Documenting College Shakespeare

Documenting College Shakespeare Performances at St. Xaviers College, British Council Festival and Loreto College: Reviews, Photos and Analysis

AcknowledgementWe owe our deepest thanks to the following persons, without whom we would not have been able to proceed with our project entitled Documenting College Shakespeare Performances in

St. Xaviers College, BCL Festival and Loreto College: Reviews, Photos and Analysis, which is a part of our assignment in the optional course entitled Shakespeare and Empire.

01. Dr. Paromita Chakrabarti

02. Prof. Abhishek Sarkar

03. Dr. Shantanu Biswas

04. Prof. Anuradha Chatterjee

05. Dr. Aditi Dasgupta

06. Prof. Satyaki Pal

07. Prof. Satiprasad Maiti

08. Mrs. Mangala Gauri Chakrabarti

Mr. Parag Biswas

Mother Superior of Loreto College, Kolkata

Mr. Kingshuk Bandopadhyay

Mr. Samarjit Guha

Dr. Abhijit Gupta

Dr. Ananda Lal

Dr. Sajal Bhattacharya

Mr. Akmal Ahmed

Mr. Moinak Chaudhury

Mr. Jonathan Luke Singh

Mr. Tirthankar Sengupta

Mr. Uddalak Dutta

Prof. Bertram da Silva

The officials and assistants of the Dept. of English, St. Xaviers College.

IntroductionIn his Introduction to Shakespeare in the Theatre, Stanley Wells states that The art of theatre is notoriously ephemeral, simultaneously stating that one can have a proper understanding of the Shakespearean play only by seeing it performed. Engaging with the search of history of Shakespearean productions is an interesting quest, as wonders lie scattered, hidden below the ravages of time. Our search for Shakespearean productions in

Loreto, St. Xaviers and British Council has been interesting and exciting, as we have come across a wide vista of productions, a considerable number of original representations and a greater number of adaptations and trans-creations. Our experience, in the last three months, has been a memorable and cherishable one, as we have come across numerous people from actors to directors, from scholars to students, and as we sit back to reflect, we wonder how they have been tied to us by a common string of attachment as the unconquered genius, William Shakespeare. We heartily thank our department, especially Dr. Paromita Chakrabarti and Shri Abhishek Sarkar for the opportunity they have provided us, one that we will cherish for a long time.

St. Xaviers College, KolkataThe St. Xavier's Stage: A Brief HistoryThe stage has always been held in great honour at St. Xavier's. For an educational institution, an auditorium is not just a venue for school or college events or merely a meeting place, it is a space where a corporation of students and scholars congregate to celebrate, to debate, to discuss, and sometimes even to mourn collectively. As we stand at the threshold of another century in the history of St. Xavier's College, it is meet that we go down memory lane and find out how students gathered here when it all began 130 odd years ago, how this place changed over the century, and how it is now poised to provide a space for even greater creative, cultural and social events, something that St. Xavier's College has always been noted for.

The college stage and auditorium that you see today has come through a historic process of evolution and gradual transformation. The earliest roots of this stage go back to the 'Sans Souci Theatre', which was burned down by fire in 1843. But the spirit of Sans Souci survived the holocaust, and in 1859, when the premises became the property of Belgian Jesuits, who called it St. Xavier's, theatre came to life again. The St. Xavier's stage found a place of pride in the cultural life of Calcutta.

The growth of the St. Xavier's Stage and auditorium took place separately in distinct and gradual phases, creating history of its own. The earliest history of the college hall goes back to 1885. The Old College Hall then served as a dormitory for the boarders as well as providing the most convenient place for dramatic performances. After 1885, great occasions, like the Prize Distribution Day, demanded more space than the hall could provide. For these functions a large shamiana was erected in the open.

From this fledgling beginning, the St. Xavier's stage took a giant leap into a major transformation in 1931. This change and wholesome transformation was solely due to the remarkable ability of Rev. Father Weaver, S. J. Still within the premises of the Old Hall, before the new building was erected, Father Weaver with his vision and creative ability rebuilt the old college stage. He had the old stage enlarged and renovated: new teakwood pillars and arches came into being; spotlights made the lighting scheme more effective andelaborate. There were set up complete sets of light in four colours, which by means of a very elaborate switch board could produce fairy which set off the stage magnificently. In the centre of this new stage shone the college crest in all its glory.

Four years later, in 1934, came the New Building, with the New Auditorium, and with it, the new stage found a permanent place. This New Auditorium is the one which most of us have known, for it is where so many Xaverians, past and present, had always gathered. It was built with the same purpose in mind, as the present auditorium has been built today to meet the needs of a growing community of students. In 1934, it brought St. Xavier's pre-eminence, as a stage where some of the best plays were enacted by some of the most renowned theatre people. The auditorium must have filled a crying need for a proper proscenium theatre, a fairly large seating capacity and despite the limited acoustics, the opportunity for students to project their voices in more ways than one. It is no hyperbole to say that the voices emanating from that stage were heard not by their fellow collegians. Even the city of Calcutta took notice of its eloquence and repertory. That hall stood for so long that even a short notice of those who incubated and took flight within it s wings will read like a long list.

