Volume I Issue IV October 2021

Name of Author : Preeti Kalra

Title of the paper : Victimhood to Personhood: The Formation of Identity through Protest Theatre

Abstract: Theatre, a form of performing arts reflecting real or imagined events before an audience has long been used as a medium of protest. To raise a voice against injustice and exploitation by institutions in power and provide new perceptions about socio-cultural reality, the theatre has proved to be the most intimate and intense form of interactive communication. The paper looks at the genealogy of protest theatre in India where „theatre‟ assumes empirical space of interaction and togetherness. This space is driven by the idea of freedom and the formulation of identity and self. As a place of sociability, theatre plays multiple roles ranging from raising concerns and issues to changing beliefs and opinions and initiating collective action. The paper considering theatre as a subject, shall put forth how it has not only initiated a dialogue for change but has also given identity to the performer, audience, and the community being addressed. In a similar vein, the paper sees how from formulating a national identity to social and cultural identity to individual and collective identity, and feminist identity, the theatre has been the biggest backer in the creation of identity and raising the consciousness of people. To this end, different plays have been discussed to highlight the potency of theatre as an agent of change and identity builder.

Keywords : Theatre, Protest, Identity, Gender, Performance, Action, Consciousness

DOI :

Page No. : 1-8