Bengali theatre primarily refers to theatre performed in the Bengali language. Bengali theatre is produced mainly in West Bengal, and in Bangladesh. The term may also refer to some Hindi theatres which are accepted by the Bengali people.
Bengali theatre has its origins in British rule. It began as private entertainment in the early 19th century. In the pre-independence period, Bengali theatres played a pivotal role in manifesting dislike of the British Raj. After the independence of India in 1947, leftist movements in West Bengal used theatre as a propaganda tool. This added some unique characteristics to the art form that still have strong effects. These groups differentiate themselves ideologically from commercial Bengali theatre.
Read more about Bengali Theatre: Types, Music in Bengali Theatre, Sanskrit Theatre and Derivatives, Indigenous Theatre, Song-and-dance Forms, Supra-personae Forms, Performance With Scroll Painting, Processional Forms, East Pakistan: From Crisis in Identity To Explosion (1947-1971), 2003-2004, Infrastructure, Cooperative Ventures But An Overall Need For Government Support, Theatre Productions in 2003 and 2004, Famous Persons: in West Bengal (India), Eminent Theatre Personalities in Bangladesh, Theater Groups in India and Bangladesh
Famous quotes containing the word theatre:
“Mankind’s common instinct for reality ... has always held the world to be essentially a theatre for heroism. In heroism, we feel, life’s supreme mystery is hidden. We tolerate no one who has no capacity whatever for it in any direction. On the other hand, no matter what a man’s frailties otherwise may be, if he be willing to risk death, and still more if he suffer it heroically, in the service he has chosen, the fact consecrates him forever.”
—William James (1842–1910)