Raj Bisaria (born 10 November 1935) is an Indian director, producer, actor and educationalist, described by the

Press Trust of India The Press Trust of India Ltd., commonly known as PTI, is the largest news agency in India. It is headquartered in New Delhi and is a nonprofit cooperative among more than 500 Indian newspapers. It has over 500 full-time employees , including abo ...

as "the father of the modern theatre in North India". He founded

Theatre Arts Workshop The Theatre Arts Workshop (TAW) is a non-profit making, registered cultural organization established in 1966, in Lucknow, India. As well as the plays of William Shakespeare and his contemporaries, TAW produces new work from living artists and de ...

in 1966, and Bhartendu Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1975 and the repertory company of Bhartendu Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1980. He has blended artistic concepts of the East and the West, and the traditional and the modern.

Life

Raj Bisaria was born in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, on 10 November 1935, the son of the late P.L. Bisaria and Leelavati Singh. He was educated at Colvin Taluqdars' College and Lucknow University, Lucknow, and retired as a senior professor of English Literature from Lucknow University. In 1969, Bisaria married the Kiran Kuchawan; the couple have a daughter, Rajina. The initiative was taken by his University Theatre Group formed in 1962. Four years later, Raj Bisaria founded the Theatre Arts Workshop (TAW) in 1966 and Bhartendu Academy of Dramatic Arts, Government of Uttar Pradesh, in 1975, and the repertory company of BNA in 1981. He is the first man from Uttar Pradesh to have been awarded a

Padma Shree Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred ...

for work in modern theatre and his contribution towards the growth of theatre in India. Raj Bisaria tried to infuse a new sense of consciousness with regard to the dramatic and performing arts and aesthetic awareness of the performing arts in northern India. Bisaria was removed as the honorary director of Bhartendu Academy of Dramatic Arts, and he was assaulted twice, first in 1988 and then in 1995.

Theatre training

External theatre training for Raj Bisaria included an invitation by the British Council, London, to visit the UK and train at the

British Drama League The All-England Theatre Festival ("AETF") organises the only countrywide eliminating One-Act Play Festival, contest for one-act plays in performance throughout England. It provides an opportunity for Amateurs to compete against like-minded group ...

(now the British Theatre Association) as a producer, drama instructor, and adjudicator, in 1969.

Director and designer

Raj Bisaria is also a stage director with a grounding in both the western classics and contemporary dramatic works. Raj Bisaria tried to ensure that the dramatic and performing arts conform to a professional discipline and communicate through a new aesthetic medium. His plays are concerned with men-women relationships and social issues of special concern to him. Through the productions of European and Indian plays since 1966, Bisaria presented a wide spectrum of contemporary world drama as director and designer. Largely using his own devices and creative expression he began his work in English and then to use ''Hindustani'' as the spoken medium of expression from 1973. He has encouraged folk theatre in the Uttar Pradesh local genre known as the Nautanki. In 1972, he took a major shift in his emphasis from modern Euro-American productions to plays in Hindi of modern Indian playwrights: Mohan Rakesh, Badal Sircar, Adya Rangacharya, Dharamvir Bharti, Shesh and Mohit Chatterjee. Over the years, Raj Bisaria produced and directed over 75 theatre productions. In addition he supervised, produced/directed a large number of productions in the Bhartendu Academy of Dramatic Arts from 1975 to 1986 and later on; and also in National School of Drama and for its Repertory Company. His major productions have included Maxwell Anderson's '' Barefoot in Athens''; Shakespeare's ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

'', ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'', ''

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

'', '' King Lear''; George Bernard Shaw's '' Candida'';

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...

's '' The Caretaker''; Sartre's '' In Camera''; Ionesco's ''

The Lesson ''The Lesson'' (french: La Leçon) is a one-act play by French-Romanian playwright Eugène Ionesco. It was first performed in 1951 in a production directed by Marcel Cuvelier (who also played the Professor). Since 1957 it has been in permanen ...

''; Strindberg's ''

The Father Father is the male parent of a child. Father may also refer to: Name * Daniel Fathers (born 1966), a British actor * Father Yod (1922–1975), an American owner of one of the country's first health food restaurants Cinema * ''Father'' (1966 f ...

