British Council, Calcutta, hosted an evening of cultural exchange last month, bringing together British playwright Carl Miller and theatre actress Sohini Sengupta — both of whom have a special bond with the youth in theatre — for an engaging interactive session on ‘Theatre for Young People’.

Aritra Sengupta (right) of city-based youth theatre group Mad About Drama sat through the session and came back with food for thought.

1 The common thread that connects young actors in both India and the UK today, perhaps, is the lure of a financially safer media, be it a small part on a Netflix show or a Bengali serial closer home. Like Carl put it, “they are thinking about their next job” in the rehearsal room!

2 Both Carl and Sohini agreed that technology has created a huge difference in the attitude/lifestyle of young theatre people, who now feel more alienated from regular human interaction because they are “almost always” on their smartphones.

3 Carl emphasised that new playwrights and new writing should be given enough respect and support and that one should rehearse new plays thinking that it is almost as sacrosanct as, say, a King Lear.

4 The hierarchy between TV and theatre in terms of depth and progressiveness is the same in both the countries.

5 Answering a question from a member in the audience, Carl pointed out that writing for young people has now evolved and moved away from the usual superfluous spoon-feeding; it now gives a younger audience the same respect as an adult audience.