The Censoring Practices in Theatre

Abstract

This thesis is an attempt to address the dynamics of censorship in theater, performance and art. This work tries to find the cultural roots of the censorship in Pakistan in a Boasian cultural relative fashion. Inspired by the biographical case study method, only one theater group, The Curtain Raiser, was selected to understand and describe the phenomenon of theater censorship in Pakistan. This might be not a representative case in true spirit; however, this thesis is limited in its scope because of the limitations of time and resources required for a comprehensive nationwide study on the subject. Secondly, it is more of a phenomenological and subjective account of censorship experiences of the playwright and director of a single play. Taking the single play as the focused subject helped the deeper insights into the process of multilayered censorship that takes place from the birth of the idea about a play to the performance and post performance. Theatre in sub-continent is not a modern phenomenon. It has been rooted as a cultural practice and a source of entertainment since long. Theatre has journeyed through different transitions in past. It has evolved and has become a complete industry and social phenomenon which has affected the society a lot. In Pakistan, theatre has not been able to achieve that much popularity, space and acceptance that it deserved or should have received. Despite its slow growth it somehow managed to make a mark in Pakistani society with performing diverse themes and raising some serious issues i.e. dictatorial rule, social taboos etc. It has faced some serious censorship from the state. This study aims to discuss the censorship practices which are being faced by theatre practitioners, highlighting the intrinsic and extrinsic dimensions of the censor in historical and cultural context. The study also highlights the process through which censorship is enforced on the theatre practitioners. The focus of this ethnographic case study is The Curtain Raiser Production which is an Islamabad based theaterical group working in the field since 2016. For this purpose drama, Sarisht of The Curtain Raiser Production has been analyzed and it is tried to identity the key factors which led to changes in the play. The same play with its original script was named Nang means shame; however, later it was renamed as Sarisht that means nature or disposition. This change of title was the trigger for gaining attention about effectiveness of sensor as a social practice. The approach is critical and analytical while the methodology is qualitative. For this purpose interviews of the director and writer, have been used vi as primary sources while original script of the plays, newspaper clippings, books and research article have been consulted as a secondary sources. However, the scripts were the main focus was on the scripts as the scripts provided deeper insights into the world of censor on rhetoric and performance.