'', Jean Anouilh's '' Antigone''; and various plays of Chekhov, Ionesco, Tennessee Williams, Shaffer and others. His major productions of Indian plays have included Dharamvir Bharati's '' Andha Yug'', Badal Sircar's ''Baqi Itihas'',

Adya Rangacharya Adya Rangacharya (26 September 1904 – 17 October 1984), known as R.V. Jagirdar till 1948, later popularly known by his pen name Sriranga, was an Indian Kannada writer, actor and scholar, and a member of the ''Adya Jahagirdar family''. He ...

's ''Suno Janmejaya'', Elkunchwar's ''Garbo'', Mohan Rakesh's ''Aadhe-Adhure'' and Mohit Chatterjee's ''Guinea Pig''.

Problems

Critics found Ann Jellicoe's ''The Knack'' revolting and Sartre's ''In Camera'' and Ionesco's ''The Lesson'' too demanding. The TAW team has a group of permanent actors, with other interested parties for different productions. Lack of men and material compelled Raj Bisaria to stage ''Othello'' with only four characters. And yet it was a memorable performance. The persistent efforts of Raj Bisaria have yielded results.

Actor

As an actor of stage, radio, television and films, Bisaria was known since 1978 as a major actor of the Doordarshan. As a theatre actor Raj Bisaria did significant roles in several of TAW's English and Hindi stage productions, films and television. He played leading roles in at least two dozen plays in English and Hindi, such as: * Sheridan's The School for Scandal * Pirandello's Right You Are (if you think so) * Shaw's Candida * Coward's Nude With Violin * Sartre's In Camera * Shaffer's Black Comedy * Tom Stoppard's The Real Inspector Hound * Osborne's Look Back in Anger * Orton's

Loot Loot may refer to: Film *''Loot'' (1919 film), a film by William C. Dowlan * ''Loot'' (1970 film), a British film by Silvio Narizzano * ''Loot'' (2008 film), a documentary * ''Loot'' (2011 film), an Indian film * ''Loot'' (2012 film), a Nepali fil ...

* Chatterjee's Guinea Pig * Badal Sircar's Baqi Itihas * Elkunchawar's Garbo * Matkari's Akela Jeev Sadashiv * Shakespeare's King Lear directed by Amal Allana * Biwi Natiyon Wali * Mai Wo Nahi directed by Sushil Kumar Singh * Manno Bhandari's 'Apka Banti' directed by Amal Allana * Kamleshwar's 'Ret Pe Likhe Naam' * Badal Sircar's

Pagla Ghoda ''Pagla Ghoda'' is a drama film written by Badal Sircar Sudhindra Sircar (Born 15 July 1925), also known as Badal Sarkar, was an influential Indian dramatist and theatre director, most known for his anti-establishment plays during the Naxalite ...

directed by Rajan Sabbarwal *'Raj Se Swaraj' directed by Amal Allana * Muzzaffar Ali's Aagman * Govind Nilhani's Aaghat

Impresario

As impresario Raj Bisaria's widening interests had led to the introduction of Irshad Panjatan's mime in 1967 and next year the presentation of the Murray Louis Dance Company of USA. This broadening activity and involvement with the performing arts also saw a classical dance performance by Sonal Mansingh, in 1970, the début of Om Shivpuri's Dishanter group in 1972, a painting exhibition of R.S. Bisht's miniature in 1973, ''Richard Schechners' environmental theatre'' presentation of ''Mother Courage and Her Children'' from New York in 1976, and the Annapolis Brass Quintet in 1981 - all arranged at the initiative of Raj Bisaria's TAW.

Educationist

As a dramaturge his primary concern was an effort to resolve the problem of creative reinterpretation of the classical and theatrical art of his region to find itself in contemporary social relevance. He structured Theatre Training Programmes in U.P. through workshops and certificate and diploma courses in North India from 1966. He founded in 1975 for the Government of U.P. India's second school of drama: Bhartendu Natya Akademi- Bhartendu Academy of Dramatic Arts. Raj Bisaria is interested as an actor, director and theatre teacher in the system of

Konstantin Stanislavski Konstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski ( Alekseyev; russian: Константин Сергеевич Станиславский, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin sʲɪrˈgʲejɪvʲɪtɕ stənʲɪˈslafskʲɪj; 7 August 1938) was a seminal Russian Soviet Fe ...

and

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

. The Russian theatre practitioner provides the core of Raj Bisaria's directing and pedagogy in contemporary Indian theatre. Later, he developed his own system of holistic acting, which produced three generations of actors and directors.