In the bright history of the college stage are recorded names that refuse to pass out of man's memory. With pride, we may recall that St. Xavier's Hall housed a very fine theatre during the war: it was called 'The Garrison Theatre'. Professionals like Jack Hawkings, Noel Coward and other English and American actors performed here. In the late forties, Shakespeare was brought alive on St. Xavier's stage by its talented student Utpal Dutt and his newly founded theatrical company. 'The Shakespeareana' of Geoffrey Kendal came to Calcutta and performed on the St. Xavier's stage on more than one occasion. Of the many others who started their histrionic careers here were Victor Banerjee and N. Vishwanathan.

Finally, no history of St. Xavier's College stage can be complete without a reference to the late Rev. Father J. Johanns, S. J. the celebrated philosopher of this institution, who composed delicate, realistic and artistic religious plays which were all produced on this stage almost a hundred years ago.

But with the century drawing to a close, in the wake of communication and technological innovations all around, the Hall gradually became an anachronism. The old order had to yieldto the new. The herald of this dynamic change is none other than the present principal of St. Xavier's College Rev. Fr. P. C. Mathew, who saw the increasing demands for more space for the laboratories for physics and the need for shifting the computer centre to a more convenient location. Also, the hall had to provide for greater curricular and extracurricular needs. The Hall that you are seated in today thus hides from you two important academic developments in the college. Yet, it does so in a manner; in a way that is best epitomized by the stunningly conceived cyclorama just a sheet tightly strung across which provides a sense of limitless space. This hall has not undergone merely cosmetic changes in the air-conditioning, the large engraved doors (with the emblem of the college), the marble floor, the panelling, the large lobbies on both sides of the first floor, the panelling, the large lobbies on both sides of the first floor as well as the new green-room and a staff library on the first floor. With sidewalks, catwalks, world-class acoustics, state-of-the-art lighting, that would be the envy of any other hall in the city, fifty-one lights that would make Tapas Sen delight for the new millennium. It was a multi-use theatre that could be utilized for new generations of students to present not only such traditional arts as theatre, but may be the venue for an exciting multi-media mounting.

St. Xavier's College has re-incarnated its hall; the spirit of the 'Sans Souci' is once again active and alive.

Sans Souci TheatreInterestingly, theatre history of St Xaviers college begins before the establishment of the college itself. It is built on the premises of famous Sans Souci theatre, which was ravaged by destructive fire on 1843. The remnants of the building were later used as the Alma Mater. It is today found as 30 Park Street (Mother Teresa Sarani), Kolkata 700016. Till well in to the present century, St. Xaviers had a grand portico, with handsome Doric pillars and graceful flight of stairs. This was the last remainder of the famous Sans Souci theatre. In the Centenary volume Father Shea describes the Sans Souci theatre. He says, It is showy building, with all sorts of theatre are called properties and an acre of ground. The building is oblong; a good deal of it is devoted to a very fine portico and entrance hall. The dimension of stage in Sans Souci was about 200 feet in length and over 50 feet in breadth. A handsome portico was at the front, covering a fine flight of steps led in to a spacious saloon. The auditorium comprised a pit and tier of boxes in which five rows of armchairs were raised one above the other amphitheatrically, the gallery running behind. The stage occupied 28 feet of breadth and 50 of depth, the space concealed from the audience above and below being appropriated to the green rooms. Later day Xaverians recall the role of the two Fathers, C.K. Leeming and Peter Gomes, whose guidance in the spheres of sport and the dramatics respectively were an indistinguishable part of the curriculum. In the early years of the college, the dramatic performances were short, because at that time very little time could be spared for such activities. Selections from Shakespeare were the order of the day, but with the flight of years and the growing strength of the college, the nature of the stage improved and its scope widened. Plays by Sheridan, George Coleman, Pinero and Henry Arthur Hones were staged, according to the annual statements of different Rectors. Sometimes plays were staged in the French and Latin Originals.

Stage History of St. Xaviers: 1932-1942

St. XAVIERS COLLEGE, KOLKATASANS SOUCI THEATRETHE GOETHALS LIBRARY RESOURCES

The Goethals library, which is located above the College Chapel, houses some of the oldest periodicals, journals and books. The treasures were inherited by the Jesuit Fathers in 1908, from the then Archbishop of Calcutta, Paul Goethals, S.J. Today, the treasures are well preserved and the library has become a spot of historical significance. During our visit to college campus we were allowed to site old journals and scrapbooks on performance history onShakespeare. From the St. Xaviers stage Plays: 1932-1942, some records of early Shakespeare performances were procured. In the 1942 production of

Hamlet, originality of the text and ambience are maintained with the use of well decorated stage props and period costumes. (Cast: Claudius- M. Fork,

Hamlet- A. E Ratchell,

Hamlet production of 1942 held in college stageLeartes- E Castellan)

Macbeth Production 1939: Witches are played by children; period costume and very good use of stage props, especially arms. Production of Julius Caesar is not dated. Characters appear in ancient Roman attires. (Cast: Britus- P. Wilks, Cassius- L Lurke, Portia- Mrs. Cohanes, Ceaser- N. Frikhley)

