NSD alumnus Ashwath Bhatt set up the Theatre Garage Project away from the city because he was tired of its nuisance. In a candid chat with Shrabasti Mallik, the artistic director of Fired by Hamlet explains the idea of red nose clowning and how it is gradually being accepted in mainstream theatre
When we think of theatre, there are several forms that come to our mind — absurd theatre, realistic theatre, genres of comedy, tragedy, musical and many more. But amidst all those is another form of theatre, slowly and steadily strengthening its foothold — red nose clowning. And Ashwath Bhatt, the man behind the company, Theatre Garage Project whose basis of work has been the red nose clowning, has been trying for the last two decades to develop this art form on the stage.
Bhatt, an alumnus of National School of Drama, has been involved in acting, both on stage and the silver screen, for many years. You might as well remember him as the mysterious Rahoor from the movie Haider, behind Irrfan Khan. But in real life, he is a delight to talk to. The sheer amount of knowledge about the performing arts that he has to share is overwhelming.
“Red nose clowning is not just about sending out a message in a humorous way. We do not do theatre for that. It is what you want to do with your art. See, everybody is free to deal with their own sensibilities and nobody can or should force their sensibilities on another person. It’s all about your choice,” he shared.
He started the TGP in 2007 because he wanted to establish ‘Red Nose Clowning’ as a liberating tool of expression for society and create spaces to explore, experiment and synthesise the form with all art streams. “I learnt it in England when I extensively toured Europe and learnt from various masters. But I was introduced to it at lAMDA (london Academy of Music and Dramatic Art).
At that time, like most Indians, I had no idea about the art because like everyone else I associated the clown with the joker from a circus. Because that is our reference point,” said Bhatt who learnt more about the form through the works of Jacques lecoq and then through its origins in Commedia del Arte and how it developed through the centuries.
But it was harder done than said. Bhatt had to face a lot of ridicule when he tried to introduce the concept in India. “People did not accept the concept of the clown in the beginning and I have given reference to that in my recent play Fired by Hamlet that I was ridiculed for my art. Now today after eight years, the entire country is doing the clown. From Rajat Kapur to Atul Kumar to many more artistes around the country are exploring the clown and even Vishal Bhardwaj is using clowning in his forthcoming movie Rangoon. It has always been the rule of the world that something comes first and then it eventually begins to be followed,” he elaborated.
After he had decided to popularise the form, there was the immediate need to train actors. He staged numerous plays at various institutions but the first public performance that he did with the TGP was Infinite Stupidity in 2011. “And people loved it. We staged it at the India Habitat Centre, the Bareilly Fest and many more places. We even travelled within Bengal with the play,” Bhatt beamed. Infinite Stupidity was followed with a concept-based play titled Dickheads which won numerous awards at the Short and Sweet Festival for two consecutive years. The play was about street children. Clowntown was an extension that Bhatt did of Dickheads and it talked about dreams and how one should not stop kids from dreaming.
When it comes to explaining a concept, Bhatt can get real passionate and that, infused with his witty comical gestures, becomes a delight to watch. He told us how mundane it is to always hide behind a mask in real life. “We are so tired of it that we find relief in this little mask of the humble clown. It gives us courage and the liberty to do what we want to. It also allows us to be stupid,” he said, paused and made a comic face.
Then he continued, “We are so conditioned that when we receive that small window, we feel nice and it is a relief. We are all conditioned to think in a certain way — to judge what is right and what is wrong, what’s dirty and what is clean. Everything is so defined that you rarely get to frame your own perspective.”
But he was not done yet. There was more to the subject than was said. Bhatt added, “Clown has a sense of theatre as such, it’s for everybody. It is basically about your inner child because a clown is vulnerable, fragile and childlike. It is not like the fool who laughs at you so smartly that you might even fail to notice.”
His new play, Fired by Hamlet is directed by Michael Moritz and Bhatt told us about how he came up with the name. “The play is about a group of theatre artistes who go to Denmark and ultimately gets fired by Hamlet because they are not appropriate and are bad at acting,” he shared, not wanting to give us more because he wanted us to watch the play. “Because nothing beats a first hand experience,” the actor wrapped up with a hearty laugh.
Fired by Hamlet is all set to be staged in IHC today at 7pm and Epicentre, Gurgaon. on January 17, 7pm.
photo Sanjeev Kumar