provocative image: A scene from Alternative Living Theatre?s Amma

Alternative theatre pits itself against conventional theatre, not only in theme but also in opting for venues beyond the proscenium stage. It deals far more with symbols, sometimes even approximating ritual in its quest for intimacy with spectators, actively encouraging audience participation. Several Bengali groups are experimenting in this mode, also using English as and when they see fit.

Calcuttans can view the art of one of the pioneers, Alternative Living Theatre (Madhyamgram), at Padatik on Saturdays. In Amma, director Probir Guha places the mother at the centre of his concept. Through his typically provocative and disturbing images, he makes us think about the contradiction in a culture that worships the mother goddess but victimises womankind in reality, whether daughters, housewives or professionals. As usual, he aims for gut reactions, but successfully. Longtime admirers of his work will feel happy that he has initiated younger members into the group, such as Sayantani Indu who, in the lead, consistently improves with her body language, while Suvodeep Guha shows increasing talent in creating musical subtexts.

One of Guha?s faithful actors, Tapan Das, conceived of Jatra Pathe, but Guha fine-tuned it to reflect his characteristic anger at India?s continuing poverty. The audience sees Das as a half-naked beggar in the driveway, making painful indecipherable sounds, surrounded by shredded newspapers and some jhalmuri that he ravenously swallows; out of nowhere shoes are thrown at him, while stray comments are heard about politics or who will win the cricket match. He scampers indoors, where we follow. There he asks us for alms, and the story continues. The concluding picture demonises capitalism ? is Guha suggesting that no form of aid will help the situation? If so, it seems too pessimistic and a trifle extreme.

At the YMCA College Branch on Vivekananda Road, Bibhaban shows their project titled Journey to the few who care to come and watch. Inspired by the ritualistic theory and practice of Artaud and Grotowski, the student actors explore the meaning of love in a small room lit by candles on the floor, inviting the spectators to interact in ?trying to find some sort of unity?, as the handout describes it. They have no particular text apart from personal recollections and snatches of poetry; therefore, the journey evolves differently in every performance. This kind of process has the advantage of improvised spontaneity, but equally may suffer from looseness.

From Bally, OGLAM presents Ha Radhe ? Let Me Be as She Was ..., a monologue by Janardan Ghosh that he enacts with two dancers and a musician. His influence comes from the American avant-garde Living Theatre. Based on Chaitanya?s life and Rilke?s poetry, Ha Radhe is well researched and confronts viewers with an open performance of androgyny. Thus it may not go down well with orthodox believers but Ghosh has every right to extend the boundaries of art and bring us face to face with traditions of alternative sexuality that exist in our own culture (specifically Chaitanya?s wish to experience female love, which enabled transcendent devotion). At the show I saw, the audience participation did not work too well because of inhibition.