Indian Theater

• story-telling in which one or more actors using the skills of dancing, acting, singing, talking, miming and theatre crafts like masks, make-up and costumes create a story world for us

Sanskrit theater

• Traced to the 1st century AD
• An amalgamation of the religious, educational and entertaining elements

Traditional theatre
Koodiyattam:

• Sanskrit theatre.
• Kerala
• part of temple rituals performed in sacred theaters, called Koothambalams. 

Yakshagana: it is a popular folk theatre form of Karnataka with a long history of nearly four hundred years. It is a unique harmony of musical tradition, eye-catching costumes, and authentic styles of dance, improvised gestures and acting, with its extemporaneous dialogue holding a wide appeal.

The themes are generally derived from the mythological stories and epics. 

Traditionally presented from dusk to dawn, this folk theatre is predominantly seen in the coastal districts of Karnataka. 

Swang: A popular folk theatre form in Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, Swang is centered around music. In this folk theatre, religious stories and folk tales are enacted and sung by a group of a dozen or so artistes. Characterized by loud rendering of dialogues and songs (a legacy of its open air performances in the past), Swang has two important styles – one that belong to Rohtak (performed in the Bangru language)and the other that belongs to Haathras (performed in the Brajbhasha language).

Bhand pather: The centuries old traditional theatre form of Kashmir, bhand pather is a unique combination of dance, music and acting. Satire, wit and parody are commonly used in this folk drama that incorporates local mythological legends and contemporary social commentary. Traditionally, the performances begin in the evening with a ritualistic dance called chhok. The play unfolds gradually after this and ends in the early hours of the morning. Interestingly,the performers or bhands dance to the tune of specific instruments like the mukam, swarnai, dhol and nagara.

Bhaona: is a presentation of the Ankiya Naat, a one-act play that has its roots in rural Assam. A creation of Srimanta Sankardeva (an Assamese saint-scholar), these plays were written in Brajavali, a unique Assamese-Maithili mixed language, and are primarily centered on Hindu diety, Krishna. The dialogues, costumes, ornaments, entry and foot movements of bhaona are unique and set this theatre form apart from others in India.

Tamasha: A traditional folk theatre form of Maharashtra, tamasha flourished in the courts of Maratha rulers of the 18th and 19th centuries and attained its artistic peak during the reign of Baji Rao II . It has evolved from the folk forms such as gondhal, jagran and kirtan. Unlike other theatre forms, in tamasha, the female actress is the lead performer and the chief exponent of dance in the play. Classical music, the lightning fast footwork of the lavani dance, and vivid gestures of the performers gives this folk theatre a distinctive character.

Therukoothu: A unique form of rural entertainment in Tamil Nadu, therukoothu literally means street theatre. Some influence of classical Sanskrit drama on it is apparent. Performed in the open, mostly during temple festivals in villages, this theatre primarily draws from mythological stories and epics. The performance includes lively dances and songs sung in a high pitch by the male actors (even the female roles are played by males) who wear wide colorful costumes, sparkling shoulder plates, elaborate head-dresses and thick bright make-up.

Folk theater

• Mainly narrative/vocal without any complicated gestures or movements and elements of dance
• Divided into Ritual Theater and Theater of Entertainment

Folk Theater (Drama)

Bhand Pather (Kashmir)

• dance, music and acting.
• Satire, wit and parody are preferred for inducing laughter.
• Music is provided with surnai, nagaara and dhol.
• Since the actors are mainly from the farming community, the impact of their way of living, ideals and sensitivity is noticeable

Swang (Haryana)

• Mainly music-based – Gradually, prose too, played its role in the dialogues.
• Softness of emotions, accomplishment of rasa along with the development of character can be seen
• Two important styles are from Rohtak (Haryanvi language) and Haathras (Brajbhasha language)

 Nautanki (Uttar Pradesh)

• Most popular centres – Kanpur, Lucknow and Haathras
• draws on romantic Persian literature for its themes
• Verses form: Doha, Chaubola, Chhappai, Behar-e-tabeel
• Nowadays, women have also started taking part

 Rasleela

• Based exclusively on the pranks of Lord Krishna
• It is believed that Nand Das wrote the initial plays based on the life of Krishna.
• Dialogues in prose combined beautifully with songs and scenes from Krishna’s pranks

 Bhavai (Gujrat)

• Rare synthesis of devotional and romantic sentiments
• raw vigour and bawdy humour 
• Instruments → Bhungal, tabla, flute, pakhaawaj, rabaab, sarangi, manjeera, etc.
• Main centers → Kutch and Kathiawar

 Jatra (West Bengal)

• Fairs & ceremonies in honour of gods, or religious along with musical plays
• Earlier form of Jatra has been musical; dialogues were added at later stage.
• The actors themselves describe the change of scene, the place of action, etc.
• Krishna Jatra became popular due to Chaitanya prabhu’s influence
• blood and thunder , Dussehra Festival 

 Maach (Madhya Pradesh)

• Songs are given prominence in between the dialogues.
• The term for dialogue in this form is bol and rhyme in narration is termed vanag
• The tunes of this theater form are known as rangat
• Malwa area of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan.

