Life of Galileo in Calcutta

Bennewitz (top) and (above) Mitra as Galieo: Rate perfectionFew stage directors in modern times have done more to spread the message of German playwright Bertolt Brecht than German-born, 56-year-old Fritz Bennewitz, the director of several award-winning plays (mostly by Brecht) on television and on stage, all over Europe.That Bennewitz should transpose Brecht's most intellectually demanding piece, Life of Galileo, into the Calcutta stage, seemed by preceding standards an innovation, though it is unfortunate that the weakness of the Bengali cultural scene should surface so glaringly when it came to presenting Brecht to the common people.At present, not one but two plays on the life of Galileo, Bengali versions of the original, are running in Calcutta. Perhaps because of the association of Bennewitz and the acting of the doyen of the Bengali stage, Sombhu Mitra in the title role, the one produced by the Calcutta Repertory Theatre (CRT) has naturally drawn a larger audience. Ironically, the other version is being performed by Bohurupee the group to which Mitra had once belonged.But the CRT is, of course, much more than a group. Six leading groups decided to unite and put together a play one Brechtian theme, but with a larger aim. The groups are led by eminent personalities of Bengali theatre. Apart from Mitra there are Aran Mukherjee, Rudraprasad Sen Gupta, and Jochan Dastidar. The big six are Nadikar, Theatre Workshop, Theatre Commune, Chetana, Sudrak and Charbak. Spokesmen of the broadly left-wing groups allege that owing to the "big press" and a clique of hall-owners in Calcutta, quite often low grade plays were being presented as art by unscrupulous promoters to dupe the masses..preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}Cultured Theatre: It was the modest aim of the CRT to try to provide a better, more healthy alternative, in terms of a more cultured theatre and even biased observers would agree that their first joint venture play is certainly that and more. The groups would continue to produce their own individual plays but would produce at least three ventures every year jointly. In the process, the spokesmen hoped, would arise the first faint stirrings of a distinct voice that would perhaps gradually become more powerful and lay the foundations for a professional left theatre in India for the first time.Bennewitz was invited by the six to lend a hand. He was touched by their sincerity and hard work. In particular, Mitra impressed him so much that he wondered whether even the best Italian heroes could equal him. Bennewitz, however, had much to teach Calcutta in Brechtiana, as local dramatists later readily admitted."It seems like learning to walk, there was so much we just did not know," said a member of the Chetana group.The play continues for three hours and most playgoers would perhaps be put off by the air of conscious arrogance adopted by the producers in their instructions to the people: they are asked to report before time, not to eat anything in the hall, or bring troublesome children. Yet, no one seems to mind. Said a middle-aged housewife: "I did not see anyone stir during the interval, and when people coughed, it was ever so gently - a revelation for Calcutta audiences." This is significant, for enthusiasts in Calcutta are known to stand up in the middle of a Ravi Shankar recital, clap their hands and loudly proclaim their approval.Impressive Drama : The play begins with Galileo getting up in the morning and ends with his going to sleep. As the action warms up. Galileo realises that he is losing ground steadily to the almighty papacy. which however, in terms of historical perspective, has already begun to lose. "The Bible says, Stop, oh, splendid Sun. which means it is moving and moving round our earth."observes one of the characters and dismisses Galileo's findings as new-fangled nonsense that was also dimly threatening to undermine their existence, and, along with it, that of the social system. There is contemporary amusement as Galileo kowtows to a young prince, who is surrounded by his aged sycophants, who do not bat an eyelid as the youngster refers to "my stars and planets". The script, closely following the Brechtian original, is taut and tense, while Tapas Sen's lighting, especially in the last scene, is brilliant. The exchanges between Galileo and Cardinal Barberini (A. Mukherjee) are of a cultural level rarely attained on the Bengali stage. The personal tragedy clouding Galileo's daughter Virginia's life, because of his scientific belief, the gradual grooming of Galileo's favourite boy as a scientist and the handing over of the famous Discorsi, despite the haw keyed supervision of the Church, are moments to treasure in Indian drama.Mitra is certainly the centrepiece, the sun, around whom other stars like Rudraprasad and Bibhas Chakravarty revolve, rather recalling the heliocentric universe that Galileo propounded. Mitra who has played Oedipus and the misunderstood hero of the Ibsenian Dasachakra, in Bengali, lives up every bit to the high hopes that Bennewitz had bestowed on him before leaving Calcutta. Ultimately, as Bennewitz explained. Brecht implied that it was not enough to create: one must be accountable for one's creation. Galileo certainly was and so was Brecht. For the audience, it is a rare privilege to be able to share in their agonising struggles and rediscover what it all meant, several centuries later, in make-believe.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Nov 28, 2013--- ENDS ---

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Life of Galileo in Calcutta

Few stage directors in modern times have done more to spread the message of German playwright Bertolt Brecht than German-born, 56-year-old Fritz Bennewitz, the director of several award-winning plays on television and on stage, all over Europe.

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