Strategic Management in the Art of Theatre (SMART)
in partnership with India Foundation for the Arts (IFA), supported by Goethe-Institut / Max-Mueller Bhavan New Delhi Presents:

In The Round #4: Space, a series of conversations on creativity, culture and context

Kallol Bhattacharyya, Manu Jose, Michaela Talwar & Rupali Bhave
in conversation with Sunil Shanbag

Over the last five years, there has been a perceptible shift in the theatre landscape in India. Small, independent alternative performance spaces have been mushrooming in many cities across the country, profoundly changing the way in which theatre is created, curated and received in these places.

During the pandemic many independent spaces, whose financial models were precarious even in the best of times, have had to shut down. Some have managed to survive by adapting, improvising and even radically re-inventing themselves. Was there a price to pay? Are they able to hold on to their original vision? How has it impacted their work? What has happened to the community of practitioners and audiences they served? What does the future hold?

Join us to listen in on the diverse experiences of a group of people who run some of our most exciting independent alternative performance spaces: Kallol Bhattacharyya of Tepantar in rural Bengal, Manu Jose of Ala from Mulanthuruthy, Kerala, Michaela Talwar of Mumbai’s Harkat Studios and Rupali Bhave of The Box in Pune will be in conversation with Sunil Shanbag of Studio Tamaasha in Mumbai.

Strategic Management in the Art of Theatre (SMART) is India’s first programme for theatre practitioners that aims to build knowledge, skills and expertise about arts management from within the Indian theatre community.