Ratan Thiyam
Ratan Thiyam | |
---|---|
Born | |
Nationality | Indian |
Alma mater | National School of Drama |
Occupation(s) | Playwright, Theatre Director Founder Chorus Repertory Theatre, 1976 |
Years active | 1974–present |
Known for | Chorus Repertory Theatre |
Awards | Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in Direction, 1987 Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship 2012 |
Ratan Thiyam (born 20 January 1948) is an
He worked as Chairperson of the prestigious
Early life and education
Ratan Thiyam graduated from National School of Drama, New Delhi in 1974.[6]
Career
He went on to set up a theatre group called Chorus Repertory Theatre[7] in Imphal, Manipur in 1976. He was also briefly the director of National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi (1987–88).[1]
His production of
The plays of Ratan Thiyam
His works profess a deep concern for social welfare and spiritual yearnings in the midst of the political chaos in the modern world. His plays infuse rationalised and multifaceted analysis of myriad perspectives. Using ingenious theatrical stagecraft, his plays are tinged with literary beauty and meaning. Most of Ratan Thiyam's plays are thematically Indianised and are profound plays with universal appeal.
His works are strongly influenced by
His play Andha Yug (The Blind Age), known for creating an intense and intimate experience, around the epochal theme, was famously staged in an open-air performance, at Tonga, Japan, on 5 August 1994, a day before the forty-ninth anniversary of Atomic Holocaust in Hiroshima.[17]
His major plays include Ritusamharam: The work seeks solace and sanity amidst chaos and violence of today's world.[18]
In 2014, Thiyam opened a Manipuri adaptation of Macbeth, translocated to a historical Meitei context, with names of characters unchanged. It was the opening act at the 2019 inaugural Bangladesh International Theatre Festival.[19]
List of plays
- Karanabharam (1979) (Karna-bhara: Karna's burden by Sanskrit playwright Bhasa)[20]
- Imphal Imphal (1982)
- Chakravyuha (1984) (Army Formation)
- Lengshonnei (1986) (An adaptation of Antigone)
- Uttar Priyadarshi (The Final Beatitude, by Hindi playwright Agyeya) (1996)[15]
- Chinglon Mapan Tampak Ama (Nine Hills One Valley)[21]
- Ritusamharam (
- Andha Yug (The Blind Age, by Hindi playwright Dharamvir Bharati)[23]
- Wahoudok (Prologue)[24]
- Ashibagee Eshei (based on When We Dead Awaken, by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen) (2008)[25][26]
- Song of the Nymphs)
- The King of Dark Chamber (Raja, 2012), based on a play Raja (1910) by Rabindranath Tagore.[27]
Awards
- 1984: Indo-Greek Friendship Award, 1984 (Greece)
- 1987: Sangeet Natak Akademi Award[28]
- 1987: Fringe Firsts Award, from Edinburgh International Festival [1]
- 1989: Padma Shri[29][30]
- 1990: Diploma of Cervantino International Festival, (Mexico)
- 2005: Kalidas Samman
- 2008: John D. Rockefeller Award
- 2011: Bharat Muni Samman[31]
- 2012: Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship (Akademi Ratna)[32]
- 2013: Bhupen Hazarika Foundation Award[33]
In popular culture
Some Roots Grow Upwards a 2003 documentary by Kavita Joshi and Malati Rao, was based on the life and work of Ratan Thiyam, especially his political ideologies, and his use of theatre as medium of political protest.[34]
References
- ^ a b c Cody, p. 1348
- ^ Thiyam Nemai Archived 6 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- New York Times, 14 October 2006.
- ^ The world's a stage: Theatredoyen Ratan Thiyam on how he conquers space The Hindu, 30 December 2008.
- ^ "India needs many more regional schools of theatre: NSD chairperson Ratan Thiyam". Zee News. 23 December 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
- ^ NSD Graduates Archived 18 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ chorusimphal
- ^ "All the world's classics, on a stage". The Indian Express. 18 March 1999.
- Govt. of India).
- ^ National School of Drama celebrates golden jubilee in style The Economic Times, 12 January 2008.
- ^ Manisha Jha (27 December 2007). "Celebrating 50 years of NSD". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 30 December 2007.
- ^ "The Graduates". Indian Express. 28 December 2007. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2010.
- ^ Anima, P. (2 January 2010). "Talking theatre". The Hindu. Chennai, India.
- ISBN 0-415-26087-6. Page 146.
- ^ a b Review: Uttarpriyadarshi Archived 5 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine by Renee Renouf, ballet magazine, December 2000,
- ^ Margo Jefferson (27 October 2000). "Next Wave Festival Review; In Stirring Ritual Steps, Past and Present Unfold". New York Times.
- ^ Dharwadker, p. 196
- ^ Profile at manipuronline Archived 6 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Vikram Phukan (29 June 2019). "Desi drama, subcontinental style". ‘’The Hindu’’. Mumbai, India. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
- ^ Dharwadker, p. 105
- ^ Asia society Archived 26 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Real art attacks the wrong system" and director-playwright Ratan Thiyam's plays bear testimony to his words The Hindu, 30 January 2005
- ^ Ratan Thiyam at Fordham University Archived 9 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Bharatrangmohotsav (theater Festival) 2008, National School of Drama, New Delhi, India.
- ^ Delhi Ibsen Festival : When We Dead Awaken – Play
- The Telegraph, 6 March 2009.
- ^ "The National School of Drama's Bharat Rang Mahotsav... Featuring 96 productions..." MumbaiTheatreGuide.com. 12 January 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
- ^ "SNA: List of Akademi Awardees". Sangeet Natak Akademi Official website. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011.
- ^ which he returned in July 2001
- ^ "Padma Awards". Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.
- ^ "Ratan Thiyam Received Bharat Muni Samman". odisha.360.batoi.com. 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
Ratan Thiyam, the doyen of theatre was awarded Bharat Muni Samman for the year 2011
- ^ "Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Akademi Awards 2012" (PDF). Press Information Bureau, Govt. of India. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
- ^ "Ratan Thiyam – the doyen of Indian theatre". India-north-east.com. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
- ^ Open Frame 2003– August 21–27 2003 India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.
- Aparna Bhargava Dharwadker (2005). Theatres of independence: drama, theory, and urban performance in India since 1947. University of Iowa Press. ISBN 0-87745-961-4.
- Gabrielle H. Cody; Evert Sprinchorn (2007). The Columbia encyclopedia of modern drama, Volume 2. ISBN 978-0-231-14424-7.