Tracing back the history of theatre performances in 19th Century Europe, Debesh Chattopadhyay talks about the rise of a different form of theatre whose expression deviated from the conventional forms of naturalism or realism. But in the context of Bengal, the entire idea of proscenium theatre was a colonial hand down and as theatre evolved in Bengal, the influences of other older forms got exorcised and the practice of local and indigenous texts performed within a European framework thrived. The significant shift came with People’s Theatre movement, which witnessed a structural change in form as well as content. But unfortunately it didn’t result in any interesting off shoots later on. Instead there was a shift backwards to realism and naturalism. Debesh Chattopadhyay feels that theatre should strive to do more than performing straight narratives and his work is focused to catch up with the rest of the world in terms of new theatrical expression.
