SUCHETAK RANGMANCH MOHALI
Theatre For Social Change
Suchetak Rangmanch (Regd.) Mohali was established in 1999 with its objective of seeking a new form of theatre for social change. The objective could be fulfilled by selecting scripts of a different kind for its plays. Henceforth came its maiden play, An Asghar Wajahat creation, ‘Inna Di Aawaaz’. The play was a serious sarcasm on the politics that exploit innocent masses by multiple manoeuvres. Since this very first presentation, all of our theatre have compulsarily addressed the diverse contemporary political and social issues.
The main purpose of Suchetak Rangmanch is not just to entertain the masses, but to sensitize them regarding harsh realities of Indian society. Our plays not only present predicament of Dalit and feminine existence before the spectators, but also inspire them to participate in the movements for their emancipation. Our constant endeavor is to convey our message in an artistic idiom rather than being loudly didactic and moralistic.
Indian Punjab is the center stage of our theatrical activities. Even though language is not a hurdle for us, majority of our performances are in Punjabi. We have staged some plays in Hindi also, but generally we prefer to present translated versions of plays written in other Indian and foreign languages. We have performed shows for the Punjabi diaspora in countries like United States of America, Canada, England and Singapore. The play ‘Sulghade Supne Ghadr De’ (2004) was presented by ensemble cast comprising artists of Indian origin residing in Toranto.
Solo play ‘Chiri di Ambar val Udaan’ is one of our major plays that is being performed for more than 121 shows at home and foreign soils. ‘Man Mitti da Bolya’ has also been accepted beyond boundaries by the theatre lovers. Both these plays depict feminine predicament, sensibility and struggles in a patriarchal order.
Suchetak Rangmanch is a prominent theatre group that tries to address issues of contemporary society in their historical context. ‘Nati Binodini’ is a play dedicated to the life struggle of Binodini Dasi who was a committed stage artiste one and a half century (1874) ago. The play is a continuous success. In recent times, when the ruling dispensations were talking about blocking those Sindhu waters which presently flow to Pakistan as per Sindhu Water Treaty; our play ‘Agli Sadi da Santali’ emphasized common cultural heritage of the two, rather three countries, which were one, not a long ago.
Similarly, ‘Chal Amritsar London Chaliye’ is a play staged on the occasion of first centenary of Jallian Wala Bagh Massacre. The play wades through life incidents of Udham Singh, the martyre who avenged this heinous massacre after 21 years. It reveals many untold truths of Martyre’s life which are generally pushed under the carpet by deep anti-imperialist passion. Based on Mahashwata Devi’s novel, the play ‘Hazaar Chaurasi di Ma’ presents struggle for revolutionary change and its tragic aftermath.
As is stated earlier, our aim is to do the theatre for social transformation. In the changed conditions after IPTA, Gursharan Singh is one of those prominent personalities, who added new dimensions to the field of progressive and revolutionary theatre. Our Group organized a two day ‘Gursharan Singh Nat Utsav’ in 2004 for the first time to celebrate his contribution to the Punjabi Theatre. The event has been so successful, that now it has become a regular annual affair for 5 days. We welcome plays of different theatrical forms and styles, even then one whole day is always dedicated to the ‘thara theatrical style’ developed much by Gursharan Singh Bhaji.
******