The capital city on Wednesday witnessed characters from the stage coming on to the streets, as a group of theatre activists from across the State marked their protest over various issues.
With designs on their face, the protesters presented their livelihood issues and concerns regarding government funding. They pepped up their performance further, interspersing it with interactions with people walking on the street.
The protest organised by the theatre activists under the aegis of NATAK (Network of Artistic Theatre Activists Kerala) mainly raised concerns regarding funding to theatre groups in the State Budget presented last week.
Storm over funds
On Monday, The Hindu had reported on how the allocation of ₹25 to the Lokadharmi theatre group in Ernakulam had kicked up a storm in theatre circles, as many felt that several other theatre groups in the State were ignored.
The protest march that began from VJT hall was stopped near the Legislative Assembly, from where they proceeded to the Secretariat.
The protesters spoke about the lack of financial support for theatre groups, which has led to many of them struggling to make ends meet.
“Our demand is that all the theatre practitioners of Kerala should be addressed with dignity in the Budget. It is unfair that all the money is given to a specific group, while there are several others who are struggling despite doing important work on stage. Allocations to the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy cannot be considered in this case, as drama is just one of the components there,” said NATAK’s general secretary J. Shailaja