The Merchant of Venice: Production is dated December 1935. As documented in the Goethel Library scrapbook, it was performed by Sans Souci Players. Period Costume and authentic attire have been used. Prince of Morocco appear in white costume and turban.(Cast: Antonio- P. Wilks, Bassanio- L. Locke, Gratiano-J Russel, Solano- W. Shircore, Lorenzo- K. Coutts, Shylock- A. Rotchell, Portia- Mrs. G. Cohane, Narrissa- Ms. B. Hartley, Prince of Aragon- D. Locke, Prince of Morocco- D. King)

The Tempest Production held on 31st July, 1934: Scene of Island is a painted backdrop. Prospero wears designed log coat with a cap, Miranda appears in white robe like dress. Ariel and Caliban seem like exotic beings but in a sense juxtapose each other in appearance. (Cast: Prospero- A. Rotchell, Alonzo- S. Joseph, Miranda- F. Ausombs, Trincula- C. Bellethy, Ferdinand- R. Smita, Caliban- D. Morrison)

Shakespeare Production Today:The English Academy organized its annual cultural event Literaria on 22nd September,

2010. The day-long event included dance presentation by students, an inter college creative writing competition, debate, a dramatic presentation from Twelfth Night by students of the undergraduate programme, a film and guest lecture by Dr. Amitava Roy. After the Shakespeare Film Festival and some small events mostly concerning literature last year, The English Academy started the session with an aim to include more and more students of all departments in its activities. There was also an endeavour to establish the inter connection of other arts which share an inseparable relationship with Literature.

Twelfth Night stage productionFirst produced on 22nd September, 2010 Venue: St. Xaviers College Directed by - Priyasha Banerjee and Vidya Nair Cast for production of Twelfth Night: Olivia - Tania Islam

Toby Belch- Jash Sabharwal

Malvolio - Shaket Banerjee

Sir Andrew Jonathan Luke Singh

Feste Moinak Choudhury

Maria - Oindrila Mukherjee

Fabian Utsab Nath

The characters of the Duke and Viola were omitted from the script.

The English Academy, one of the students societies of St Xaviers College conducts an inter college cultural event every year named LITERARIA. In 2010 LITERARIA, a group of

English Department students contextualized and enacted a part of Shakespeares TwelfthNight. This particular production that included all student cast & also directed by one of the student, Priyasha Banerjee, mainly focused on the subplot of the original play. The students basically enacted not the whole play but only those scenes which gave them the opportunity to indulge in the comic events of the play. As it is a comedy, the students tried to bring out the elements of carnival in it.

The production brought the humorous parts of Shakespeares original into focus, and its primary aim was to make the audience laugh. It attempted to maintain the authenticity but it got hindered at certain points. Since, apart from the students of the English Department, the audience included students and teachers of other Departments, the language of the play was made a little less accurate in order to make it more accessible to the mixed kind of audience and to make it more enjoyable to its fullest. The production did not use period costumes. The characters wore modern day attires which were modified a bit to make it look close to the period ones. They used boots, waist coats, harem pants, fluffy shirts, etc.

As of the stage setting, not a lot of props were used. A table with two goblets was placed at the stages centre in the scene where Sir Toby and Sir Andrew drink together. Moreover, a large banner hanging from the ceiling was kept in the background. The banner had Illyria written in it to impose that all the events were taking place in that land of Illyria. The banner played a functional role in this production as in certain scenes it became the hiding place for Sir Andrew. Also, each time Malvolio got trapped, he was kept behind that banner. Apart from the banner, a few tree-like structures and some flower pots were brought in during the garden scene.

Here, the character Feste was given a guitar which he occasionally played from behind the banner. Feste, although responsible for inducing many of the comic moments in the play was shown to be a melancholic man himself who was really separated from rest of the characters.

In the closing scene, where there was a gathering of all the characters at the stages centre, and when everybodys tricks were getting revealed, Feste was made to drift away step by step from that gathering. He was intended to play an observer of everybodys ability of fooling others. It was when Feste reached the farthest side of the stage away from the group of the characters occupying the central stage that the play finally ended.

Moinak Choudhury, Jonathan Luke Singh (who played the roles of Feste and Sir Andrew respectively), Uddalok Dutta (a former English Department student who was present among the audience) and Tirthankar Sengupta (the former secretary of the English Academy), on

15being interviewed, said that the audience were pretty receptive of the play, they got their jokes, the actors managed to make them laugh at the right time and that the professors mainly gave good feedback.

Theatre performances based on Shakespeares plays has always been and will be a fitting medium and an artistic mirror to society. These plays depict emotions and drama, take up relevant issues and the freedom they provide to mans creative expression has been significant.

The Department of English is one of the premier departments of the St. Xaviers College. The department is supported by a committed team of professors who aim at effectively delivering a course in English, which is renowned for uniformly maintaining its standards of academic

excellence over the years. Prof. Bertram da Silvas interests include Shakespearean theatre, Modern American literature, poetry and music. He has been a part of post graduate teaching in the University of Calcutta. He had played the character of Sebastian in the 1987 theatre production in St. Xaviers College. He had just started with his teaching profession around that time. There was an active theatre atmosphere in the college, as we have come to know from him. He also mentioned that he had heard of the 1964 stage production of Shakespeares plays in the college itself. Victor Banerjee and Utpal Dutt were actively associated with the performances.

