Types
The many theatres in West Bengal can be broadly divided into Kolkata-based theatres and rural theatres. Outside Bengali-speaking areas, the term "Bengali theatre" primarily refers to Kolkata-based groups, as the rural theatres are less well-known. The two types are similar in form and content, but the Kolkata-based theatres are better funded and staffed. This is mainly due to the influx of expertise from rural areas to Kolkata in search of a larger audience.
There are also Bengali folk theatres. There are many dialects of Bengali spoken in West Bengal and Bangladesh. The larger Bengali theatres use the dialect spoken in Kolkata, Bengali folk theatres have performances in some of the other Bengali dialects.
There is another category of Bengali theatre called Jatra, which is run commercially in rural West Bengal and Bangladesh. The most prominent characteristics of Jatra are over-acting and extensive use of traditional musical instruments. At present, Jatra has been modernized to feature crisis through stories. Many popular Bengali film artists participate in Jatra.
Hindi theatres which are accepted by the Bengali people include the productions of Rangakarmee (estb. 1976) directed by Usha Ganguly, and productions by Padatik (estb. 1972) under Shyamanand Jalan, who started with Anamika in 1955.
Read more about this topic: Bengali Theatre
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