The Search for an Audience — Bihan Banerjee

Do amateur Bengali productions get the type of audience they want or do they make do with whatever they get and mould their performances accordingly?

When a director (presumably a college goer or recent pass out) thinks about what sells best, he/she often makes the mistake of forming an opinion based on the mainstream themes and ideas of the society without any research on their particular target audience. For example, the amateur theatre audience in Kolkata is relatively young. They are open to new ideas and themes. The trick is to deliver a new dish on an old plate. In particularly such cases it is disheartening to see so many new directors and writers shying away from putting their original thoughts to paper just because they are unsure of its reception.

One may argue that thrill and comedy sells way more than any other emotions. But one can very well write a thrilling play about how their grandmother couldn’t find carrots for her vegetable stew. What makes a play engaging and exciting is the structure of its performance, the mastery of the playwright and the play’s ability to hold the audience’s attention on that particular evening. But it’s the originality in the ideas that make the play linger in their minds for days to come.

An audience is as much part of a theatre production as the troupes on stage. The audiences create or destroy the performance. In other words, audiences get the performance they deserve. Nonetheless, it’s the company’s role to cultivate that audience.

Theatre hampers if it remains an isolated outing based on the social circle of the troupe. In this modern age of watching movies and serials on one’s phone, the thirst for real life interactions will only increase. Going to the theatres must be inculcated in our lifestyles in such a way that it becomes a social gathering to meet people. It has to be an occasion to experience the human touch, both before and during the play. And most importantly it has to be marketed as such in colleges and universities.

All these are easier said than done. The sad prevailing truth is, it’s very hard to enthral a crowd in the name of theatre. The fault is not entirely theirs though. Theatres in Kolkata often follow the same old hyperbolic way of dialogue delivery and expression which is appealing only to a certain section of the society. It lacks the universality and honesty to genuinely attract a person looking for entertainment. It neither has the immediacy of stand-up comedies nor the astonishment of movies.

Why can’t theatre productions pull the same amount of audience or create similar levels of enthusiasm like stand-up comedy?

Wouldn’t it be great if plays could achieve that level of direct engagement with the audience? Because historically plays did just that. Regional and international tours were undertaken by theatres such as the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Taganka Theatre of Moscow, and countless others. And in those tours, they captivated the audience enough to make them come pouring into the stage, unable to manage their emotions. This was possible because the audience connected with those plays in the same way they connect with the happenings of daily life. The present-day society has changed and is constantly changing. Theatre can’t look the other way when the popularity of stand-up is exploding in such contrast. Because forsooth stand-up comedy is a form of theatre.

The role of those who love theatre is also crucial in these trying times. It’s their duty to influence their social bubble to induce the theatre going lifestyle amongst themselves. Theatre is a communication and, communication is a two-way process. The dedicated followers must take their time out to give feedback, hold discussions and write articles about the plays they have seen. A society of playwrights, actors, technicians and most importantly audiences who engage regularly in direct communications with each other will go a long way in ensuring the future of amateur theatre.

There is a thrill in theatre. The thrill of human connections.

The thrill is worth getting up for.