There was a time when contemporary Indian stage directors were deeply involved in the Bertolt Brecht epic theatre, staging his dramas imbued with a new theatrical vision to analyse bourgeois exploitative system. His masterpieces like “The Life Of Galileo”, “Mother Courage”, “The Good Woman Of Setzuan”, “Her Puntila and his servant Matti”, “The Resistible Rise Of Arturo” and the “Caucasian Chalk Circle” were staged in India several times in different Indian languages. Some theatre practitioners went to the former German Democratic Republic to be trained in his theatrical idiom to join the Berliner Ensemble formed by him.
However, the arrival of Fritz Bennewitz, an internationally known expert of the Brechtian theatre in India as a visiting director in the late 70s, gave impetus to the practice of the Brechtian theatre. Bennewitz directed landmark works of Brecht in India, especially for the Repertory Company of National School Of Drama. However, during the past two decades or so we are watching very few plays by Brecht. Some years ago, Bansi Kaul presented Brecht’s “The Exception and the Rule” as “Saudagar” in Hindi adaptation. The same play was presented collectively by several groups with the support of the Ministry of Culture in Hindi adaptation by Shrikant Kishore at the jam-packed auditorium of Shri Ram Centre recently.
The play was directed by Yogesh Kumar Pande, who had been actively involved in theatre practice for nearly three decades with the experience of having worked with the Indian People’s Theatre Association and Natyadal Abhivyakti in Patna. Despite amateurish flaws in the treatment of music and acting style, Pande with his cast managed to convey the aesthetics of Brechtian theatre – the irreconcilability of social and economic antagonism that exists between classes and in such a system an oppressed cannot get justice.
“Saudagar” is a short play which is structured around a rich merchant desperate to get his tender approved to explore oil in a far off place in a sprawling desert. To lead him to his destination, he hires a guide and a coolie to carry his heavy luggage.
Engulfed with the fear that his rivals may reach ahead of him, he uses force on the coolie to walk at a brisk pace. The weak and timid coolie is left with no choice but to obey the orders of his brute master. As the road to the place where tender could be submitted is all confusing, the merchant fears about his safety, as he observes the guide and coolie smoking and talking in a friendly manner. He suspects that they are joining hands to kill him. He removes the guide who at the time of leaving gives his bottle of water to the coolie to drink while crossing the desert.
Losing the track
On the way, the merchant meets a policeman who attends him with servility and a pleased merchant gives him a little money which the policeman accepts with gratitude. As they go ahead, the merchant and the coolie confront a river in spate . The merchant forces the coolie to cross the river threatening him with his pistol. In the absence of the guide, the merchant has lost track. Now wandering in the sprawling desert, he curses the coolie for his incompetence, perpetrates brutality on him. The merchant is thirsty and he has already emptied his bottle containing drinking water. The coolie feels sorry for his master and he throws the water bottle, which was given to him by the friendly guide, to his master. The terror-stricken merchant is under the impression that coolie has thrown a stone to kill him and in retaliation he shoots the coolie.
The décor is austere which is in tune with the Brechtian theory of epic theatre. In fact, the production of the “Exception and the Rule” is rarely staged in Delhi. In recent memory, Bansi Kaul’s production of this play had heavy and colourful decor, which tended to distract the attention from the content. On the other hand, Yogesh Kumar used slide projection on the screen upstage to depict the river.
This was an attempt to create illusion of reality on the stage while the Brechtian theatre opposes for the creation of illusion of reality on the stage.
Another flaw in his production was the treatment of three characters who continue to confront the merchant from time to time, commenting feebly on his class character but they appear to be acting as buffoons to evoke laughter. Their objective should have been to offer biting comment on class society. Music is an important element in the Brechtian theatre aiming at making the audience conscious of the dichotomy existing in the capitalist mode of production. But at places in the production under review, music created emotional atmosphere involving the audience in the action. In fact, the audience should be provided with an atmosphere to reflect on social reality in an objective manner.
However, the court scene was aptly conceptualised. The guide and the poor inn owner give their statements in the court based on truth. The judge having already decided to protect the merchant puts his words into the mouth of the merchant, pronouncing the judgement that the merchant killed the coolie in self-defence.
Communicating the spirit
In the role of merchant, the director cast Rashmi Sinha, a woman instead of a male actor, who gave a creditable performance. In fact, in the past also directors have taken liberty in casting female performers in male roles and male in the female roles. Punit Tiwari as judge, Chandan Rai as coolie and Leela Dhar Joshi as guide gave impressive performances communicating the serious spirit of the play.
