According to historians, theatre would be created in India to diffuse Buddhist religion, yet our first century’s were the golden age for the Indian Sanskrit theatre, witch permits us to say that an inspired Brahman’s theatre were imposed, in disaccord with Buddhism.
The actual theatre genders:
Actually there are four actual forms of theatre witch are traditional’ ones or « Folk », the scene theatre or « placement’s theatre », the most recently « oppressed people theatre » and the « Dalit theatre ».
Traditional forms are presents above all in South India and for Tamil Nadu are about Therukkoothu.
Therukkoothu is a street theatre, said for « education and pastime » mainly presented in a context of social and religious celebrations like death or puberty celebration. It mix songs and traditional dance, begins with a Ganesh and Sarasvati invocation and is able to finish early the next morning. Roles, even if female ones are played only by men costumed and maked up. The Komali comments played situations directing spectators’ trough a moral bias socially or religiously correct. Controlled by superior’s castes, elite’s and directing ones, this traditional theatre stay a way to proclaim and perpetuate Brahman ideology about castes hierarchy, witch is a planed transmission of negatives values like Karma and Dharma’s theory (fatalism), superior’s castes submission, women’s secondary status… using sacred and profanes notions to paralyse reflex ion of oppressed people like Dalit*, tribal and earth less ».
The scene’s theatre
Teaches by English to Indians then reprised by against-colonisation movements, today many movie’s actors uses it to treat about problems like water lack, pollution or health…
If that form of theatre applies to sensibylize and proposes some issues, as well it’s not a « popular » theatre. Only played in big cities by professional and paid actors, with important and modern means, it is aimed at middle class only witch isn’t principally concerned by problems posed. On the one hand. It isn’t an exchange or interactive theatre as spectators aren’t invited to participate.
The Indian « oppressed people theatre»’s birth.
In the 60’s, traditional forms are used by Dravidian’s organisations to demystify dominant culture based on « inferior’s and superior’s castes » ideology. This theatre was attempting to act against fatality, superstitions and women’s inferiority to create into those Dravidians populations respect about their own and pride to be issued from the first people who were living the country at least giving them a possibility to participate on manifestations, meeting and protestation’s walking, and in this way to bring up their voices against dominator’s forces.
In the 70’s many NGOs, socials and secular’s actions, activist’s groups are emerging in Tamil Nadu using culture’s medias to focus looks on socials inequalities problems, gender and caste’s discriminations, industrialisation’s stupidities and their economic development’s justifications.
Since the 80’s, the popular theatre is defined like a « for people and by people theatre » is more and more used by NGOs to « arouse people ». This « oppressed people theatre » is diversified in several ways like « Women theatre », « Black theatre », « psychological theatre », « Dalit theatre »… each one changing with its own vision on theatre and communitarian’s potential for action.
« Dalit theatre »
Dalit theatre joins « popular education and Dalit community’s development » activities leaded by NGOs as non formal educating tool.
TO CALL OUT TO, SHOW, WAKE UP – TO BECOME AWARE OF, LUCIDITY
This « immutable, establish and incontestable order under the name of religion or traditions » perpetuated by generations and generations anesthetized consciences, critic mind and revolt. Proposing current life situations of the villagers, oppressing and all sort of unjust ones, or means order problems, theatre aims at make them conscientious of the oppressive, unjust, abnormal or illegal character they undergo. A critic analysis about the situations played is presented to the villagers to propose them to step back from their own life.
MESSENGER – TO SENSIBILISE, INFORM and EDUCATE – TO USE LAWS – RIGHTS…
NGOs informs spectators about Humans Rights and existing laws witch are able to protect them , do some prevent environment’s questions always proposing a critic analysis.
TO GUIDE, PROPOSE WITHOUT OBLIGE – AUTONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND COLLECTIVE MOVEMENT – FIGHT, LIBERATION
NGOs want Dalit villagers to form an active movement, strong and stand by and the most of possible autonomic for their own rights fighting’s respect, personal and collective development with-in society, for Liberation. Dalit theatre gives directions and alternatives but any solutions as they want villagers to become actors of their own development.
Dalit Theatre’s Ethic as concerned NGOs wrote it :
- “Since Nazis is reflected in Dalit oppression, Dalit need a platform or a forum to promote struggle ideologies for true democracy and liberation just like the struggle against Nazism.
- Dalit theatre should be a counteracting force wherever there is Hindu influence since it has perpetuated marginalisation on the basis of Varnashrama Dharma.
- Dalit theatre is political theatre, as also rebellion theatre in appropriate situations.
- Dalit theatre should be based on the real life situation and the concrete experiences of Dalit. Abstraction is taboo, for it can only be like the grease paint which camouflages actuality.
- The dialect, body movement, story line, the message and the vision will be just as in the actual Dalit’s life situations. There will be no make up and costumes.
- Dalit theatre will question the dominant culture and value systems.
- Gender justice will be focused upon in the presentations.
- Dalit theatre is aggressive in nature and will express strong feelings and emotions.”
Topics and texts
Texts are usually written by the NGO’s members as dialogs including sometimes discourses. The language is a familiar’s one to be understand by everyone. When the « text » isn’t written, actors first choose the topics and make some theatrics’ improvisations, according them about the story line.
The performance propose to the public an installed code’s « destruction » work and a « rebuild » work with « their » own world according their own codes in all fields. Topics are many and varied: Human Rights – Policy – Economy – Religion – Environment- Education –health- Social Life – Industrialisation – Agriculture…
A few examples respecting child: life’s right for the girls, free expression and participation’s life rights, education‘s right, child labour and child exploitation’s refusal.
…respecting women: men’s violence, male’s domination in current life and sexual abuses, lack society status for the women, and all other’s discriminations.
NGOs generally « specialises » their action in favour of one cause like Women respect, child or agriculture’s questions…
Modest means:
Respecting materials means, actors are just using simple’s distinct signs like a scarf as a waist or turban, borrowed from the village’s people. When there’s some light, it’s just to demarcate the playing place and sometimes with fire witch is a subject of fascination and an emotions’ support. Music is used to make a link with the millenarian Indian music culture and played by actors using traditional and local’s instruments.
Actors are very often NGO’s members all amateurs but sometimes child and women of the village are playing and they’ll happen in near by villages to proclaim ideas of their own fighting.
Actor’s game and taking place performance
Dalit Theatre wants to be an emotion theatre where the actor seeks to touch earth’s spectator before his intellect even if the opposite’s technique is usually used. It’s an interactive game; villagers are invited to react and also to become actors themselves in the hope that « fiction » becomes « reality » to permit the beginning of themselves working in, explore their own emotions and make birth a new look for their personality and world.
Play is in the evening on the main place’s village introduced by actors without any information and playing music to attract villagers. The public settles around actors and the performance begins with Dalit’s songs liberation’s ones inspired from traditional ones,
Then actors announce the topic calling out to the public with their finger. Play is composed by several short’s scenes separated by songs dances and discourses, action’s appealing, revolt and liberation’s one.
At the end the company normally propose a debate to the villagers offering them a platform to exchange about treated topics, to motive and feeder action groups.
Conclusion
Dalit Theatre became a fighting symbol witch is quickly with-in NGOs but for witch the ethic is staying vague. A similar practise should give to Dalit Theatre more force and echo in the messages. Because it’s a « become aware of » tool but also a joy and emotion driver as well for spectators as actors, Dalit Theatre should be a personal and collective structure’s tool, as much as for revolutionary actions.
(*) dalit means oppressed people and designs untouchables.
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