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Indian Theatre: From the Natyashastra to the Street Play

Indian theatre has a very long history. The Natyashastra, an old Sanskrit book credited to Bharata, explains acting, music, dance, the stage and rasa, the feeling the audience enjoys. Acting uses four kinds of abhinaya: body (angika), voice (vachika), costume and make-up (aharya) and inner feeling (sattvika). Classical Sanskrit plays by Bhasa, Kalidasa and Shudraka were performed in playhouses. Folk forms such as Yakshagana, Jatra, Tamasha, Nautanki, Bhavai and Therukoothu mix song, dance and talk in open spaces close to the audience. Modern theatre brought picture-frame stages, Parsi theatre companies, the people's theatre movement and street plays (nukkad natak) on social issues.

🎬 Step-by-step story

  1. An old book, the Natyashastra, taught how to make a play. It names four tools of acting: body, voice, costume and inner feeling.
  2. The aim of a play is rasa: the feeling the audience enjoys. Love, laughter, sadness, anger, courage, fear, disgust and wonder. Later, peace was added.
  3. Plays were acted in a playhouse. Actors got ready behind a curtain, then came onto the front stage. The audience sat in front.
  4. In villages, folk theatre plays on open ground or in a circle. Music, dance and talk mix. The audience sits very close.
  5. Modern theatre uses picture-frame stages in cities. Street plays go straight to people in a market or lane.
  6. Free play: pick a theatre form. See its stage and where the audience sits.

Tip: drag the 3D scene to turn it. Use two fingers to zoom.

🤔 Common doubts, cleared

Is costume part of acting?

Yes. In the Natyashastra, costume and make-up (aharya) is one of the four kinds of abhinaya.

Who feels the rasa, the actor or the audience?

The audience. The actor shows bhava (emotion); the audience tastes the rasa.

Where did actors get ready?

In the nepathya, the dressing room behind the curtain.

Why do folk shows happen outdoors?

Villages had no halls, and open ground lets the whole village watch up close.

Does a street play need a stage?

No. Actors stand in the middle of the crowd in a lane or market.

The Natyashastra and the four kinds of abhinaya

The Natyashastra is a Sanskrit text on drama, credited to the sage Bharata and put together roughly 2,000 years ago (dates are debated). It covers acting, music, dance, make-up, stage building and how audiences feel. It calls drama the "fifth Veda", meant for everyone.

Abhinaya means carrying the meaning to the audience. There are four kinds:

Rasa: the taste of a play

Rasa means "taste" or "juice". Just as many spices make one flavour, the actor's emotions (bhava), gestures and music combine to make the audience feel a rasa.

The Natyashastra lists eight: shringara (love), hasya (laughter), karuna (sadness), raudra (anger), veera (courage), bhayanaka (fear), bibhatsa (disgust) and adbhuta (wonder). Later thinkers added shanta (peace) as the ninth.

Sanskrit drama and the playhouse

Classical playwrights include Bhasa, Kalidasa (Abhijnanashakuntalam), Shudraka (Mricchakatika, "The Little Clay Cart") and Bhavabhuti. Plays mixed verse and prose and often ended happily. A sutradhara (stage manager-narrator) opened the play, and a funny friend (vidushaka) made people laugh.

The Natyashastra describes a rectangular playhouse: the rangapitha (front acting area), the rangashirsha (back stage area) and the nepathya (dressing room behind a curtain). Koodiyattam in Kerala keeps Sanskrit drama alive today and is recognised by UNESCO.

Folk theatre, modern theatre and street plays

Folk forms grew in every region, often in the local language: Yakshagana (Karnataka), Jatra (Bengal, Odisha), Tamasha (Maharashtra), Nautanki (North India), Bhavai (Gujarat), Therukoothu (Tamil Nadu) and Ankiya Naat (Assam). Many tell stories from epics and local legends, with drums, songs and night-long shows in open spaces.

Modern theatre began in the 1800s with picture-frame (proscenium) stages and Parsi theatre companies. In the 1940s, the Indian People's Theatre Association took plays to workers and villages. Later directors such as Habib Tanvir and Girish Karnad mixed folk forms with modern ideas. The National School of Drama (1959) trains actors. Nukkad natak (street play) performs short plays on social issues in public places, free for all.

Project idea: choose one form from your region, find its stage, music, costumes and stories, and interview a performer if you can.

Key formulas and definitions

Worked examples

1. An actor shows fear only with wide eyes and shaking hands, without words. Which abhinaya is used?

Angika (body) for the hands and eyes, and sattvika (inner feeling) for the shaking.

2. A Yakshagana performer wears a big painted headgear and bright make-up. Which abhinaya is this?

Aharya: costume, make-up and ornaments.

3. Why do many folk forms play in open spaces with the audience close?

They grew in villages without theatre buildings. Open ground lets many people watch for free, and closeness lets actors talk and joke with the crowd.

Common mistakes

Practice quiz

1. The Natyashastra is credited to
2. Vachika abhinaya uses
3. Which rasa was added later as the ninth?
4. Yakshagana belongs mainly to
5. Nepathya in the old playhouse is the

Practice: answer these yourself

Type or choose your answer, then press Check. Use a hint if you are stuck; the full solution appears after you answer.

Frequently asked questions

What are the traditions of Indian theatre?

Classical Sanskrit drama based on the Natyashastra, many regional folk forms (Yakshagana, Jatra, Tamasha, Nautanki, Bhavai, Therukoothu), and modern theatre including street plays.

What are the four types of abhinaya?

Angika (body), vachika (voice), aharya (costume and make-up) and sattvika (inner feeling).

What is rasa theory?

It says the goal of a performance is rasa, the feeling the audience enjoys. The Natyashastra lists eight rasas; shanta (peace) was added later as the ninth.

Where this is taught

CBSE (India)Class 11Theatre and Drama in India

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