Theatre Arts Workshop

In December 1963, ten members organized a theatre play and put through a programme – ''An Evening with Young Actors'' – which included Edna St. Vincent Millay's ''Aria da Capo'', scenes from '' Twelfth Night'' and ''

'', ''The Valiant'' and a dramatized reading of '' Hamlet'', and a dramatisation of

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biogr ...

's poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." Raj Bisaria produced and directed all the play, and he decided to register a theatre group with a managing body, using local talent. The theatre group was

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...

(English and Hindi), and concerned itself with encouraging interest in theatre-craft and developing a greater awareness of theatre, an ability to appreciate drama, and a firmer grap of ideas and technique. By the winter of 1965, his plans had been finalized. No financial help was forthcoming yet. Finally, he staked a large part of his personal fortune on the project, selected members for the committee, picked out a likely group of four English actors and of helpers, and established what has since then been called Theatre Arts Workshop – a theatre for enthusiasts in drama and allied arts. Thus in 1966, Theatre Arts Workshop (TAW) was founded by Raj Bisaria, as a president and artistic director, with the aim of creating interest in dramatic arts among the young, and help them to develop an insight into acting, direction and allied arts. The name 'Theatre Arts Workshop' is unit for theatre and allied performing arts; its members are to be exposed to workshop methods of representation. TAW was to be a training organization and then a performing group, with its motto training before performance. Its philosophy is ''"your right is to work only, but never the fruit thereof. Let not the fruit of action be your object, nor let your attachment be to inaction."'' – Sri Krishna to sorrowing Arjuna (The Bhagvadgita, chapter II - 47)

English theatre

Raj Bisaria started his venture in English language with Shakespeare's ''Othello'' in 1966, Christopher Fry's poetic play ''A Phoenix too Frequent'' and Eugène Ionesco's absurd play ''The Lesson'' in 1967. The selection of these two plays; diametrically opposite in their form and content, in a single show was an experiment by Raj Bisaria. It was a box office failure. In 1967 a significant advance was made when Raj Bisaria decided to produce and direct Jean-Paul Sartre's existential ''In Camera'', Edna St. Vincent Millay's ''Aria Da Capo'' and Ronald Duncan's translation of 12th century classic ''Abelard and Heloise'' in a three-bill presentation, in November, 1967. These were crucial productions as TAW's audience wavered between shocked admiration and shocked disgust. Four hours of continuous drama was considereda bit too much.

Hindi and Urdu theatre

Raj Bisaria was aware from the very beginning that any worthwhile theatre activity had to find its moorings in Hindi and other Indian languages. He sought the co-operation of the then existing theatre groups to realize his plans to establish a bilingual theatre in Lucknow. But his effort failed to elicit any response from them. He even brought the production rights of Mohan Rakesh's well known play, ''Adhe-Adhure'', which he could not stage for want of a suitable cast. In his bid to switch over to Hindi drama, he invited Delhi groups to produce, under TAW's auspices, plays in Hindi with a view to making local groups conscious of the potentialities and challenges of Hindi Theatre. TAW's first Hindi play was ''Baqi Itihas'', a translation of Badal Sircar's Bengali play on a thrust stage. It was a non-realistic presentation, using giant slides and specially designed music, the first production of the kind in the country. ''Baqi Itihas'' was followed by a wide range of plays in translation from English, Bengali, Marathi, Kannada, in addition to those originally in Hindi; A''ndha Yug, Suno Janmejaya, Adhe-Adhure'', ''The Cave Dwellers, Antigone, Garbo, Candida, Father, Sleuth, Barefoot in Athens, The Caretaker'' etc. TAW is considered the protagonist of theatre art, from the classical to the experimental plays . TAW mounted on stage the European and American playwrights; its repertoire including Shakespeare, ''

Shaw Shaw may refer to: Places Australia *Shaw, Queensland Canada *Shaw Street, a street in Toronto England *Shaw, Berkshire, a village *Shaw, Greater Manchester, a location in the parish of Shaw and Crompton *Shaw, Swindon, a List of United Kingdom ...

, Sartre, Ionesco, Fry, Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams,

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

, Ronald Duncan, Rattigan,

, Ann Jellicoe, Peter Shaffer,

Edward Albee Edward Franklin Albee III ( ; March 12, 1928 – September 16, 2016) was an American playwright known for works such as ''The Zoo Story'' (1958), '' The Sandbox'' (1959), ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1962), '' A Delicate Balance'' (1966) ...

, Jean Anouilh, Maxwell Anderson and Orton''. According to The Pioneer, The dynamism of TAW productions, their stylistic experimentation and directorial subtlety, were never in doubt on either side of the proscenium. But TAW's plays proved too radical in the context of existing provincial attitudes.