Prof. Bertram da Silva was interviewed by students of Jadavpur University, Department of English. The interview has been in the following manner:

What was your experience during the production of Twelfth Night in St. Xaviers College? Directing it was fun. It took 6 months for preparation and we had the rehearsals 7 days a week. It helped me in understanding theatre and the performance was a memorable one. Everyone was actively engaged in the production . Was the performance made in collaboration with any other institute? No, it was performed by students of St. Xaviers College who played the lead roles. The college itself had sponsored it. It was a 3-4 day performance; there were 2 performances in the college auditorium and 2 outside. Later on, we got sponsors and they helped us. After many years, the full text of a Shakespearean play, Twelfth Night was performed. There has not been any such performance in recent years in the college. The students should try to put up interesting performances which can enkindle the interest in Shakespeares works. Tell us something about the stage set up, costumes and setting. The costumes were that of period drama. The play does not tell us anything regarding the stage set up in an explicit way. So, we designed it by ourselves and the experiment was successful in so far as it was designed according to the contemporary stage. The comic scenes with Malvolio were highly appreciated. British Council Theatre FestivalBritish Council Kolkata has an eminent record of Shakespeare performances, with its chequered history of adaptations, transgressions and skilful deconstruction of Shakespearean plays. It has a history of hosting annual inter school drama festivals for over 30 years. Several people in the field of acting with respect to Bollywood as well as performing arts, including Konkona Sen Sharma, a judge in the finals of the last held Annual Inter-School Drama, had their first experience with acting through this project. In the year 2013, British council celebrated the run up to the 450th birth anniversary of William Shakespeare by making his plays the theme of the theatre festival. The participating teams were all schools from different zones across India and Shakespearean plays were re-interpreted by them. One could come across interesting adaptations that the schools performed. As Mr. Samarjit Guha, Director of Arts, British Council declared, Shakespeare was made the theme of the festival keeping in mind the run up to the 450th birth anniversary of the literary genius. According to him, the determinant factor in the festival was the script. We are more interested in scripts, since what we attempt to cultivate in students is the creative and imaginative faculty, one that can conceive a different understanding of the play, he said. Hence, acting, use of stage props, the setting are all secondary and the primary emphasis is laid upon scripts.

Over forty-five schools were selected in the semi-finals of 34th Annual Inter-School Drama at Satyajit Ray Auditorium, Kolkata, from 9th to 13th September 2013. Nine schools in total made it to the finals in this drama festival. The semi-finals were judged by the music director Kaushik Dutta, theatre person Shuktara Lal, and dancer and arts producer Paramita Saha. The finals, which took place on 8th December 2013 at South City International School, were judged by a large number of eminent personalities like Konkona Sen Sharma, Mahesh Dattani, Arundhati Nag, Kolkata based actor cum school drama alumnus Kaushik Sen, as well as the Pro-VC of Manchester Metropolitan University Dennis Dunn. The finalist schools were made to go through a brisk but intense workshop hosted by trainers from Manchester Metropolitan University. As judges phrased it, Each play was diverse, celebrated the theme to its optimum best and presented productions of extremely high standards. This led to a tremendous climax of the festival, where the winners and the teacher coordinators were celebrated appropriately.

On surveying the theatre festival, one finds accounts of interesting adaptations and re-readings of Shakespearean plays. Modern High School for Girls, for instance, has adapted

Shakespeares Macbeth prioritising the witches and their role in the consequent movement of the plot. The Bright Day School has interrogated the themes of betrayal in Shakespearean plays in general. However, the one which was hugely applauded by the audience and the jury was Hamlet @ Goalz, produced by the Kolkata Goalz Police School. Adapting Hamlet into the discipline of football, it questioned the themes of betrayal, revenge, rivalry and such emotional quotients that are but overtly dominant in the play. There is no Ophelia or Gertrude, and the original plot is largely deconstructed in the adaptation. According to the director, Mr. Kingshuk Bandapadhyay, the play is neither a mimetic representation of Hamlet nor it can be called a justified adaptation. It looks into the agony of Hamlet from an actors perspective and attempts to critique the in-betweenness of Hamlet instead of philosophising it.

The setting is a football camp and the three principal characters from Shakespeares Hamlet, namely, Hamlet, Claudius and senior Hamlet figure as football players in the play (Claudius-Bobby, Hamlet- Robin, Senior Hamlet- Captain). The plot moves on the thematic motives of jealousy, conspiracy, betrayal and revenge. However, the revenge is reformative instead of being retributional, where the antagonist is reformed instead of being punished.

The play brings in multiple issues an actors attempt to play Hamlet and his consistent failure to understand the melancholic princes agony. Also, it prioritises the idea of an ideal

Hamlet, where the ghost of Horatio appears from the literary past and intrudes into the immediate reality, prophesying and warning Hamlet of Claudiuss impending treachery.

It is easily noticeable that there are no female characters in the play. The question that arises then is: does it in some way hinder the authentic Shakespearean essence? Mr. Kingshuk

Bandapadhyay seems to disagree. It is not possible to project in a single performance the multiple interpretations of a Shakespearean play, he says. Also as far as my production was concerned, I had to perform with a group of children from the socially marginalised classes, most of whom lacked a proper English education. We were not accommodating football intoShakespeare instead what we found easier to do is merge in Shakespeare with football.

