Ratan Thiyam (born 20 January 1948) is an Indian playwright and theatre director, and the winner of

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IAST: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

in 1987, one of leading figures of the "''theatre of roots''" movement in Indian theatre, which started in the 1970s. Cody, p. 1348 Also known as Thiyam Nemai, Ratan Thiyam is known for writing and staging plays that use ancient Indian theatre traditions and forms in a contemporary context. A former painter, and proficient in direction, design, script and music, Thiyam is often considered one of leading contemporary theatre gurus. He worked as chairperson of the prestigious National School of Drama from 2013 to 2017. He had also worked as vice-chairman of

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English language, English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. It is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Culture (India) ...

before joining NSD. He has also worked as Director of National School of Drama from 1987 to 1989. He is also the founder-director of ''Chorus Repertory Theatre'', formed on the outskirts of Imphal, Manipur in 1976. He was awarded the

in Direction in 1987, given by

, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama, and the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

given by

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

in 1989. He was awarded the 2012 Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, the highest honour in the performing arts conferred by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama. In the year 2013, Ratan Thiyam receives honorary D.lit from Assam University, Silchar.

Early life and education

Ratan Thiyam graduated from National School of Drama, New Delhi in 1974.

Career

He went on to set up a theatre group called Chorus Repertory Theatre in Imphal, Manipur in 1976. He was also briefly the director of National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi (1987–88). His production of Ajneya's ''Uttar Priyadarshi'' in Meitei was staged at the 1st Bharat Rang Mahotsav (BRM), the annual theatre festival of National School of Drama (NSD), Delhi in 1999, his presentation of Kalidasa's epic poem '' Ritusamharam'' was closing production of 4th BRM in 2002, subsequently the 10th BRM in 2008, which also marked the golden jubilee of NSD, opened at Kamani Auditorium, New Delhi, with a performance was ''Prologue'', the first part of his ''Manipur Trilogy'', when all past alumni has gathered for the festival. The 12th BRM in January 2010 featured Ratan Thiyam's ''When we Dead Awaken''.

The plays of Ratan Thiyam

His works profess a deep concern for social welfare and spiritual yearnings in the midst of the political chaos in the modern world. His plays infuse rationalised and multifaceted analysis of myriad perspectives. Using ingenious theatrical stagecraft, his plays are tinged with literary beauty and meaning. Most of Ratan Thiyam's plays are thematically Indianised and are profound plays with universal appeal. His works are strongly influenced by Natya Sastra, an Indian theatre style propounded by Bharata during the second century B.C., as also

ancient Greek drama A theatrical culture flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. At its centre was the city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and religious place during this period, and the theatre was institutionalised there as par ...

, and the Noh theatre of Japan. His approach to theatre has been shaped by years of study under the tutelage of several major exponents of the traditional Meitei performing arts. Thiyam is also known for his use of traditional martial arts, of Thang-Ta in his plays, such as in '' Urubhangam'' (Broken Thigh), of Sanskrit playwright

Bhāsa Bhāsa is one of the earliest Indian playwrights in Sanskrit, predating Kālidasa. Estimates of his floruit range from the 4th century BCE to the 4th century CE; the thirteen plays attributed to him are commonly dated closer to the first or se ...

itself based on an episode from epic, the ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

'', which along with ''Chakravyuh'' (Army Formation) is considered one of his finest works. In 1986, he adapted Jean Anouilh's "Antigone" as ''Lengshonnei'', a comment on the personal behaviour of politicians, failing to handle political situation in the state. ''Uttar Priyadarshi'' (The Final Beatitude), an adaptation of Hindi verse play by playwright and poet Agyeya in 1996, based on a story of redemption of King

Ashoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...

, a man's struggle against his own inner dark side and a plea for peace, knowing its impact on future generation. The play has since travelled to many parts of the South Asia, Australia and the US. His play '' Andha Yug'' (The Blind Age), known for creating an intense and intimate experience, around the epochal theme, was famously staged in an open-air performance, at Tonga, Japan, on 5 August 1994, a day before the forty-ninth anniversary of Atomic Holocaust in

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

. His major plays include Ritusamharam: The work seeks solace and sanity amidst chaos and violence of today's world. In 2014, Thiyam opened a Manipuri adaptation of

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

, translocated to a historical Meitei context, with names of characters unchanged. It was the opening act at the 2019 inaugural Bangladesh International Theatre Festival.

List of plays

* ''Karanabharam'' (1979) (''Karna-bhara'': Karna's burden by Sanskrit playwright Bhasa) Dharwadker, p. 105 * ''Imphal Imphal'' (1982) * ''Chakravyuha'' (1984) (Army Formation) * ''Lengshonnei'' (1986) (An adaptation of

Jean Anouilh Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; ; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist and screenwriter whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ...

's '' Antigone'') * ''Uttar Priyadarshi'' (The Final Beatitude, by Hindi playwright Agyeya) (1996)Review: Uttarpriyadarshi
by Renee Renouf, ''ballet magazine'', December 2000, * ''Chinglon Mapan Tampak Ama'' (Nine Hills One Valley) * ''Ritusamharam'' ('' Ritusamharam'' by Sanskrit playwright Kalidasa) * '' Andha Yug ''(The Blind Age, by Hindi playwright

Dharamvir Bharati Dharamvir Bharati (25 December 1926 – 4 September 1997) was a renowned Hindi poet, author, playwright and a social thinker of India. He was the chief editor of the popular Hindi weekly magazine '' Dharmayug'', from 1960 till 1987.The Illustr ...

) * ''Wahoudok'' (Prologue) * ''Ashibagee Eshei'' (based on When We Dead Awaken, by Norwegian playwright

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

) (2008) * Lairembigee Eshei ( Song of the Nymphs) * ''The King of Dark Chamber'' (''Raja'', 2012), based on a play ''

Raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...

'' (1910) by

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

Awards

* 1984: Indo-Greek Friendship Award, 1984 (Greece) * 1987:

* 1987: Fringe Firsts Award, from Edinburgh International Festivalbr>
* 1989:

* 1990: Diploma of Festival Internacional Cervantino, Cervantino International Festival, (Mexico) * 2005: Kalidas Samman * 2008: John D. Rockefeller Award * 2011: Bharat Muni Samman * 2012: Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship (Akademi Ratna) * 2013: Bhupen Hazarika Foundation Award

In popular culture

''Some Roots Grow Upwards'' a 2003 documentary by Kavita Joshi and Malati Rao, was based on the life and work of Ratan Thiyam, especially his political ideologies, and his use of theatre as medium of political protest.Open Frame 2003– August 21–27 2003
India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

References

* *

External links

Chorus Repertory Theatre Official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thiyam, Ratan Indian theatre directors Indian male dramatists and playwrights 1948 births Living people Dramatists and playwrights from Manipur Meitei people Indian scenic designers Indian drama teachers Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award National School of Drama alumni Academic staff of the National School of Drama Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Indian arts administrators Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship 20th-century Indian designers 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Indian male writers