6/17/2023 0 Comments The little theatre movement![]() Also founded by a few expats, the group very decisively sought an alternative theatre experience in a post-colonial social context. This happened with the formation of Bangalore Little Theatre in 1960. In this period English language theatre moved out of Cantonment, to reach all of Bangalore. There was an overall alienation from Indian culture.Students in the Cantonment schools were isolated from the City theatre scene. ![]() Students remained ignorant of Indian and Eastern traditions. Drama studies amounted to a narrow pursuit of English and Western traditions.We cannot overlook the fact that there were some obvious negative features of the legacy too Most significantly, with good quality inputs in teaching and practice, dramatic activity in school was a respectable pursuit – as respectable as cricket and computers today.Wood work and other crafts taught at the school formed natural accompaniments to the drama studies. These teachers had exposure to good stagecraft-in set design, costumes, fabricating props with locally available materials, lighting, sound, and so on.Teachers coming from Britain were often trained and experienced in both teaching drama and producing plays.(Unfortunately, in the process of renovating the hall, the stage area was given an aseptic false ceiling of insulation material, and the entire scene changing mechanism of priceless heritage value was scrapped.) For instance, the original Assembly Hall at Bishop Cotton Boys School had fly mechanisms and other backstage features not seen in other performance halls. The British influence brought in technically sound stages.It must be accepted that there were some obvious positive features of the legacy as well: The very term colonial legacy has, inescapably, a negative connotation. ![]() The popular expression was: “Amateur dramatics is as English as toast with marmalade at tea time” It can be said that English language drama in India was essentially a colonial cultural legacy. Indeed, the amateur / non-profit theatre had a far wider base in community participation than the commercial theatre. It was simply a reflection of the social context in Britain, in which the theatre was a living and vibrant art form. The teaching and practice of drama in “English” schools was integral to the British educational system.
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