Pune theatre tries new formats, from 24-hour plays to performances among the audience

Pune's theatre scene is seeing experiments that depart from the old pattern. Stepping outside the traditional frame of a fixed stage, curtain, backstage and actors performing, theatre workers are looking for new ways to present plays. Efforts range from conceiving a play to making the audience part of the experiment. This is changing not only the experience of watching a play but also the process of making one.

One example is "Natak Express", held in Pune in April this year. It was a 24-hour theatre experiment involving 60 actors, 12 directors and 12 playwrights. Teams were formed by drawing lots, and each team was given visual and sound cues. Writing a script, rehearsing and presenting a one-act play of 10 to 15 minutes on that basis was the structure of the experiment. It was a different kind of effort, with everyone making a play together in a short time.

Emphasis is also being placed on reducing the distance between actors and audience. Performances are being held in the round or in open spaces instead of on a traditional stage. Actors move among the audience, and viewers take part through conversation. The play "Four Horsemen of Name, Fame, Pain and Death" took up mental health in the form of group counselling on a round stage.

Alongside these experiments, Pune is also giving weight to venues with flexible layouts, such as Shriram Lagoo Rang-Avakash. New spaces such as Mukta Theatre in Dhayari are giving experimental plays a stage outside the central part of the city. With different thinking, new ways of presenting and direct interaction with the audience, Pune's theatre is no longer only a medium of entertainment but is becoming a testing ground for new creation.

Artist Shantanu Gaikwad said, "Many new ways of presenting are being used in theatre now. Earlier there was a distance between the actor and the audience, but now experiments in talking directly to the audience are taking place. Performing in open spaces, a different backstage and audience participation give us actors a chance to think afresh."

Writer and artist Jeevan Aaghav said, "Today's audiences like to watch plays on different subjects and presented in different ways. So while writing a play one cannot depend only on dialogue. One has to keep in mind the possibilities of sound, light, music and presentation. Experimental theatre is giving new writers the freedom to choose their subjects."