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Shakespeare Sabha
At St. Stephen’s we believe in the concept of life beyond the
classroom and our theatre group, Shakespeare Sabha, the hindi
theatre society is a well-established expression of this belief.
Shakespeare Sabha is an active theatre group undertaking a number of
activities. Our society has been a constant source of creativity in
theatre not only in college, but also in Delhi. We have produced a
number of prominent theatre personalities like Benjamin Gilani,
Suneet Tandon, Kabir Bedi, Roshan Seth, Tarseem Singh and others. We
have also had the opportunity to be consistently directed by
well-qualified directors, often from the National School of Drama.
Last year our production “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Panchhi
Aise Ate Hain” and “Godaan” and “Khel Khel Mein” the year before
were big hits and widely appreciated. In the preceding years, our
productions “Ismat-Ek Boshida sa alfaz”, “Jis Lahore Nai Dekhya” and
“Ladi Nazaria” too were very well received. The Local Press has
always taken a keen interest in us and has given us good reviews.
We have three main events through the year, namely the First Term
Production, the Annual production and an Inter college Hindi One Act
Play Competition.
Yearbook
Report 2008-2009
After a rather subdued start to the year, the Shakespeare Sabha
sprang into action in the second term of college, taking part in
inter-college competitions for the first time in 5 years and making
an instant impact. The society did not start the year with the tried
and tested Fuccha Production, but decided to venture into one-act
plays, which could be sent to other colleges for inter-college
competitions. The Shakespeare Sabha participated in the prestigious
IIT- Kanpur fest, Antaraagini, and in the AIIMS cultural fest. The
play sent to AIIMS involved only first year students, and was
honoured with a special mention.
The enthusiasm shown by the first years’ was not restricted to
acting alone, but was also showcased in the departments of
direction, music, lights, backstage, production, costume and set
designing, which means that the future of the society is in very
secure hands. The annual production of the Sabha was a grand affair,
with a cast and crew of over 40 people involved, working in harmony
to produce a magnificent theatrical performance, titled, ‘ANTON
CHEKHOV: A BORING STORY’, which was a display of Anton Chekhov’s
life, interwoven with eight of the plays written by the great
Russian playwright. These plays involved all forms of theatre,
ranging from comedy, to drama, to romance, to suspense and tragedy,
and from celebration to death, showcasing the effect that Chekhov’s
life had on his plays. Anton Chekhov’s early writings were greatly
inspired by his financial condition as well as his familial
problems. However, his meetings with Leo Tolstoy, Gregorovitch and
Gorky developed a new style of theatre, which enamoured one and all.
The Shakespeare Sabha, in its production, brought out this
transformation in Chekhov’s life, and was greatly applauded for its
efforts.
The production was directed by Ishwar Sir, who was brilliantly
assisted by Kanchan Ma’am, and was a huge success not only in terms
of the participation from the students, but also in the response
received from the audience, on both days, 17th and 18th
of December, 2008. Truly, the credit of this success must be given
to the invisible hands which worked off stage, under the able
guidance of Sneha Aggarwal (Costumes and Set Design), Manoj Kumar
(Backstage) and Aparna Mudiam (Publicity). However, none of this
would have been possible without the constant support and guidance
of our staff advisor, Dr. Ajay Ranjan Tripathi.
The following year, the Sabha plans to restart the Street Play
activities, in addition to increasing the participation in inter
college competitions in Delhi University and outside. There are also
plans to conduct the 1st ever Hindi Rajpal in college,
and a workshop in theatre to be conducted by distinguished
theatrical personalities.
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