Another play that garnered a lot of attention was put up by Mahatma Gandhi International School, Ahmadabad. This school presented Romesh and Julie, an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet to a contemporary modern Indian setting. This play centres around the social issues that young people have to grapple with in todays Indian context. Performed by Class 12 students, it was scripted with the help of their teacher, Anju Musafir. Even though this adaptation did

not make it past the semi finals, it was praised for the use of Commedia DellArte and

Physical Theatre in its performance, and the student who played the role of Bahadur won the best performance category.

Such interesting alterations with Shakespeare depict that the playwright from Stratford-upon-Avon is no longer limited to a privileged understanding, but is now widely accepted with deconstructions and alterations. One cannot possibly overlook the organic overtone of Shakespeare, how he is engaged with the so-called subaltern through the panoramic world of adaptation and deconstruction.

Few records of Shakespearean performances in the theatre festival:

Modern High school- Blinded: An adaptation of Shakespeares Macbeth.

Bright Day school- Shatranj: The Fair Game.

G.D. Birla Institute- Acknowledgement Marlowe.

Kolkata Goalz Police School- Hamlet@Goalz.

Photo Documentations:Kolkata Goalz

St Marys School, Udipi

Bright Day School, Vadodara

PSBB LLA, Bengaluru

DPS, Rohini

Mahatma Gandhi International School

Selected pictures from last years festival

Additional Sources: http://www.britishcouncil.in/about/press/9-schools-finals-annual-inter-school-drama-festivalhttp://www.britishcouncil.in/programmes/arts/youth-and-learning-arts/annual-all-india-inter-school-drama-festival/school-dramahttp://www.britishcouncil.in/events/annual-inter-school-drama-festival http://www.mgis.in/2013/10/desi-romeo-and-juliette-await-to-woo-you/Official video of 34th Annual Inter-School Drama Festival https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uGQLAeiKYMLoreto College, KolkataThe record of Shakespeare performances in Loreto College is varied and experimental. It includes mimetic production of a Shakespearean scene as well as theatrical productions devised on meta-theatrical norms. While some performances were done under the efficient guidance and vigilance of coordinating institutes like The British Council, others were collective attempts of the students to engage with the diverse panoramic world of Shakespeare.

The acquaintance of Loreto with Shakespeare dates back to the colonial era. As one of the faculty members of Loreto states, engaging with Shakespeare was far more than an acquaintance to something English, for Shakespeare signifies a western liberal space, the culmination of progressive western rationalism. This is perhaps one of the determinant reasons why Shakespeare resonates as a subject consistently in Loreto performances.

However, institutes like Loreto have a greater hurdle to overcome when it comes to performing Shakespeare and this is the problem of the abundance of male characters in the plays. As Professor Anuradha Chatterji, the staff adviser of Loreto College Dramatics Society, points out, the considerable number of male characters in Shakespearean plays pose a major problem for performance in an all womens college.

What then are the challenges for a female actor to perform a male role? How can a female player fit herself with the intense male feelings and emotion? To answer this question, it will be beneficial to hear to the experiences of such an actor one who has played the part of the other sex.

In the year 1989, Ramakrishna Mission Residential College, Narendrapur staged the court scene from The Merchant of Venice, which was greatly applauded by the audience. With an all male cast, Portia was played by Mr. Parag Biswas. In a telephonic conversation, Mr. Biswas remonstrates the problems of playing a Shakespearean woman character on stage for the rigorous process of method acting that he had undertaken in order to perform the role:

So far as memorisation is concerned, we rigorously read the play. There were traits of method acting in my preparation. I had adapted numerous feminine gestures like a subtle hesitation, becoming shy suddenly. These improvisations contributed to the body language.

As is evident from Mr. Biswass account, a considerable labour is demanded on the mans part to enact a woman and vice-versa. No wonder then, the cast and crew of As You like It performed in the year 1963 was richly applauded by the gathered audience, some of whom felt that the performance was as rich as a professional attempt. Bachi Kanga as Touchstone and Gitanjali Ambegakar as the bad Duke were hugely applauded by the audience and their attempt to play the opposite sex was appraised by the assembled audience.

The tradition of Shakespeare performances in Loreto was enriched by the production in the millennium year entitled The Prize and the 2004 production of A Midsummer Nights Dream. While the former was an interesting production of Shakespearean women encountering the Indian epic heroines, the latter was an Indianised adaptation of the Shakespearean comedy and involved students from Loreto College and Rabindra Bharati University. Prof. Anuradha Chatterji, remonstrating Brian Russos production of the Shakespearean play, deeply applauded the interesting use of space and language.

One notices an interesting shift when one analyses the history of Shakespearean performances at Loreto, as there is a gradual journey from translation to trans-creation, from representation to adaptation. The earlier performances, such as those performed in the year 1938 and 1963 were very different from those performed in the recent past. The Prize, that involves a panoramic production with different Shakespearean heroines and Indian mythical characters, is a culmination of that post-colonial consciousness, one that can inter-relate the orient and the occident and one which attempts to read Shakespeare not as a foreign cultural signifier but tries to appropriate him with an Indian essence. Dr. Aditi Dasgupta, one of the faculty members of the Department of English, Loreto College, Kolkata, acknowledges that adapting Shakespeare is not easy because of the rich cultural heritage that follows it. However, she also admits that the recent productions of Shakespearean plays testify a post-colonial consciousness, where the colonised subject enjoys his/her freedom to alter with the privileged texts of the sacred bard.