Bhartendu Academy of Dramatic Arts

As a theatre educator as early as 1973, Raj Bisaria suggested to the State Government that he should start a semi-professional repertory theatre in Uttar Pradesh, in 1974 the State Government went a few steps further and requested him to evolve a scheme for establishing a drama school, which would function as a full-fledged academy of dramatic arts. Bhartendu Natya Akademi (BNA): Bhartendu Academy of Dramatic Arts (BADA), when it was founded in 1975 became the first of its kind in the large Hindi belt of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The only other being the Delhi-based National School of Drama. From 1975 to 1986, in an honorary capacity, he had the responsibility of teaching acting and direction (aspects both theoretical and practical) western drama, from the Greeks to modern times; theatre criticism and adjudication and aesthetics of light, and set design. He worked again as, director of the academy as well as the director of its Repertory Company from 1989 to 1992, 1995 to 1997. As theatre administrator with minimal facilities, poor funds and negligible infrastructure, he has developed and consolidated the viability and status of a school of theatre beginning initially as an elementary agency for dissemination of theatrical know-how in 1976 to a professional academy of dramatic arts in 1981.

Fellowship projects

'The Mind of the Director'- A book on Hindi theatre directors, under the 'Senior Fellowship' of Government of India. 'Shakespeare's Indian Summer' - A theatrical study of Shakespearean plays in India, under the highest cultural fellowship of India - 'Tagore National Fellowship'(2013–14)

Major productions as director

* Feb 1966 ''

in English '' - William Shakespeare, (

TAW Taw, tav, or taf is the twenty-second and last letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician Tāw , Hebrew Tav , Aramaic Taw , Syriac Taw ܬ, and Arabic ت Tāʼ (22nd in abjadi order, 3rd in modern order). In Arabic, it is also gives ri ...

) * May 1967 ''A Phoenix too Frequent'' in English - Christopher Fry, (TAW) * May 1967 ''

'' in English -

Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre in the 20th century. Ionesco inst ...

, (TAW) * Nov 1967 '' In Camera'' in English - Jean-Paul Sartre, (TAW) * Nov 1967 ''Aria Da Capo'' in English - Edna St. Vincent Millay, (TAW) * Nov 1967 '' Abelard and Heloise'' in English - Ronald Duncan, (TAW) * Mar 1968 '' The Knack in English '' - Ann Jellicoe, (TAW) * Oct 1968 '' Hello Out There in English'' - William Saroyan, (TAW) * Oct 1968 '' The Zoo Story in English'' -

, (TAW) * Oct 1968 '' The White Liars in English '' - Peter Shaffer, (TAW) * May 1971 '' Black Comedy'' in English Peter Shaffer, (TAW) * Sep 1972 ''Say Who You Are'' in English Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall, (TAW) * Feb 1974 ''

'' in English

Joe Orton John Kingsley Orton (1 January 1933 – 9 August 1967), known by the pen name of Joe Orton, was an English playwright, author, and diarist. His public career, from 1964 until his death in 1967, was short but highly influential. During this brie ...

, (TAW) * May 1973 ''Baki Itihas'' in Hindi Badal Sircar, (TAW) * Jun 1973 '' Guinea Pig'' in Hindi Mohit Chatterji, (TAW) directed by Manohar Singh * 1973 ''Andhon Ka Hathi'' in Hindi

Sharad Joshi Sharad Joshi was an Indian poet, writer, satirist and a dialogue and scriptwriter in Hindi films and television. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1990. Biography Early life and education Sharad Joshi was born on 21 May 1931 in Ujjain, Madhya ...

, (TAW) * Jul 1974 ''Suno Janmejaya'' in Hindi

, (TAW) * Jan 1975 ''Akela Jeev Sadashiv'' in Hindi Ratnaker Matkari, (TAW) * Jun 1977 '' Antigone'' in Urdu Jean Anouilh, (TAW) * 1979 ''Gufavasi - The Cave Dwellers'' in Hindi William Saroyan, (TAW) * 1979 '' Andha Yug'' in Hindi Dharamvir Bharati, ( Bhartendu Academy of Dramatic Arts) * August 1981, 1983 ''Aadhe-Adhure'' in Hindi Mohan Rakesh, (TAW) * Feb 1983 '' The Royal Hunt of the Sun'' in Hindi Peter Shaffer, (TAW) * August 1983 '' Garbo'' in Hindi Mahesh Elkunchawar, (TAW) * Aug 1984 ''Suniti - Candida'' in Hindi George Bernard Shaw, (TAW) * 1984 ''Bahut Bada Sawal'' in Hindi Mohan Rakesh, ( Bhartendu Academy of Dramatic Arts) * 1984 ''Baki Itihas'' in Hindi Badal Sircar, ( Bhartendu Academy of Dramatic Arts) * Dec 1989-90 ''

