I n an age of recycled stories and pitiful plots, here is a workshop with a difference. Catering to the need for telling new stories and reaching out to a wider section of India, Writers’ Bloc has been striving to encourage new talent and support the art of theatre. The workshop is the result of the collaboration between Rage Productions, British Council and the Royal Court Theatre. For the past 15 years Writers’ Bloc has been promoting new and original plays while preserving each individual's unique style and language. Since its inception, it has gone on to train more than 50 Indian playwrights and showcase 41 plays.
Talking about the dynamic face of theatre, Shernaz Patel, eminent theatre and Bollywood personality and founder-partner of Rage Productions explains how theatre is more relevant now than ever before. “We are so isolated in our entertainment with laptops, all alone – that going to a community space where we can all share is a growing desire. Maybe subconscious, but I find that a lot of young people are walking into the theatre than before. It is a space – like a communion where we can all share in the experience of watching something live right in front of us. We can laugh together, cry together rather than a little bubble that we otherwise create.” Further elaborating on the significance of this art, she highlights the youth’s promising engagement with theatre, “This is a trend all over the world. The younger generation is finding spaces to create theatre, they don’t necessarily need an auditorium. They go on to perform at a pub, at an art gallery, in a tiny space – it's not restricted to the conventional space any more.” Talking about her personal experience in the changing mode of theatre, she explains, “My generation needs the conventional auditorium – I need a green room where I can change, do my make up, put up lights, I don't like compromising. Whereas the younger generation is much quicker – they just get up and perform, which is good obviously.” But the story, she emphasises, remains paramount – it is the skeleton that holds the story together. “For me personally, I love the text. As an actor, I find it delicious.”
The critically-acclaimed playwright, scriptwriter and actor Purva Naresh is also an alumni of the workshop. Talking about her experience, she remarks, “We were told to talk about things that were of interest to us, we moved on to topics of common experience and then we had a newspaper exercise to figure out where we all are, in terms of what we are thinking and what were the issues that bothered us.” Highlighting the ease and level of comfort between the writers and the mentors, she giggles, “Through the discussion the mentoring began, so we didn't even know when it had formally started! The mentors are very attentive listeners, they listen to you talk and figure you out but never tell you that because the figuring out has to happen all on your own. They just nudge you in the right direction.” The stand out feature of the entire workshop though, she insists is the sense of importance that they were given and how it stimulated them, “The workshop made us realise that we are important, what we have to say is important and so the work better be treated that way. I realised I had better start writing about things that matter. As a writer, you have so many views in your head, so many directions that your story can take and so they help you sift through those and give you a way of negotiating with them and narrow it down to your priorities. This is the best programme for writers, because for Royal Court I think the writer is where the hierarchy begins.”
“The process of writing is not over till the play is staged. Till the actor says those words, a director interprets it and the audience responds to it,” adds Shernaz. That sparked off the festival which represents the culmination of all the hard work over roughly two years, taking into account the workshop, edit and practice. Projecting itself as a unique skills development programme, the workshop annually calls for submissions of original plays and the selected candidates go on to live at the JSW guest house for the duration, in order to discuss and interact with mentors from the Royal Court Theatre. “Sometimes playwrights come in with an idea already and some of them don't. Normally, by the end of the first workshop though, everyone has a scene prepared that goes on to become a part of their play by the end.” explains Shernaz. Each playwright writes their own story and the plays have diverse themes. Elucidating the inclusive nature of the workshop, she asserts, “You bring in your world and where you are from into what you write.” The panel which includes some of their alumni go through the large volumes of plays they receive and shortlist about 40 of the plays. This list is further sent to the Royal Court Theatre which finally narrows it down to 20 writers who they find interesting or different. From this again, Rage Productions goes on to finalise 15 names who are selected for the workshop.
The Writers’ Bloc Festival has received a fabulous response and they have been travelling far and wide to spread the word. And it is not limited to just the metro cities. From performing at the British Council library in Chandigarh to the metro stories like Delhi, the idea has been to reach out and make the experience culturally inclusive. The themes, both Purva and Shernaz emphasise are not limited to any specific theme. They could be set anywhere in India or even in space and there's a healthy mix between current topics and personal, human experiences. The motive at the end, is to enable the writer to find his/her own voice. “The whole aspirational motive to write in English is done away with. In the whole line up of plays, we have some in Tamil, Hindi, Marathi- in fact this year we have more plays in regional languages than in English. It's great that people are starting to write in the language they wish to write and think in, and there's a willing audience for it.” There is no longer an only English speaking audience or only a specific language audience. From Cochin, to Jodhpur and Bhubaneshwar, people want good theatre. Talking about future plans and ideas for Writers’ Bloc, Shernaz insists the larger problem lies in the lack of funding. While they have received partnership and funding over the years and have been lucky to sustain this, the ideal future plan involves enabling schools to focus on playwriting, because there is no emphasis even though schools are where this should begin and be cultivated. Critiquing this lack she explains, “Schools have an annual play and everyone is clamouring to act. All children want to act but no one is focused on the writing, the main story.” She highlights that the story is above all and there is a need to nurture that talent at a young age.
An eclectic mix
Celebrating the success of 15 years of Writers' Bloc, between December 2016 and March 2017 British Council will be showcasing works from the workshop's collection in nine cities across India. The Delhi chapter included a staged reading of Purva Naresh's (a recipient of the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puruskar) acclaimed "Ok Tata Bye Bye" (directed by Rabijita Gogoi) dealing with caste-based prostitution on 16th December. A workshop was conducted by her on playwriting the next day, followed by a staged reading of the Hindi play 'Mahua' written by Akash Mohimen and directed by Rajit Kapur. These were performed at the British Council Office.