. Some instances of Shakespeare acquaintances in Loreto College:

1921: The college log book notes that the students go to Shakespearian Matinees at the Empire Theatre on Wednesdays. No further details are given.

1964: As a grand finale to the Bards Quarter-centenary celebrations in Calcutta, came the new Shakespeare company, brought out by the British Council, who gave us a generous block booking at the New Empire for the three plays produced by the

Company: The Tempest, Richard III and The Taming of the Shrew. (Source: Palm

Leaves 1965)

1970: A lecture demonstration on the production of Shakespearian drama was given in the college by the London Shakespeare Group under the direction of Peter Potter. This was followed by the production of scenes from Twelfth Night in modern costume.

1989: Students attended a production of Julius Caesar at Kala Mandir by the Leicester Haymarket Theatre group. The programme was organised by the British Council.

List of some Shakespeare performances involving students in the cultural history ofLoreto College, Kolkata1938: Selections from 4 plays on the occasion of the Mother Provincials farewell:

A Midsummer Nights Dream (I.A. class) As You like It (L.T. class) The Merchant of Venice (B.A. class) Macbeth (B.T. class) 1939: The B.A. class performed one of the scenes from Henry V

1963: As the term drew to a close, evening rehearsals became the order of the day and on the 7th, 8th and 9th December, we presented As You like It, which drew eulogies on all sides, some enthusiastic critics claiming that some scenes marched clean out of

the amateur over the borders of professional standard. Certainly Meera Bhagat gave a uniquely charming presentation of Rosalind, ably supported by Sirtaj Abdul Hai as Orlando, Rita Mukherjee as Celia, and Catherine Siebel as Oliver. The Arden scenes with Duke Senior and his attendant Lords had their own peculiar touch of sylvan charm, while every appearance of Bachi Kanga as Touchstone and Praniti Ghatak as Audrey was greeted with a riot of hilarity. The bad DukeGitanjali Ambegaokar was always angry so successfully that we felt he deserved to be thoroughly converted in the end. (Source: Palm Leaves 1964) 1964: The Shakespeare Quarter-centenary celebrations loomed large on the horizon during the remaining weeks of the term. We had planned a Shakespeare Week which was held in the first week of May when First Years and Orientation classes were freer to organise and produce the various items. There was an impressive opening in the Auditorium at which Mr. Gasper of the B.I.S. presided and triggered off our Bardolatry by an enthusiastic account of the Centenarys Opening Day at

Stratford. Mother Provincial, Mother Superior and all the Staff were present with the students. Outside the Auditorium, the nine beautiful electrically illuminated panels lent us by the ever generous British Council, brought to life most colourfully the few biographical details known of the Immortal Will, together with outstanding scenes from performances of the plays in various decades. Further along the corridor, two rooms displayed other famous pictures of the plays as well as charts made by the girls of the Orientation class under the guidance of M.M.J. Loreto.

Perhaps the most enjoyable events of the week were the production of The Taming of the Shrew by the 2nd and 3rd years. Lolita Bose made a vigorous wife-tamer, though her success was often threatened by the thoroughbred spitfire Katharina played by

Gita Mehta. To close our week we had the excellent production of A Shakespearean Pageant directed and produced by Miss Bapat and Miss Chatterjee, with the latter at the mike, and the former in unexpected roles, such as Richard III, a truly excellent impersonation strongly reminiscent of the great film which, with some Shakespearean and Strafford shorts, we had seen during the week in our auditorium. (Source: Palm Leaves 1965)

1969: Through the good offices of the British Council, students of the college viewed in their own auditorium Romeo and Juliet done in ballet form. Rudolph Nureyev was Romeo and Dame Margot Fonteyn played Juliet. In the same year the Commercial department of the college arranged a screening of Romeo and Juliet in Darkness

(courtesy the Czechoslovakian Cultural Society).

2000: The Loreto College Dramatics Society presents The Prize, a play in honour of William Shakespeare as part of the Shakespeare Centre Millennium Link Project, in order to celebrate Shakespeare in the month of his birthAprilin the millennium year. The Prize is a group-devised show, which reflects the theme of the Shakespeare

Centre Millennium Link Project: New Beginnings. The play takes place in Belmont, three years after the momentous events in The Merchant of Venice.

The Prize introduces two women from ancient Indian epics to a gathering of Shakespearean heroines, in order to bring out the similarities and dissimilarities in their position as women in predominantly patriarchal societies. Ariel speaks of choices women have, and of their fates/In times past, present and future.

The Shakespearean characters include Helen of the Greek heroic age, from Troilus and Cressida; Cordelia, princess of ancient Britain and daughter of King Lear; and Portia and Jessica from The Merchant of Venice. The two Indian characters, monogamous Sita and polyandrous Draupadi are a study in contrasts. While Sita is generally perceived as submissive and totally dedicated to her husband Rama, Draupadi is fiery and passionate; she acts on an equal footing with her five husbands.

