is a student of second semester of MAJMC at the Department of
Journalism & Mass Communication, Central University of Orissa, Koraput, India. He may be
reached at joydevmajumdar111@gmail.com
BOOK REVIEW
Introspecting the third dimension of Indian Theatre
Joydev Majumdar
Two Plays: Badal Sircar (Translated in English by Subhendu Sarkar);Hard
cover, PP:165, Price : Rs. 350, ISBN : 0-19-806549-3, Publisher: Oxford
University Press
“The basic tool of trade of the art of theatre is the human body. It is the presence of
the body that ultimately distinguishes theatre from cinema” said Badal Sircar in his
book Third Theatre. The truthfulness of the above lines has dramatically been
brought down in this book Two Plays.This unique book is broadly divided into 4
parts with few pages of picture in between. The front cover is a hard cover and
carries the name of the book, name of the writer and the name of the plays. The
front cover also carries a picture scene from a famous play of Badal Sircar
“Hattamalar Opare” and the back cover carries a picture of another famous story
named, “Khat Mat Kring” by Badal Sircar.
`The first part is the Introduction part consisting of 36 pages where Subhendu
Sarkar describes about Badal Sircar’s various plays and his style of writing and had
mentioned many events related to him. He has described how the Communists
formed party in spite of so many repressive measures by the Imperialists. He
emphasized the role of All India Student’s Federation (1936) and the Youth
Cultural Institute (1940) in the formative years of Indian political theatre. The role
of IPTA (Indian People’s Theatre Association) has been clearly mentioned in this
book. This introductory part throws light on the use of open air stage. Unlike any
Theatre Street Journal Vol.2, No.1 27 March 2018 ISSN 2456-754X Page 124
hall or proscenium it needs minimal props, lighting and costumes. Reference has
been made of Utpal Dutt’s personal experience of acting in “Chargesheet” (written
by Umanath Bhattacharya), which was the first street corner play in Bengal. Utpal
Dutt’s other playwrights like Special Train (1962), Din Badaler Pola (1967),
Mayna Tadanta and Kaalo Haat have also been mentioned. The next part of the
introduction describes the early life of Badal Sircar and his journey from
engineering to CPI leader and then finally to theatre, one of his childhood passion.
A list of his comedy plays categorized as comedy plays include: Solution X
(1969), Baropisima (1959), Sonibaar (1959), Ram Shyam Jadu (1961),
Ballabhpurer Rupkatha (1963), Kabikahini (1964).
Among his proscenium plays Evam Indrajit, Baki Itihas, Tingsa Satabdi, Sarkar
and Sesh Nei, Evam Indrajit became the most famous one in which his characters
are typical prototypes and caught in meaningless, self-centered and uneventful
existence, they accept everything unquestioningly. The author has portrayed the
whole character sketch of Evam Indrajit to show how Badal Sircar used his plays
to present his ideas which are normally protagonist and has confused ending.
Following the description of Evam Indrajit , the author has focused the idea behind
the birth of “THIRD THEATRE”, the brainchild of Badal Sircar. He also quoted
some lines from ThirdTheatre, “To the performers, the spectator constitutes an
anonymous mass, a faceless crowd. To the spectators, the performers constitute a
band of select skilled people – an instrument of entertainment”.
Subhendu Sarkar has critically analysed the plays of Badal Sircar and has also
mentioned about Sircar’s use of open air theatre i.e. Anganmancha which reduced
the distance between the spectators and actor. He also mentioned the
characteristics of Third Theatre i.e. flexible, portable and inexpensive. He
sometimes attributed the Third Theatre as ‘Free Theatre’, ‘Intimate Theatre’ or
Theatre Street Journal Vol.2, No.1 27 March 2018 ISSN 2456-754X Page 125
‘Alternate Theatre’. At the end of the introduction part, Subhendu Sarkar has
quoted some lines from the plays to show his style and art of writing plays.
The next part of the book introduces its readers to the 1st play Indian History
Made Easy (Sukhapathya Bharater Itihas) which was first performed on 17th
December 1976 at Calcutta Theosophical Society Hall. This play is also a part of
Third Theatre which is played in open arena with spectators on 3 sides of the
acting arena. This is significant in forging a unique relationship between form and
content using the form of classroom teaching and characters of Teachers and
masters – with the teacher instructing and teaching students – the playwright
covers more than three hundred years of British rule without developing a story.
Badal Sircar has very intelligently used this type of setting so as to give vivid
information about the Colonial period and the way how they used to exploit the
Indians. Dialogues spoken by the characters are seldom lengthy, thus provides the
play with dramatic pace besides helping the audience to concentrate on the action.
