In an exclusive conversation with NewsX for its special segment NewsX A-list, Raj Upadhyay, a renowned theatre director, an artist and a teacher talks about his journey, running a theatre group and much more.
Over 22 years of experience in directing plays and sharpening the skills of actors that he has groomed over the years, Raj has come a long way to having his own theatre group called ‘Thespian Society’.
Raj Upadhyay who’s now teaching theatre in Modern School, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi. started his training from Bharatendu Academy of Dramatic Arts,Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. He then went to National School of Drama to pursue his career and worked in Children theatre.
The artist believes that it takes immense passion and dedication to work in a theatre group.He also mentions about the need of having a space where an artist can do activities without disturbing the people around him. ‘There is no criteria to be successful in theatre’, the director says.
His plays have mainly been on politically and socially sensitive issues.A play directed by him called ‘Gandhi tum Zinda ho’ is the closest to his heart.Being a supporter of peace and harmony, Mr. Upadhyay says that all religion may come to an end but the Gandhi religion will never fade away.
He then talked about some of his plays. One was even supported by the Delhi CM, Arvind Kejriwal on Bhagat Singh, portraying the lack of sincere and honest leaders in the world. He has made women centric and comedy plays as well.
The director further said that theatre should be seen as a medium to nurture children because of it social and collective nature.He believes that it helps the student to understand the society better, leading to overall development of the child.He says that theatre helps in channelising a student’s energies and also builds their acceptance level.
When asked about the changes that have occurred in the working of his theatre group due to the pandemic, he had a very positive outlook towards the whole situation.His students have been preparing through various apps and conducting live sessions.Although he believes that recorded plays can’t be a substitute for live ones, he is enjoying the online process and is grateful for such great technology.