Badal Sircar was one of the most significant modern playwrights of post Independence
India. Starting in the fifties, with his deep understanding of the concerns and anxieties
of the Indian middle class coupled with his delightful sense of humour and wit, he made an
immediate connect with the people and brought a new energy and excitement to the theatre
arena with his large body of plays. He stands out for his innovativeness and the sheer
range of his plays in terms of subjects, forms and styles. He is probably the most
translated and staged Indian playwright of the last century.
Badal Sircar with his unique and characteristic restlessness, passion and social
commitment was constantly experimenting not only with dramatic form and language but also
with performance spaces, acting styles and performer-spectator relationships. Through
experiments and exposure to different methodologies he explored and developed his own
theory and practice of theatre called the Third Theatre-a theatre of synthesis between the
urban and the traditional theatre.This book, through memoirs, interviews, essays,
dialogues, reviews and notes by directors, traces the life and theatre of this iconic but
lonely figure, from different viewpoints, piecing together his relentless creative journey
of more than six decades.
|