Actors perform a skit on the occasion of World Theatre Day at Sakchi roundabout on Tuesday. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Curtains are not exactly down but frayed. Arc lights reveal the worried frowns under greasepaint. And seats are nearly empty.

That sums up the stage, er, state of theatre in the steel city. Jamshedpur, which had a vibrant theatre culture even up to the 1980s, hardly spares time for it thanks to the all-encompassing household tyrant called television, rued artistes who celebrated World Theatre Day on Tuesday.

A 50-member delegation of theatre artistes, producers, directors and enthusiasts submitted a memorandum to the deputy commissioner’s office to demand the revival of theatre in the city.

Topping the list of demands was that all government, semi-government and non-government auditoriums be lent out at a subsidised rate for art and theatre festivals.

The delegation also wanted an academy for performing arts to be set up in Jharkhand, institutes on a par with National School of Drama or National School of Dance, a residential auditorium for artistes in Khel Gaon, Ranchi, and a yearly mega festival organised by the government.

“We have also demanded that universities in Jharkhand include the study of Natyashashtra and a quota for artistes in state government service with benefits such as pension. This will encourage performers not only in theatre but also in other disciplines,” said Md Nizam, theatre director who works with his group Path.

In fact, Path is one of the three active theatre groups — Nishan and Jamshedpur Theatre Association being the other two — in the city.

“Sheer passion for our craft keeps us going,” said Nizam.

Theatre gradually lost out to television, which made an entry in Jamshedpur in 1984. Audiences stayed home, first to watch Doordarshan serials Hum Log, Buniyaad and the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, and then to switch channels as satellite television stormed drawing rooms in the early 1990s.

Theatre never recovered from the body blow.

At the same time, production costs went up as did charges of auditoriums, which now hover around Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000.

“The charges of auditoriums are too steep. Production houses are maintained by middle class people who look at it as their passion, not profession. Though audiences are hooked on television, I still believe that if you give them a quality production, they will give theatre a chance,” said Gautam Shankar, a veteran theatre personality.

Have you watched a play in the city in recent times?

Tell ttkhand@abpmail.in