Page to Stage – Mobile Theatre of Assam

Public Culture, Counter-Public and Consumption

A Book by Rituparna Patgiri

Talk & Dramatised Reading

An NCPA Library Presentation in collaboration with Usawa Publications

What happens when theatre leaves the stage and travels to the people?

Assam’s mobile theatre is a distinctive cultural phenomenon. Travelling from one place to another across the state, these theatre groups have become an important part of Assamese public life, bringing together audiences from different generations, social backgrounds and communities.

In her book, sociologist and academic Rituparna Patgiri looks at mobile theatre not simply as a form of entertainment, but as a space where questions of culture, identity, modernity and consumption come together. The book explores the relationship between Assamese identity and the influence of Bollywood, changing technologies and audience tastes, while examining how the local, national and global constantly meet and interact.

The reading will be followed by a fireside chat between the Patgiri and Smita Sahay, founder and editor-in-chief of Usawa Literary Review, exploring the making of the book, the world of Assamese mobile theatre and the many stories, questions and contradictions that lie behind this remarkable cultural phenomenon.

Sahay has served as Associate Editor of Veils, Halos & Shackles: International Poetry on the Oppression and Empowerment of Women. Her works have appeared in national and international journals, newspapers and anthologies.

Join us for an engaging evening of reading and conversation and discover the fascinating world of a theatre that travels, evolves and continues to hold a special place in the cultural life of Assam.

Entry Free.