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This is an archive article published on November 6, 2011

Woman in Black

Theatre actor Shilpi Marwaha is fast becoming the face of street theatre in Delhi

A bunch of Metro commuters have been gazing at the tall girl for a while. They whisper among themselves and giggle nervously,until one youngster decides to walk up and ask her,“You are the girl in black clothes who performs theatre on the streets,aren’t you?” They’re right. Shilpi Marwaha at 22 is used to being referred to as kala kurta,as she fast becomes the face of street theatre in Delhi. In-charge of Delhi-based Asmita Theatre Group’s street theatre unit,Marwaha is a veteran of more than 5,000 street theatre productions,the latest is Corruption,which “premiered” in March and became a part of the Anna Hazare movement.

“I was eight years old when I watched a woman die unattended on the corridor of AIIMS. I still remember her child crying,I remember myself crying,” says Marwaha,talking about the genesis of activism in her. As she grew up,it was journalism that she planned to enter. “But,when I was in Kamala Nehru College studying commerce,Asmita held a theatre workshop there. Everything changed after that—I found the medium to participate in the social change that I strongly wanted,” she says.

Though street theatre is among the strongest mass media,it cannot claim a captive audience. Its stage is a marketplace,park,slums or street corner and it demands a high degree of confidence to call out to busy pedestrians to watch a play. “If we make a mistake,they’ll point it out ruthlessly,” says Marwaha. She speaks in a hoarse voice and there’s no trace of the teenage shyness she sometimes talks about. “I always say to myself that if Arvind Sir (Arvind Gaur) had conducted an audition for the theatre workshop,I would never have made it. I was soft spoken. Today,after five years of relentless performances on the streets,my voice has become heavy and hoarse. No regrets,” she says with a smile.

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The performances focus on issue that hit home–domestic helps,farmer suicides,communalism,and drug abuse among others. “When a child steals Rs 5,he is slapped,when a public figure steals Rs 2,00 crore,it becomes breaking news. Whether it is communalism or corruption,it is always the common man who is affected,” she says. Her acting style is powerful and she looks her audience in the eye as she performs,establishing her story as their’s.

The script for the plays is written by Gaur and Marwaha is responsible for co-training actors,helping to conduct workshops and coordinating street performances besides acting herself. “We are actors,so we never refuse an invitation to perform. We’ve even had 16 performances in a day,and I divided the workshop students and college students who train with us into groups and spread across the city to perform,” she says.

Marwaha adds that street theatre performers are not financed by the government or any other institution but the connect with the audience is rewarding enough. Her future dreams,she adds,are in Bollywood but she will never turn her back on the streets of Delhi.

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