We created a recorded performance of Girish Karnad’s Crossing to Talikota. With the support of Alliance Française of Madras and Nilekani Philanthropies, we were able to release the performance on YouTube

It is quite ambitious to call theatre an industry in the Indian context. Theatre at best is patronised, sometimes self-reliant, and mostly sponsored. Artists earning their entire income from theatre are very rare.

From play-readings and performances on Facebook live, to apps that access playscripts, the online space is giving theatre lovers in the city the much-needed antidote to these grim days

"Theatre is a democratic craft and the first thing that has gone wrong with it is the establishment and the celebration of a hierarchy."

"...it was a rejuvenating relief to have this session amidst the internship week, as it helped us explore various hidden dimensions of our personality through a fun-filled learning process."

The conference also included a play by Theatre Nisha, highlighting the simple yet compulsive ways misinformation is spread on social media and advertising.

V Balakrishnan from Theatre Nisha concurs, “I think setting up an ICC is something every theatre group that has 10 or more members should religiously follow."

While founders of city-based theatre groups defend not having a redressal mechanism owing to how ‘fluid’ the structure is, lawyers and activists contest this.

V Balakrishnan of Theatre Nisha is using theatre to break gender stereotypes and is training kids from underprivileged backgrounds and also those with learning disabilities

TNM talks to Theatre Nisha’s Balakrishnan, who has provided theatre training to over 1,000 kids from underprivileged and marginal backgrounds

The Rotary Club of Madras East confers the Dhronacharya award to pathbreaking teachers. This year’s recipients were yoga guru S Sridharan and theatre veteran V Balakrishnan.

With a cast dominated by the differently-abled, Aruna and the Raging Sun lit up the horizon

This Saturday, at Lady Willingdon College, the sky will transform into an arena of high-energy action with Aruna and the Raging Sun, a performance led by differently-abled actors

The play, which has a differently-abled hero as the saviour of humanity, is scripted by Venkataraman Balakrishnan, artistic director of Chennai-based Theatre Nisha, and directed by Amit Sharma, associate artistic director of Graeae Theatre Company.

Rasa Aur Drama catch up with the director. 

The objective of the projects organized by the Institut was to harness the power of art and culture in creating a dialogue on water. The organizers felt that the long-lasting impact an artistic reflection on the issue could create would go much further in arousing and engaging residents, than closed-door lectures or policy discussions would.

The idea of the story originated from the myth of Ganga, who is brought to earth to redeem lost souls. A question arose in my mind — what if Ganga decides to return to the heavens seeing the complete apathy humans have for nature conservation? That was the seed of the origin of the play.

When we ask V Balakrishnan aka Bala about non-commercial theatre, he is quick to correct us, saying, 
“I have never seen my theatre as non-commercial. Yes, I have refused to cater to the least common denominator, or to put up anything on stage I do not organically believe in, but I have at the same time never tried to be abstruse.” 

At a time when literary and theatrical works reinterpret epics to connect to contemporary audiences, to stick to an original verse written in 1952 and present it without any adulteration requires courage. And, Theatre Nisha deserves a packed audience just for that.

“Rashmirathi is also a work on compassion, sacrifice and love for one’s motherland,” says Balakrishnan, who has been staging this play since 2010.

Q: What/who inspired you to take up this field?

A: Shyam Benegal’s Discovery of India, Amar Chitra Katha, Peter Brook's Mahabharata"

“If I do not work out, I feel grumpy and sleepy. It is like not being awake and soon I am on a slump.” 

"An actor's repertoire should consist of not merely the ability speak lines, but also their understanding of music, movement and dance through the body. This is done using breathing techniques, yoga and martial arts," says Balakrishnan.

“There is a voice in your head that constantly warns you to not make a fool of yourself. Do not listen to that,” she tells us, as she asks us to move to the music.

"... Meera Sitaraman’s script has the potential to distil the emotional core of a seemingly-alien subject and make it relatable. And, that is an indication that a play has worked through the audience’s hearts and minds."

Bows and arrows and stacks of scripts share space with classics, mythology, historical accounts, Sanskrit plays, and books on martial arts at the library of Theatre Nisha’s director. 

Shakespeare enthusiasts theatre groups, are commemorating the Bard of Avon’s quadricentennial death anniversary, today.

Director V Balakrishnan feels the best way to celebrate a good writer is with other good writing. "Shakespeare is an idol and we wanted to celebrate his death anniversary with good Indian writing."

"I have to tried to make sure Laxmi Bai comes as across as a human being, and not a superhero."

“I particularly wanted to tell the story of Lakshmibai to dispel the myths that revolve around her. I feel that she has been too glorified and misrepresented.”

“The most important aspect of portraying Rani Lakshmi Bai is depicting the sheer physicality of the character. I had to develop the strength to hold a stance and to wield a sword. I trained with a martial arts expert. The physical routine was rigorous. But the fight sequences, especially those towards the end of the play, are worth all the training. And as we prepared and rehearsed, the play unfolded organically."

“Well, we’d paid for the auditorium and the actors were ready, so we performed. It was a good show.”

“We start the play with the Doctrine of Lapse being imposed on her kingdom. There’s a very famous line in history, where she is supposed to have said, ‘Meri Jhansi nahi dungi’ (I will not part with my Jhansi). For a woman of her stature, who had never been bold, to have said something like that, sets the tone for the next two years of her life.”

“We wanted to do something that, while catering to our belief in storytelling, also affords dramatic conflict. So Meera (as Laxmibai) sings, dances, narrates and even does sword play”

"I see the next 365 days like the last 365 and a million 365s before it; changes will occur if I endeavour to make it happen, otherwise it will all be the same."

"I tell actors you can never become a character. You can’t get into the skin of the character. But you can create an illusion of a character. Like any craft, the craft of acting has to be practiced.”

"I want theatre to create a feeling of communion, the way you connect with one another in a place of worship. Most importantly, I want to create work that stays with you for the rest of your lives; that will be with me for the rest of my life.” 

"We approached a sponsor to bring down Mallika Sarabhai for a show in Chennai. Within five minutes of our conversation they were in complete agreement of our proposal and asked us when Ms. Mallika Sherawat is arriving in town. Ridiculous" 

"NSD taught me how to value the written word..."

"By ascending the stage we reject hypocrisy, pretence and lies."

"Acting and theatre were always present in my life. I was also the president of the economic society in college."

“I was working as an apprentice actor, and I got smitten by the stage. By the end of that year, I dumped my Civil Service dreams.”

"My basic vocation is theatre. As for my choice I have already chosen theatre."