Poster collection speaks volume about yesteryear plays

MYSORE: A rare collection posters on world theatre is being exhibited at Bahuroopi national theatre festival. Rangayana's first director B V Karanth had collected hundreds of theatre posters from across the world, of which 100 are being displayed at the Bahuroopi venue.

The collection includes Shakespeare's play 'Hamlet' staged at theatre studio in Waraszawa in Poland, 'The voysay inheritance' directed by Harley Gramble Barker at Triumph Theater production, Girish Karnad's 'Hayavadana' staged at Deutsches national Theatre Weimar in Germany, 'Much ado about nothing' by Aldowych theatre, Edward Albee directed 'Wer hat angst vor Virginia Woolf' and the like.

Rangayana artist Manjunath Belkere, an admirer of Karant's collection, told TOI: "They speak about the history of world theatre. The vision and thoughts of directors can be seen. Posters explained the story of plays."

The other posters cover Prithvi theatre's Prithvi Festival-1990, 'Atoms of time' staged at Royal National theatre of Great Britain, 'Measure for measure' staged at Royal Shakespeare Theater in Stratford in 1983, Akka national-level women's theatre festival, 'Vagarth' world poetry festival, 'Expression women's cultural fetsival' at Prithvi theatre and those on plays staged by National School of Drama and Rangayana.

Rangayana artiste H K Dwarakanath said that the collection helps theatre students get an insight into the field. "Karanth collected these posters when he attended theatre festivals across the country. He even asked his friends to get some from the festivals that they attended," he added.

This apart, there is a collection of photographs of plays staged by Rangayana artistes when the theatre repertory started in late '80s. Photographs of 'Ragasaraga', a special orchestra of Rangayana which used non-instruments like stones, glass, boxes and plates to produce different sounds, are also on display.

So one can get to see the photographs of plays 'Kindari jogi', 'Govina haadu' and 'Kamsale'. A unique exhibit is the rare photograph of 'Bhoomigeetha', a play staged at one of the stages in Rangayana. The stage has now been named after the play.