Performing artistes go live as they embark on a new stage

Shardul Bhardwaj

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As the new error in the global genome continues to put people behind locked doors and the vulnerable out of jobs, the arts practice is hankering for a new tomorrow. Vir Das is performing his stand up in association with Black Dog online while Prateek Kuhad can be accessed online, along with many other live artistes, through BookMyShow’s online properties such as ‘Live from HQ’ and ‘#Live in Your Living Room.’ Bolshoi Theatre (Moscow) and National Theatre (London) have opened their virtual doors to pre-recorded live performances on YouTube; Metropolitan Opera is streaming every night, Neil Young is streaming his Fireside sessions from his home. On May 3, happened the ‘I for India’ fundraiser concert, which included the likes of A.R. Rahman, Will Smith, Jack Black and others online.

A brave new world

Are we witnessing what radio plays witnessed before it was permissible for Samuel Beckett to turn down a TV adaptation of his radio play saying: “All That Fall is a specifically radio play, or rather radio text, for voices, not bodies?” One way to chart history of radio plays is by accounting for how it moved towards liberation from mere recording of staged versions and acquired its own minimalist specificity.

Next was the television play, a misnomer, because by the time it was shot with cuts and adequate lensing, it could not have been a live uninterrupted performance. Are we witnessing a similar shift en route to social media as the usual roads are barricaded or is it old wine in a new bottle?

Live performers like stand-up comedians, singers and dancers had already gone online to make use of social media to reach a larger audience except now it seems to have become the only medium for live performers. While some are looking for ways to enrich their performances with the new found aesthetics of social media,  others seem to be using it as TV with a larger reach.

An immersive experiment

The Washington Post reports that “The Oregon Symphony has laid off the entire orchestra and half of its administrative staff. The San Francisco Ballet has cancelled more than half of its season. The Houston Grand Opera has pulled the plug on its spring season, which could lead to losses nearing $2 million.

Business Insider reports that “As per Event and Entertainment Management Association, the Indian entertainment sector is expected to take a hit of Rs1 trillion”.

In such times, a Delhi theatre group called Third Space Collective is preparing for its untitled virtual immersive performance based on Matei Visniec’s short story called The Man in the Circle. The perturbing story talks of a town and a time where people have become prisoners of their own isolation brought upon by the false dream of peace and quiet away from the troubles and mess of their own society. Jayant Chand, creative director of the performance and a member of Third Space Collective, says, “We want our audience to have a kind of involvement which can be as close to the actual feeling of going to the theatre.” The audience will register a day before for the performance and they will be sent instructions. These instructions will include details of how to set up the space (audience’s own house) and the other necessities required for the performance. Chand says that the requirements would be pretty basic and would be easily available for the audience members to find in their houses. The performance, which the group calls experience, will have a voiceover narration and a soundscape designed by Lawrence Lau (Hong Kong-based sound designer). Chand is specific in keeping this an aural experience as he feels we are inundated by visuals today. The short story was initially meant to be performed around protest sites during the anti-CAA agitation in Delhi but was stalled due to the enforcement of social distancing norms.

Entering the audience’s space 

The immersive performance is quite left-field in the sense that unlike usual theatre performances or performative installations, the performer shall enter the audience’s space rather than the other way round. The customary way is that the audience buys a ticket to watch a performance and hence enters a space designed by the audience where he/she willingly believes the fiction of what the performer creates. There is a personalisation of the viewing experience where the audience becomes the performer in its own personal space.  This idea of making the personal into the performative space is not merely a formal gimmick. The story and the performance anticipate a world where people, formerly in illusion of a protected existence at the cost of community, are today prisoners in their own houses.

Many performances and artistes have tried to break the usual moulds of performance and performer in the past but each experience, performance or immersion would happen in spaces not owned (materially and emotionally) by the audiences. The performance shall be held for single audience members — a direct result of the social distancing norms in place.

The changing aesthetics

Abbas Kiarostami, the late Iranian filmmaker, once credited the limitations of censorship in Iran for his unique cinematic language. The aesthetics of social media performance are being discovered, as opposed to mere extensions of the live form this time could be taken to reflect and develop the aesthetics that social media platforms like Instagram Live and Facebook Live provide.

The limitations put over the usual conduction of live performance rituals could now enliven the performances and change the audiences who have been surreptitiously turned into consumers of content, in most cases through the aid of these social media platforms.

Until then, it’s a hard road ahead for live performers and freelancers who will have to diversify and relook at their arts practice in order to stay afloat and relevant.

Attend film festivals in the comfort of your house

Major film festivals like Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, Mumbai and Venice, among others, have come together under ‘We Are One: A Global Film Festival,’ where in a 10-day window films will be showcased on YouTube from May 29 to June 7. This festival comes under the current Covid crisis, which has shut down cinema halls across the world with many countries under lockdown. The film bonanza, which has been curated by more than 20 film festivals all over the world, is being organised by Tribeca Enterprises of the Tribeca Film Festival and YouTube. The films according to the organisers will be shown free of cost with an appeal to donate to the Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund of the World Health Organisation (WHO). The world of independent cinema in India and abroad has suffered due to the cancellation of big exhibition opportunities at festivals like Cannes and Tribeca. These festivals not only offer exposure to varied audiences but are also sometimes instrumental in independent films recovering their money through the presence of a diversified audience base at the festivals which includes producers, agents, etc.