The lives of all these women were affected by decisions made by men. Several of them were treated as prizes, to be offered, won or lost. This play tries to present, through dialogue and dance, their points of view. True to our newly coined adage: all is fair in fantasy, we project our knowledge of the changing status of women into the play. Thus, we rewrite the casket scene to represent the possibilities of New Beginnings for women everywhere. (Quoted from the Booklet introducing the play)

Report sent to Millennium archivesINTRODUCTIONWhen the LORETO COLLEGE DRAMATICS SOCIETY received an invitation to participate in the Shakespeare Centre Millennium LinkProject we were faced with a dilemma: our veteran members (Second & Third Year students) would not be able to contribute, as they were scheduled to go on study leave in March 2000. However, enthusiastic First Year student members soon dispelled all doubts. Not only were they prepared to take the initiative to stage a show, they were determined to produce a meaningful group-devised performance, which would illustrate the relevance of Shakespearean themes in the modern Indian context. Thus, "The Prize"

broke new ground for the society, as it was the first major production exclusively performed by First Year Students on behalf of the College. "The Prize" also had the distinction of being the first performance by members of the Loreto College Dramatics Society. Calcutta, to be videotaped. This was a wonderful learning experience for the First Year members of the Society, as they were exposed to the very different requirements of a stage performance and a filmed production at once. In this sense "The Prize" certainly marked a "New Beginning" for this Society.

SELECTION OF PLAYEight First Year students participated in the brain-storming sessions, which were led by the Secretary of the Dramatics Society, Ms. Trina Banerjee under the guidance of the Staff Adviser to the Dramatics Society. Ms Anuradha Chatterji. Mrs Mangala Gauri Chakraborty of the English Faculty undertook to produce the script in its final form.

At these sessions, it was agreed that the primary focus should be on womens issues since Loreto College is a womens college. The script sought to develop the theme of "New Beginnings" by introducing selected Shakespearean women characters to women from ancient Indian epics. The connecting factor between these characters taken from different historical periods was that all were representatives of women in predominantly patriarchal societies. There is an underlying similarity in the situations and dilemmas of the European and Indian characters, despite the dissimilarities in their backgrounds. Their lives were affected by decisions made by men and several of them were treated as "prizes" to be offered, won or lost. The play empowers them by giving them an active role and by exhibiting their individual reactions, desires and choices. This was accomplished by

reworking the casket scene from The Merchant of Venice enabling the women to share their feelings and exercise their choice. It was also

particularly appealing to us that our play provided a dramatic reversal of Shakespeare's plot in that we were able to divest the device of the caskets of its patriarchal significance.

With the choice of the caskets becoming a kind of parlour game the

element of fantasy was enhanced with the introduction of the Spirits of the Past, Present and Future. Their role was to emphasise the continuity of women's dilemmas in patriarchal societies. Yet, while the Spirit of the Past pronounces that women were "subject to men for all their lives", the Spirit of the Present noted that "women of today have boldly grown and wish to think their lives their own". The Spirit of the Future ended our play with a bold prediction that "Women of some future age will come into their heritage". Thus, we projected our knowledge of the changing status of women into the play.

Finally, we decided to introduce and close our revels with the help of our own version of Ariel: a female spirit who represented our newly coined adage: "ALL IS FAIR IN FANTASY".

THE PERFORMANCEOn Saturday, 8th April 2000, the Loreto College Dramatics Society presented "THE PRIZE", a dance-drama in honour of William Shakespeare, in the Loreto College Hall, Calcutta. This was part of the Shakespeare Centre Millennium Link Project, organized to celebrate Shakespeare in the month of his birth - April - in the Millennium Year. The audience consisted of students of the college, as well as personal invitees of the cast and crew. "The Prize" was a group-devised stage production involving dialogue & dance. Dance was particularly used to translate the stories narrated by the two Indian epic heroines into a visual medium which could reflect the cultural heritage of India. However, dance was also seen as a means whereby the essential unity of women could be effectively expressed. Thus, all the women characters participated together in a simple yet symbolic movement. This underlined their sense of bonding and transcended barriers of time, space and culture.

The performance was very well received particularly by the young students of the college, who later expressed their interest in learning more about some of the themes and issues explored in the play.

Photo Documentation

2004: A Midsummer Nights Dream directed by Brian Russo

Directors notes-

When Professor Anuradha Chatterji and I first conceived of this production several months ago, I was drawn to Midsummer for several reasons: first, there was an exciting idea of performing it on the lawn on a Kolkata mid-winters eve. I cut my actors teeth on Midsummer, and the experience led to a long affection for all things Shakespeare. The characters, for the most part, are young, vibrant individuals, much

like the actors youll see performing tonight. On many occasions during the rehearsals I happily witnessed those Aha! moments when the actors stepped from their everyday lives into the incredibly expansive world of Shakespeare. Finally there is my abiding love for the collision of worlds that takes place one midsummers night in

Athens and the forest nearby.