 Tamasha (Maharashtra)

• Evolved from the folk forms such as Gondhal, Jagran and Kirtan
• raw vigour and bawdy humour 
• Female actress (known as Murki) → Chief exponent of dance movements in the play.
• Prominent Features → Classical music, footwork at lightning-speed, and vivid gestures

Dashavatar (Konkan-Goa)

• Personifies the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu – the god of preservation and creativity.
• Ten incarnations → Matsya (fish), Kurma (tortoise), Varaha (boar), Narsimha (lion-man), Vaman (dwarf), Parashuram, Rama, Krishna (or Balram), Buddha and Kalki.
• Apart from stylized make-up, the Dashavatar performers wear masks of wood and papier mache

 Krishanattam (Kerala)

• Came into existence in the mid-17th century under the patronage of King Manavada of Calicut.
• Krishnattam is a cycle of eight plays performed for eight consecutive days
• Eight plays → Avataram, Kaliamandana, Rasa krida, kamasavadha, Swayamvaram, Bana Yudham, Vivida Vadham, and Swargarohana.
• Episodes are based on the theme of Lord Krishna – his birth, childhood pranks and various deeds depicting victory of good over evil

 Mudiyettu (Kerala)

• Celebrated in the month of Vrischikam (November-December).
• Performed only in the Kali temples of Kerala, as an oblation to the Goddess.
• Depicts the triumph of goddess Bhadrakali over the asura Darika.
• Seven characters in Mudiyettu → Shiva, Narada, Darika, Danavendra, Bhadrakali, Kooli and Koimbidar (Nandikeshvara)

Theyyam (Kerala)

• ‘Theyyam’ is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Daivam’ meaning God – Hence called God’s dance.
• Performed by various castes to appease and worship spirits.
• Distinguishing features – Colourful costume and awe-inspiring headgears (mudi) nearly 5 to 6 feet high; dyed into different strong colours

Koodiyettam (Kerala)

• Based on Sanskrit theater traditions
• Characters → Chakyaar or actor, Naambiyaar, the instrumentalists and Naangyaar, those taking on women’s roles.
• The Sutradhar or narrator and the Vidushak or jesters are the protagonists
• Vidushak alone delivers the dialogues.
• Emphasis on hand gestures and eye movements makes this dance and theater form unique.

Yakshagana (Karnataka) 

• Based on mythological stories and Puranas – performed at twilight hours
• Mostly episodes are taken from Mahabharata and Ramayana

 Therukoottu (Tamil Nadu) 

• Literally means “street play”- mostly performed by males dancers
• Mostly performed at the time of annual temple festivals of Mariamman (Rain goddess) to achieve rich harvest.
• Theme being a cycle of eight plays based on the life of Draupadi.

 Karyala (Himachal Pradesh)

• Deals with serious question of life & death with simplistic expression; enveloped in humour.
• Audience is given essence of our cultural heritage of viewing the world as a stage and as an unsubstantial pageant which is to be negotiated and lived by rising above it.
• There is often stylistic diversity, which strengthens their identity from Swang, Nautanki, Bhagat, etc.

 Bhaona (Ankia Naat) – Assam

• Creation of Great Assamese saint and social reformer Srimanta Sankardeva
• Written in an language called Brajavali (mixture of Assamese-Maithili)
• Primarily centered on the acts of Lord Krishna
• Shows cultural glimpses of Assam, Bengal Orissa, Mathura and Brindavan.
• The Sutradhaar, or narrator begins the story, first in Sanskrit and then in either Brajboli or Assamese

Some more folk theater / drama of India

Bengal -Kirtania Natak

Bihar - Bideshia

Uttar Pradesh - Raas, Bhaand

Rajasthan - Raas, ghoomar, Dhola Maru,khyal

Maharashtra - Larite, lavani

Kerala - Thiyyattom

Modern theater 

• Traced with the coming of British in India.
• They introduced their brand of theater in Bombay, Calcutta & Madras