The theatre could be used to help address social troubles, foster cross-cultural empathy, and celebrate social life!

#SumitKaushik, a PhD candidate at O.P. Jindal Global University, and a Social Impact Consultant, and Sanjay Sujitabh, Director, Barry John Acting Studio support “Theatre for social impact”. Once, an Irish poet and playwright, Oscar Wilde, said that “I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.” He might have said so, as theatre acts as a mirror and inducts a practitioner into a magical space. While performative elements exist in all societies, theatre dominates the ecosystem of performing arts. The history of theatre has always been a debatable topic. Out of a pandora of historical literature, world history also mentions that since classical Athens in the 5th century BC, vibrant traditions of theatre have thrived in cultures across the world.

Undisputedly, India is deeply old and has always been diverse, with varied cultures, sub-cultures, languages, dialects, tribes, religions, rituals, festivals, beliefs, a rich mythology, and what not. In India, performing arts have been an ancient practice, and societies, communities and tribes have been practicing them for ages. Some scholars assert that Vedic literature, such as the Rigveda, presents evidence of drama being played during Yagya ceremonies. While some assert that it’s even far older than we could imagine. Its historical affiliation and existence are unimaginable and unmeasured. As theatre art is one of the most ancient performing arts in the country, it has been significantly used as a social impact agent as well. Indeed, it is a powerful tool to spark dialogue, bring different perspectives together on challenging issues and themes, and provide a critical lens to handle the crucial issues of a lively contemporary society. Theatre as social catharsis assists in developing life skills that ensure our comprehensive and victorious integration into society. It ignites optimistic transformations in communities through the programming it brings to life on stage.

It can empower communities with the competence to influence and solve issues through its participatory approach and collaborative practices. It has been used, and it is still being used, for social integration. It has an underlying intent to deliver entertainment and information and the potential to achieve personal, communal, or political objectives.

Historically, theatre has played a prominent role in the fabric of cultural upliftment. Theatre evolution is a continuous process. It is being practiced in various forms for various purposes. The social impact of theatre arises from this composite ‘playfulness’, from the varied options of its forms and languages, with which it speaks to inspiration. It is this elasticity that permits us to use theatre to help address social troubles, foster cross-cultural empathy and celebrate social life. Theatre practitioners are a special kind of artist as they bring imagination to bear on socio-political challenges. They firmly believe in the process of social engineering and have the power to facilitate community development through participation in the development process. Hence, theatre can certainly be used to address the communities’ socio-political issues as well as their existing social exclusion.

Given the holistic benefits of theatre arts, it is recommended that theatre as a subject be taught in schools because it has a strong ability to enable students to think broadly and critically, to problem-solve, to write clearly and convincingly, and to become socially and culturally aware. It would challenge them to be adaptable, think independently and make interdisciplinary connections. The process of theatre and drama education encourages what’s known as divergent thinking or thinking in multiple directions. Creating theatre is often a process of discovery, whether that’s thinking on your feet and figuring out where the story goes or figuring out how the story is told and what it means for the characters. It should be ensured that the most advanced techniques and methodologies are taught to students, so they feel inspired and empowered because they are the social change agents of the future. It should be imparted through a progressive series of exercises that are experiential. It would certainly help them attain a mature level of physical, vocal, mental, emotional, team spirit and societal building skills that lay a firm foundation not only for confidently voicing out their opinions but also for their constructive engagements with the outside world. It would turn students inside out so that even they would be shocked by what they could do. It is significant for youth to realise the significance of performance, creativity, culture, patience, morals, communication, confidence and productive imagination; hence, an education in theatre is something that should not be overlooked.

Theatre is one of the safest ways to expose youth to tough situations and show them firsthand how to tackle them. It teaches them empathy. Not only is it imperative to learn about different kinds of people and aspects of life, but theatre also gives a glimpse into other people’s lives.

Currently, theatre is even moving the socio-economic wheel into motion. It is being liberally leveraged to move the wheel for setting innovative trends and uplifting the political economy. Globally, social enterprises are trending and offering multiple opportunities to create sustainable creative businesses as well. In India, social enterprises are flourishing, and the creative industry is booming. Theatre-specific enterprises are not only playing a significant role in boosting the economy but also contributing to society broadly, as they are not only providing occupation to theatre artists, writers, managers, carpenters, and the entire production unit but also bringing substantial social transformations to society from a nation-building perspective. The social impact of theatre lies in the huge amount of money contributed by the theatre industry to the nation’s economy, which further resolves the socio-economic complexities.

There is a pressing need that our progressive government, education system, civil society organisations and private players, at least in the education industry, realise the crucial importance of supporting theatre for holistic betterment and upliftment. The theatre sector certainly has the competence to establish a powerful identity and solve a purpose, which these days is imperative not just from the economic perspective but from the social impact lens as well because there is a need to urgently invest in the long-term sustainability of the arts and the survival of cultural practices.