Tin Can actors at a practise session for an upcoming untitled production Location courtesy Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, Calcutta

The English theatre scene in Calcutta has come alive and even the washed out monsoon days can’t play dampener. It’s on a roll, bristling with talented groups that are turning convention on its head, innovating, writing new scripts and even getting the cash registers to ring. And as the youth theatre movement gains momentum, there appears to be room for everyone.

Take Tathagata Chowdhury, whose theatre company Theatrecian recently staged its latest play, Towards Zero, based on an Agatha Christie thriller. Chowdhury is already thinking of his next production.

Tathagatha and his friends aren’t the only dedicated theatre fiends on the scene. Tanaji Dasgupta and Soumyak Kanti De Biswas are equally enthusiastic about doing their bit to breathe new vitality into English theatre. Their production company Tin Can’s latest play, Video, staged earlier this year, combined visuals with gadgetry and had stills and other video images projected on a large screen. “Our motto has been to up the entertainment quotient and make theatre visually appealing,” says Tanaji.

So theatre enthusiasts are staging plays ranging from Agatha Christie’s works to those based on original scripts that fuse different art forms like dance, music and cinema and highlight contemporary social issues.

The performers of Miraje rehearse for a play

Theatre critic, Prof Ananda Lal says: “They are also forming their own groups rather than joining established ones and are coming up with newer narrative strategies, which are impressionistic. In theatre parlance, this is known as ‘theatre of images’,’’ he explains. So young directors are going beyond dialogues and using visuals of all kinds — film stills, photographs and symbols — to make an impact on the audience.

When Jhelum Ghosh’s theatre group, Miraje, staged Harold Pinter’s Old Times in November last year, the play had a distinctly different feel. Says Jhelum: “Our approach to theatre is more physical rather than dialogue-oriented. The continuous attempt is to creatively and optimally use our bodies and be less dependent on sets or props.”

For actor-director Souptic Chakraborty too, it was the desire to break new ground that inspired him to form his own group Sthalantar at the beginning of this year with a cast from different states. They showcased their first play Sthalantar in February. “The script evolved out of a workshop conducted by Mahesh Elkunchwar, the reputed Marathi playwright, at the National School of Drama in Delhi,’’ says Souptic.

“My script was appreciated and got published in theatre journals like Rang prasangand Theatre India. So when I decided to debut as a director, I didn’t have to look too far for a story,” he says. Currently, the group is doing a collaborative work with a German production house, Rimini Protokoll.

For Tathagata and his three friends — Dhruv Mukherjee, Kanak Gupta and Prithiviraj Chowdhury — it began a few years ago, when they dreamt of giving English theatre a new form. That’s when they launched their group Theatrecian. “The English theatre scene then was dormant with barely a production a year. We wanted to bring about a consistency in performances and produce as many plays as possible,” says Tathagata.

English theatre in Calcutta is bustling with young enthusiasts: (Clockwise from extreme left) Jhelum Ghosh, Tathagata Chowdhury, Souptic Chakraborty, Tanaji Dasgupta and Soumyak Kanti De Biswas Location courtesy Academy of Fine Arts, Calcutta

The group debuted with an original script There’s Something About Nemo, followed by classics by playwrights Edward Albee, Harold Pinter, Eugène Ionesco and Samuel Beckett. “But we also wanted to popularise alternative genres of theatre and staged ‘absurd drama’ — where much is left for the audience to interpret.”

From performing at the Yatri theatre festival at Prithvi theatre in Mumbai to winning the Kalakriti theatre award in 2007 and 2008, the group has come a long way. “Some of our group members may have moved on to filmmaking, but theatre still remains our first calling,” smiles Tathagata.

Tin Can’s Tanaji and Kanti too wanted to strike out on their own — and, importantly, make a living from their productions. Tin Can’s first production was Intro in 2006. From the beginning, the duo didn’t want to work on pre-written plays. So Intro was based on an original script written by Kanti.

The theatre groups are also inspiring new blood to jump head-first into the fray. Jhelum Ghosh was in her 1st year of college in 2006 when she participated in a workshop conducted by Tathagata that culminated in an original production by the participants. The short stint was inspiring enough for Jhelum to get a few others together from the workshop and to form their own group, Miraje. Their first performance, The Lover by Harold Pinter, in July 2007 received an overwhelming response. The group staged its second Pinter play, Old Times, in November last year.

The young theatre aficionados have been reaching out beyond the stage to spread the word about their craft. While Tathagata holds workshops in schools and colleges, Jhelum and her group have been organising a monthly theatre forum Miraje Meet regularly. Jhelum says: “The goal is to encourage young enthusiasts to be a part of this tribe.”

A scene from a Theatrecian production based on Dario Fo’s An Accidental Death of an Anarchist

Theatre has traditionally never been a paying medium and the cash crunch is a biting reality. But Tathagata says: “It’s about knowing how to market your project.” Of the 30 plays staged by Theatrecian, at least 25 perhaps have been sponsored by Navin Pai, director of the Coffee Pai Café chain.

“Our motto has always been — art not for art’s sake but art for commerce’s sake,’’ Tathagata says candidly. One of the exercises in his theatre workshop is on how to convince sponsors about a play.

Tin Can, on the other hand, has the support of sponsors like Reliance, ITC, Weaver’s Studio. Tanaji says: “If the quality of work is good, money does trickle in.”

Corporates too are more than pleased to affiliate themselves with the stage. Rana Basu Thakur, head of brand marketing, Reliance Telecom, says: “Communication is the watchword for any telecom company. And theatre provides an excellent opportunity to connect with the audience.”

Prof Lal calls it enlightened capitalism. “For corporate houses abroad it is a matter of pride to be associated with such artistic ventures. It is heartening to see the same catching on here,” he says.

It seems good days are here as new faces with an indomitable spirit are ready to rock playhouses in Calcutta.