Let’s address the elephant in the room – why the need for theatre to go digital?
When faced with challenges, our core strength in hardship is to adapt. Theatre is one such persistent art form that is always ready to adapt and bounce back with dramatic re-entries.
As the coveted art form cried SOS, the theatre community in the not so recent past has pledged to Save Our Stage by taking the Stage to Screen.
While the pandemic renders the live arts futile, we encourage fellow thespians to stand tall and come forth to share the spotlight. For we believe it’s time that Theatre swipes right.
Redefining a new season with the arrival of 2020’s digital theatre opus, Aadyam – the theatre initiative by the Aditya Birla Group – embraces change by creating a world class showcase with Aadyam – The Digital Edition.
“This is a tough time for theatre…very tough,” says Shernaz Patel, returning Artistic Director of Aadyam. “We excel in the live, we thrive on the immediate and tactile communion between us and the audience. This love, passion, need…call it what you will…brings us back to the stage year after year, even as sceptics debate if theatre is dying. Theatre has survived centuries. With every catastrophe, we have found ways to reinvent ourselves. Death has never been an option for us. So, in 2020 if we have to perform in 920 x 1080 pixels, we will. We accept the challenge. Because this is what we do. We will find a way to share stories, to entertain and inspire. For me personally, as Artistic Director, it is incredibly heartening and reassuring to know that even in these difficult times Aadyam continues to thrive…that the Aditya Birla Group continues to believe in the theatre and stands behind us with all their might. That is reason enough to celebrate. So even though we are narrowing the expanse of the stage to your TV screens, we promise to entertain you in style – the Aadyam way – professionally, with great production values and meticulous attention to every detail.”
PLOT TWIST
Aadyam has maneuvered skilfully between experience and novelty since its inception in 2015, moulding itself at each stage, always putting up productions that are befitting the times. It’s digital dawn, thus rightfully begets ingenuity whilst being equally unrelenting in its creative pursuit.
Presenting theatre in its true form despite a screen between the audience and the stage, however, is no easy task.
Bringing the stage’s authenticity to the screen's glamor requires a lot more than a camera-man and a few rehearsals. It requires revisiting its history to redefine the etymology of this newly derived culture. To beat screen fatigue by bringing emotions to your doorstep – LIVE, RAW, IMPERFECT yet REAL. There are no retakes here and the show must go on(line).
“Year on year, Aadyam has strived to assist India’s ever-expanding theatre scene by providing talented theatre groups with a platform to bring their art to a bigger platform and with every season, to a larger audience. Aadyam’s Digital Edition will now give these artists a stage in every Indian home via any device, armed with a fighting chance to level the playing field for live entertainment in our country,” mentions Brian Tellis, Co-Founder and Group CEO of Fountainhead MKTG that facilitates Aadyam in India.
ENTER STAGE LEFT (THIS TIME)
Featuring three plays from Aadyam’s repertoire built over the last 5 years, this new season is deeply exciting as it spotlights an unusual debut in the history of Indian arts and culture. Here to provide an entertaining diversion from the evening news or all the various web-series, Aadyam is bringing back three of the favourites from Aadyam’s past seasons. Streaming via Insider.in will be ‘Bandish 20-20,000 Hz’ (Hindi), ‘I Don’t Like It, As You Like It’ (English) and ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ (English) starting October.
Delivering an authentic theatre experience is Aadyam’s virtual audience room. In case you arrive early, there will be exciting pre-show activities waiting. During the performance, the audience can enjoy an engaging experience through live polling and mini quizzes which they can participate in. The backstage isn't a concept of the past either, as Aadyam curates virtual meet-and-greets with the artists for Aadyam Spotlight members.
BYTEing THE BULLET?
Starting 8th September, Aadyam will launch an exciting, entertaining and enriching community platform for theatre lovers – Theatre Ink. Featuring original content written and presented by theatre practitioners and reputed writers from across the country, Theatre Ink will serve as a hub for all things theatre. To be presented in a blogging format and edited by Shernaz Patel, it will feature interviews, insights, articles, advice, tips, news, behind the scenes snippets and much more, catering to both the industry and the audience.
TTYL – Theatre Takes You Live (too)!
Tickets will be available on Insider.in soon and plays can be streamed on an Interactive platform by Paytm Insider.in.
Single viewer tickets will be priced at Rs. 399. You can also choose to support the arts by purchasing a family viewing ticket at Rs. 599 enabling you to enjoy the Aadyam experience with your loved ones, near and dear.