What I hope to communicate to you is the pure joy of this text, embodied in how the actors and production staff have embraced it. We also wish to deeply remind you that as Sigmund Freud said, you are always insane when you are in love. And isnt that insanity grand? After much going back and forth, the cast and myself decided that the play ought to be set somewhere in Mathura, a place of forests, where Krishna and Radha might be playing as Oberon and Titania do. Additionally, it is place of royalty. At the same time as we set the play in India, I insisted the text remain completely intact, because I could find no reason to meddle with Shakespeares words. So we are in Athens, even though there are Indian elements ever present. We have had, there, a double desire: Indianizing Shakespeare, while keeping each and every word as written by the Bard.

Photo Documentation

Shakespeare Performance in Loreto College, DarjeelingShakespeare was adapted even in Loreto College, Darjeeling. Loreto College Company of

Shakespearean actors (Staff) presented Twisted Tales from Shakespeare by Richard

Armour. An ex student of the college who is presently an Associate Professor at North

Bengal St. Xaviers College, Rajganj recollected her participation as an audience of the play and remarked that the name was aptly used. More or less all the plays of Shakespeare that were adapted were twisted.

The event continued for two days. The first day was opened for the dignitaries of the town while the other day was kept for the students. The plays were directed/narrated and partly written by Clara Coutinho and were staged in Loreto Colleges auditorium on July 30, 2005.

It was a show presented by the staffs of the college which included the Principal, teachers, office staffs and the other junior staffs.

The show was initiated with a twisted appearance of the three witches of Macbeth wearing black long dress and Halloween hat. They exit the stage riding their broom like motor bikes. Whole event ended with Cleopatra dancing to the tune of Bollywood numbers while the other characters followed her. The staffs organized this event for their ex students.

The staff and students tried portraying the unique qualities of Shakespeare that makes him adaptable for all ages to come.

Photo Documentation

TWISTED TALES FROM SHAKESPEAREby RICHARD ARMOUR

Directed / Narrated & partly writtenClara Coutinhofor the show byMACBETHRingee E. Wangdi,

Soma Chakraborty,Witches

Rakashree Rai

ChandramaLady Macbeth

Pradhan

Amrita DarnalMacbeth

Ratna MishraMacduff

Rameshwar,

Ganesh, Ramesh,Trees

Dhamu

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

Sr. MarillaOberon

(Principal)

Kanta PradhanTitania

Dhurjati PalLysander

Choudhuri

Sailendra PradhanDemetrius

Madhu PakhrinHermia

Maumita GhoshHelena

Smriti SinghPuck

SurenBottom

TWELFTH NIGHTAmar RaiDuke Orsino

Ringee Wangdi,Rakashree Rai,ChandramaCronies

Pradhan, GyanshreePradhanHAMLETRamesh DuralHamlet

Maumita GhoshOphelia

Mrs. ThapaKing

Evana TamangQueen

Soma ChakrabortyPolonius

Smriti SinghGhost

Dhurjati PalR & G

Choudhuri

Ratna MishraR & G

OTHELLOSudakshnaDesdemona

PurkayasthaKum Kum RaiOthello

ROMEO AND JULIETRamesh DuralRomeo

Kanta PradhanJuliet

Shailendra Pradhan,Friends of

Dhurjati Pal

Romeo

Choudhuri

Smriti, Madhu,Party people

Evana, Sudakshna

MERCHANT OF VENICEGyanshree PradhanPortia

Shailendra PradhanBassanio

Amrita DarnalPrince of

Arragon

Rita BanerjeeShylock

Kashinath OjhaAntonio

ShrikantaPrince of

RoychoudhuryMorocco

Evana TamangNotary

JULIUS CAESAR

Kum Kum RaiJulius Caesar

Amar RaiMark Antony

Mrs. ThapaBrutus

Rita BanerjeeSoothsayer

Soma Chakraborty,

Amrita Darnal,Conspirators

Madhu Pakhrin,

Evana Tamang

CLEOPATRA

Ringee EdenCleopatra

WangdiIndira Lama

Overall Charge of Costumes / PropsKanta Pradhan

Chandrama Pradhan

Make-upSoma Chakraborty

Ramesh Dural

Shailendra Pradhan

Music / Sound Effects / Lights

Moumita Ghosh

Michael William

Tickets-in-ChargeDorothy Cormuz

ReceptionAlumni Members

CurtainBirkha Rai

Glenarys

Vikram Rai (Iris Production)

Sponsors

Mamanchand Agarwal

Dadoma & Pema

Mr. Habib

Dorjay Lama

Prity Gurung

Kavita Agarwal

St. Pauls School

Special Thanks to

Mt. Hermon School

St. Josephs School

St. Andrews School

Compuset Centre

Tourist Lodge

ConclusionNo longer limiting himself as a dominant cultural signifier and a colonial tool of oppression, Shakespeare has now traversed into that compartment of history, where he is represented and re-read from changing perspectives. The recent trends of Shakespearean performances testify and our project has only added a little to the established truth that Shakespeare can be moulded, altered, re-viewed and re-read from time to time. No longer embedded and saturated with, what Angela Carter calls nineteenth-century nostalgia, Shakespeare is now constantly exposed to newer lights of interpretation and made eligible for and acceptable to newer generations. Whether it challenges the authentic essence of Shakespearean plays is debatable, but the constant engagement with Shakespeare and the tendency to appropriate his work in contemporary lights depict the continuing relevance of the visionary Bard even today.