Kolkata Culture - Dramas and Theatres

Dramas and Theatres

The tradition of Jatra is still observed in West Bengal. Jatras are folk-theatres with epic four-hour-long plays featuring loud music, harsh lighting and dramatic props played on giant outdoor stages.

The city has a long tradition of commercial theatres and group theatres. As opposed to commercial theatres, group theatres usually do not have any profit making agenda. Group theatre activists use the proscenium stage to portray some social message. The commercial theatres of the city, however, has been declining in popularity since 1980s, and only a handful of commercial theatre productions are made, as of 2009.

Notable group theatrs include the Little Theatre Group, Gandharba, Calcutta Theatre, Nandikar, Bahurupee etc. and movements like the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA). Famous drama and theatrics personalities include Ajitesh Bandyopadhyay, Utpal Dutta, Rudraprasad Sengupta and Shambhu Mitra.