An example of such dialogues:
TEACHER 1: You!
STUDENT 1&2: In.
TEACHER 2: You!
STUDENT 3: dus.
TEACHER 3: You!
STUDENT 5&6: tri.
TEACHER 1: You!
STUDENT 1&2: al.
TEACHER 2: You!
STUDENT 3&4: Re.
Theatre Street Journal Vol.2, No.1 27 March 2018 ISSN 2456-754X Page 126
TEACHER 3: You!
STUDENT 5&6: vo.
TEACHER 1: You!
STUDENT 1&2: lu.
TEACHER 1: You!
STUDENT 3&4: tion.
MASTER: Now, all together.
STUDENTS: Industrial Revolution.
Teachers, Students and Master take up different roles making the entire period
come alive before the audience. Here though the students are taught, it is the
audience who learns about the mechanism of colonial exploitation. The events
have been described in a chronological and geographical order which gives a clear
picture of what he wanted to portray through his plays. Appropriate use of songs in
between the dialogues adds some more interesting flavors to the play. The play
ends with a scene where all the students lying in the floor and crying for food i.e.
the condition when Britishers left India in a miserable position.
From page 51-55 there are some pictures of Sircar’s famous plays like Evam
Indrajit, Khat Mat Kring, Michil etc.
The next play “Life of Bagala” (Bagalacharitmanas) starts with Stage Managers
calling and introducing the Hero of the play Bagalacharan Batabyal or Bagala. This
play revolves round the life of this innocent boy who is orphan and stays with his
maternal uncle and aunt. His name was his greatest problem of his life. His
classmates and friends constantly keep nagging him and teasing because of his
name. It was difficult for him to find any job because of his name, quietness and
personality. Even his maternal uncle and aunt are so unjust towards him, and
Theatre Street Journal Vol.2, No.1 27 March 2018 ISSN 2456-754X Page 127
wanted him to marry so that they could get a dowry of Rs.50,000. In this part it is
somewhat relevant to real stories what happens with peoples having such type of
insane names, personality and character. In the later part when Bagala runs out
from his uncle’s home fooling them and tries to attempt suicide lying in a railway
track, entry of an old man is shown with a lighter in his hand and talking to
someone invisible. Reading further the reader comes to know about Nila a magical
creature that saved Bagala by pulling him from the tracks. This story shows how
by supernatural intervention Bagala is able to recognize himself, gains self
confidence and takes a stand against injustice. Sircar has given an interesting
climax to the story where Bagala returned whatever he owned to his maternals,
gave away magic, got a job and stayed with Nila together. The play reminds us that
no change can be brought about by magic; it is only through human action and will
that something worthwhile can be achieved. Through this play Sircar wanted to
convey his audience that one needs to change his perception towards life to stay
happy and successful, and for being successful an insane name or being an orphan
is not a bar. But some irrelevant scenes have been shown in this play where Nila
saves Bagala from the railway tracks,
The fourth and the last part of the book includes a conversation between Badal
Sircar and the writer of this book Subhendu Sarkar where many questions
regarding Open Air Theatre (Anganmancha) and Third Theatre has been asked and
Badal Sircar has very beautifully answered and discussed about his personal
experience. He also discussed about his workshops in and outside India, the
techniques he used to adopt in his workshop and many more. At the end Badal
Sircar has also mentioned that how h used to decide his characters in his plays
keeping in mind the shortage of lady actresses in his group. He alluded that he was
deeply impressed by Dr. R.P. Dutt’s India Today and to make the history analytical
Theatre Street Journal Vol.2, No.1 27 March 2018 ISSN 2456-754X Page 128
and understandable he exploited the form of classroom teaching in the play “Indian
history made easy” i.e. (sukhapathya bharater itihaas). “I Dream of Jeannie” has
been an inspiration for him to write “Life of Bagala” i.e. (Bagalacharitamans).
In the last page of the book a whole list of Sircar’s plays has been given in a
chronological order, their venue of first play and the group to perform it first. This
book is very beautifully compiled by Subhendu Sarkar and gave the whole idea of
Badal Sircar’s writings in a nutshell in the introduction part of the book. This book
is helpful for those who are researching about the concept of Third Theatre and
Badal Sircar. Even the plays are interesting for students who are interested in
history and loves reading comedy plays.
Joydev Majumdar is a student of second semester of MAJMC at the Department of
Journalism & Mass Communication, Central University of Orissa, Koraput, India. He may be
reached at joydevmajumdar111@gmail.com
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