'' in Hindi William Shakespeare, ( Bhartendu Academy of Dramatic Arts) * Apr 1995 '' Hot Air'' in Hindi

Ferenc Karinthy Ferenc Karinthy (June 2, 1921 – February 29, 1992) was a Hungarian novelist, playwright, journalist, editor and translator, as well as a water polo champion. He authored more than a dozen novels. His father was the writer and journalist Frigyes ...

, (TAW) * Apr 1995 '' The Dumb Waiter'' in Hindi

, (TAW) * 1990 and 2000 ''Raaz - Sleuth'' in Hindi Anthony Shaffer, (TAW) * 1989 and 2000 ''Pita - Father'' in Hindi August Strindberg, (TAW) * Apr 2007 '' Candida'' in Hindi George Bernard Shaw, ( National School of Drama) * May 2008 ''

'' in Hindi, William Shakespeare,( Bhartendu Academy of Dramatic Arts) * Dec 2008 ''

'' in Urdu, William Shakespeare, (National School of Drama Repertory Company) * May 2010 '' King Lear'' in Hindi, William Shakespeare, ( Bhartendu Academy of Dramatic Arts) * Feb 2011 ''Landscape and Silence'' in English

,(TAW) * Feb 2011 '' Mountain Language'' in Hindi

,(TAW) * Feb 2012 '' The White Liars'' in Hindi Peter Shaffer,(TAW) * Mar 2012 '' Antigone'' in Urdu Jean Anouilh, (TAW) * Feb 2013 ''Barefoot in Athens'' in Hindi Maxwell Anderson, (TAW), * May 2013 '' The Seagull'' in Hindi

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

,( Bhartendu Academy of Dramatic Arts) * Aug 2014 '' The Caretaker'' in Hindi

, (TAW) * May 2015 ''

'' in Hindi, William Shakespeare, National School of Drama * March 2016 ''Raaz'' Sleuth, in Hindi Anthony Shaffer, (TAW)

Honours

* Sangeet Natak Akademi, Uttar Pradesh Award, for Direction - 1988. He declined the award. *

- 1990, for ''contribution'' to ''Modern Indian Theatre'', by the '' Government of India'' the first theatre person from Uttar Pradesh to be so honoured. * Yash Bharti - 1994 - Lifetime achievement award 1994 by the '' Government of Uttar Pradesh''. * U.P. Ratna - 1996 - by All India Conference of Intellectuals for ''Theatre Direction and Contribution to Media''. * Distinguished Service Honour - NGO Helpage India - 1997. * Fun-Vibhushan, NGO, Bhartiya Funkar Society, U.P. - 1998. * Bhartendu Academy of Dramatic Arts - Recognition for his unique services and contribution as its founder-director - 2000. * Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Direction- 2004. * National School of Drama Recognition for composite contribution to Theatre in India. * Aditya Vikram Birla Kalashikhar Puraskar – Life Time Achievement Award - 2010 * The Chaman Lal Memorial Award - for Life-Long Achievement to Theatre World - 2012 * Tagore National Fellowship (Highest Cultural Research Award of India) - for 'Shakespeare's Indian Summer' - A theatrical study of Shakespearean plays in India (2013–14) *The Madhya Pradesh government honouring him with its prestigious Kalidas Samman national award for 2015-16 for achievement in theatre. The ceremony will be held on 10 November in Ujjain, which is also the birthday of the 80-year-old. *Life Time Achievement Award by Doordarshan

DD Uttar Pradesh Doordarshan Uttar Pradesh often abbreviated as DD Uttar Pradesh (Hindi: दूरदर्शन उत्तर प्रदेश) is a 24-hour regional satellite TV channel primarily telecasting from Doordarshan Kendra Lucknow (DDK Lucknow) a ...

, 2017

References

External links

https://web.archive.org/web/20141115013030/http://bna.noetic.in/english/founder_director.htm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bisaria, Raj 1935 births Living people Indian theatre directors Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award