The interiors of Tapan theatre, now under reconstruction and slated to open later this month. Picture by Pradip Sanyal

Revolving stage, fresh ceiling, comfortable seats, air-conditioning gear, upgraded acoustics... By the month-end, the ramshackle interiors of Tapan theatre would sport a revamped look, quite like Star, at the other end of town.

A cosmetic change is underway inside the imposing yellow building on Sadananda Road, off Rashbehari Avenue, known more as a marriage venue of late.

?We were inspired by the restoration of Star theatre. So, we took Tapan theatre on lease and started renovation work in August,? said Samar Mitra of Niva Arts, the theatre organisation steering the makeover move.

?The halls of north Calcutta have died an early death due to lack of maintenance over the years, which turned out to be a problem for both actors and audiences. With the revamped Tapan theatre, some of the glory days may return,? he added.

Mitra plans to open the 727-seater hall in November-end with a festival of group theatre and jatra.

?Several office and recreation clubs that don?t have the space to hold their own cultural programmes have shown interest to bring in their shows here,? said Mitra.

Though a lot younger than the north Calcutta halls, Tapan theatre brought some of Hatibagan?s mainstream theatre culture to the city?s south in the early Eighties with Nahabat, a social drama starring Satya Bandyopadhyay and Tarun Kumar.

Nahabat became a roaring success with 1,000 shows, putting Tapan theatre on the city?s culture map, paving the way for more productions with several actors from Soumitra Chattopadhyay to Gyanesh Mukherjee, Madhabi Mukherjee to Tapas Pal and virtually rechristening the auditorium Nahabat.

But financial constraints forced a decade-long shutdown from 1994.

?The audience flow started thinning from the mid-80s when television began invading homes. But the declining standard of theatre was also a vital factor,? explained veteran actor Gyanesh Mukherjee, who visited the two-decade-old building on Wednesday to garner support for the project. Also present on the occasion were Jogesh Datta and Koushik Sen.

For the theatre fraternity, the fresh lease of life ushers in the promise of a comeback. ?It?s the best thing that could have happened. I had done Debdashi and Bindur Chhele at Tapan theatre,? recounted Madhabi Mukherjee, reacting to the stage address? makeover move.