The Star Theatre is a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

Hatibagan Hatibagan is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Overview The area is under Shyampukur and Burtolla police stations. It is next to Shyambazar. The place is popular for its shops, markets, ci ...

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

. It was built in 1883. Initially situated in Beadon Street, the theatre later moved to Cornwallis Street - now called

Bidhan Sarani Bidhan Sarani (formerly known as Cornwallis Street) is a principal north–south thoroughfare in north part of Kolkata, the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. It was named after the first Chief Minister of West Bengal, Bidhan Chandra R ...

. The Star, along with the Minerva Theatre, was one of the first institutions of commercial Bengali theatre.

History and overview

The Star, along with Minerva and The Classic Theatre, were also one of the places where the first motion pictures in Bengal, made by Hira Lala Sen, were screened. It is a heritage site of Calcutta (Kolkata) that was destroyed in a fire and thereafter restored by the local municipal corporation. The restored Star Theatre maintains the heritage facade; the interiors are contemporary. The property is maintained by a private company. At present, it is primarily a cinema hall; plays are staged on about two days per month. However, during winter (December and January) plays are staged here much more frequently, of the order of ten days per month. The auditorium has excellent acoustics. Star Theatre is close to the junction of Grey Street (

Aurobindo Sarani Aurobindo Sarani (formerly Grey Street) is one of the oldest and most congested main roads in north part of Kolkata. Many buses, taxis and auto-rickshaws use the road. It connects Ultadanga with Shobhabazar. West of Gouribari, Ultadanga Main R ...

) and Cornwallis Street (

). The theatre is a 10-minute walk from Shobhabazar Sutanuti metro station. Star Theatre has an underground car park with a nominal parking fee of Rs 10/- per hour (minimum three hours). Tramcar tracks, and services, on Grey Street and Cornwallis Street enhance the heritage ambience.

Girish Chandra Ghosh Girish Chandra Ghosh (28 February 1844 – 8 February 1912) was a Bengali actor, director, and writer. He was largely responsible for the golden age of Bengali theatre.Kundu, Pranay K. ''Development of Stage and Theatre Music in Bengal.'' Publ ...

was one of the first to produce plays at the Star Theatre, in the 1880s. In 2012, the Star Theatre was to be returned to civic ownership, "to stop commercialization of the historic building that was once visited by Bengali luminaries such as

Vidyasagar Vidyasagar or Vidya Sagar may refer to: People *Acharya Vidyasagar (born 1946), prominent Digambar Jain Acharya (1946-) * Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820–1891), Bengali scholar *Vidyasagar (composer) (born 1963), South Indian music director * ...

Ramakrishna Paramhansa Ramakrishna Paramahansa ( bn, রামকৃষ্ণ পরমহংস, Ramôkṛṣṇo Pôromohôṅso; , 18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886),——— — also spelled Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, born Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya,, was an In ...

and

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

."Anonymous (28 March 2012)
"Uncertainty looms over Star Theatre's fates"
''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest s ...

''. Retrieved 21 January 2013.

References

External links

* Cinemas in Kolkata Theatres in Kolkata Cinema of Bengal Performing arts in India Theatres completed in 1883 1883 establishments in British India British colonial architecture in India {{India-theat-struct-stub