Jana Sanskriti Centre For Theatre of the Oppressed

About Jana Sanskriti Centre for Theatre of the Oppressed

Jana Sanskriti(JS) Centre for Theatre of the Oppressed established in 1985 was the first exponent of Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) in India. Today the Centre is seen as one of the most important point of references to the global community of Theatre of the Oppressed (a theatre form developed by Augusto Boal in Brazil) . Jana Sanskriti believes that there is perfection latent within every individual – waiting to be discovered and manifested. When a person discovers this perfection s/he is able to overcome the sense of inferiority imposed upon her/him by the centralised social culture. S/He becomes articulate, confident and capable of confronting challenges, which come on the path of development.

Jana Sanskriti’s goal is to create a space in which the oppressed will have enormous scope for introspection and discovery of the self and to facilitate a meeting between the individual and the perfection within her/himself. For “what is this perfection but the richest resource of human society?” Over 3 decades JS has addressed issues like domestic violence, child marriage, girl child trafficking, child abuse, maternal and child health, primary education and health care, illicit liquor, etc. – all through theatre. Every two years since 2004, the Centre organises the Muktadhara festival.

Jana Sanskriti’s journey began from a small village in the Sunderbans in 1985. Today it has 30 satellite theatre teams in West Bengal (mostly in the districts of South 24 Parganas and Purulia), two in Tripura, two in Jharkhand, one each in New Delhi and Orissa. Teams have also been formed in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Karnataka. These teams reach at least 2,00,000 spectators every year through their performances.