Lokmat Times , Nashik !
Romance with Truth : Theatre of Relevance
"I have performed in over 25 plays till now and have not just remained an actor but have branched out as a writer. This move brought about a huge transformation within myself. Theatre of Relevance taught me to look at life beyond entertainment and with a renewed dimension. It taught me to be intrigued, think, question and rationalise over issues regarding my country, society, family. The play 'Lok-Shastra Savitri' helped me to dig deep into the Savitris around me. Theatre of Relevance helped me to connect to my roots and nature."
- Ashwini Nandedkar, Actress, Member, Theater of Relevance
"We have a huge challenge in front of us,
but we are dedicated. Over 30 plays have been penned down and staged by various teams of Theatre of Relevance more than 16,000 times all over the country as well as abroad in the last 36 years. I am proud of my team."
- Manjul Bharadwaj,
Actor, Director, Writer, and Founder, Theatre of Relevance.
Philosophy of decoding audience response on current issues.
- SMITH KAWALE Smita Kawale
LOKMAT NEWS NETWORK, NASHIK
A group of young theatre enthusiasts with a different taker on theatre they call 'Theatre of Relevance', having a perspective based on humanity, and following the philosophy of decoding audience response, is currently in the city for its play 'Rajgati'. This play will be staged at Parshuram Saikhedkar Auditorium on Saturday, January 13.
In a free-wheeling chat with Lokmat Times, group member and actress Sayali Pawaskar says, "Theatre of Relevance is a theatre theory or a philosophy. It is romance with truth. It was conceptualised on Aug 12, 1992 by theatre activist Manjul Bharadwaj. He decided that he would only present drama which would carve a human out of a person. This value based drama is being studied all over the world."
"My audience is my inspiration and I idolise my audience. We are focussed not on populism, but on awakening the people. We are connecting with people and asking them to focus on liberty," says Manjul Bharadwaj. Taking this point further, Sayali says, "Today, when the society is least interested in taking a stand on any issue that is unacceptable, this group brings the issue to the fore and presents it in such a way through its plays with the the participation of students, activists, and teachers, apart from socially conscious actors, that the audience is compelled to think about the issue. We have broken the fourth wall of theatre that exists between the audience and the actors, but is not visible."
Actress Komal Khamkar laborates further, saying, "Once a this wall was broken, we entered the lives of the audience, started understanding their issues and began staging plays on their issues. In this process, we encountered many questions, which we tried to solve through our plays." Komal, who has also performed in various popular television serials, found that medium far removed from reality and when she met Ashwini Nandedkar, a member of Theatre of Relevance, there was no looking back, she reveals. It has been around ten years since Sayali and Komal have been with the Theatre of Relevance and "It has changed our lives inside out," they echo. Ashwini says, "When I began my journey with Theatre of Relevance, I did not have my own identity in the outsides, world. My first play 'Chhed Chhad Kyun' was focussed against eve-teasing. I experienced a feeling of pride then in the fact that I am a female and I am strong. From there I understood the importance of theatre in bringing about social transformation."
"Theatre of Relevance is a movement revolving around values and social issues that somehow seem to be fading away to a large extent from our society. I have a belief that if human values are to be awakened, an art form is the most effective way to make it happen. And theatre is exactly the kind of art form which can create miracles."
