I was on a 2 day solo-backpacker tour of Shimla, one of the most historic city's of the British rule in India..Localities like the Mall and the ridge in Shimla are identical replica's of a average English town, complete with chimney style small buildings.As a theatre aficionado a visit to Shimla without a visit to the Gaiety theatre was akin to visiting Agra and not viewing the Taj Mahal ! I was lucky to cramp a visit to the "Gaiety Theatre" in the last few hours before my departure from Shimla on Wednesday(13-3-2013). The
"Gaiety Theatre" is situated at Scandal point on the Mall road and is approachable from the Mall as well as the Ridge road..The
entrance for tourists is from the "Mall road" and the entrance fee was Rs 50 which included camera charges.. As there were no other tourists besides me I was given a personal solo tour of the theatre by
Mr
Rajendra.Gautam, a retired lawyer by profession with a passion for
theatre and its history .Thanks to Mr R.Gautam got to view the intimate
details of this heritage theatre designed by Henry.Irwin and built in
1887 in Gothic design.The main theatre (Old Theatre)could accommodate more than 320
people with special
"Box Seats" for the
" Viceroy" and
"V.I.P'S" and is modelled on the
"Royal Albert Hall" of London..
"Time Will Tell" was the
first play staged and during that era the popularity of English plays in
the theatre earned Shimla the nickname, Mecca of Theatre. I was shown the main stage and also photographed myself on the stage, a unforgettable memory in this hallowed theatre which has history written all over its structure. The
Gaiety theatre was the centre of social entertainment in Shimla with
Viceroy Lord Lytton scripting and staging a play called
"Walpole" and
Rudyard.Kipling himself acting in a play at the theatre.
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| Vintage 19th century photo's of plays staged in the "GAIETY THEATRE". |
The Theatre once
caught fire and was to be demolished but good sense prevailed and the
theatre refurnished.The
"Freemason Society" had a special hall in the
theatre complex in which they conducted their secret meetings.After
Independence the theatre was patronized by the local population but
later over the decades degenerated due to lack of maintenance and
patronage as other forms of entertainment, most notably cinema ,captured
the eyeballs of the younger generation.The Theatre building was shut for almost 5 years for renovation in the 21st century and was
reopened in
June 2009 with Rs.12 crore being spent
to restore its original Gothic style of architecture. The top floor has been converted into a multi-purpose hall that can accommodate 420 people in keeping with modern economic trends. The main
theatre(Old Theatre) on the ground floor remains untouched in design with beautiful paper mache panels , as original as
in 1887 when it was first built. Mr Rajendra.Gautam showed me the innovative
"Ventilation system" of the entire old theatre that was still preserved as it was in 1887. The Ventilation system was akin to a ships blower trunking system or a hotel a/c system, enclosed ducting through walls supplying air to the theatre audience. In the Cold winter months of Shimla it was
"Hot air" supplied through
"Coal burners" akin to the ship Titanic's engine-room that was circulated through the ducting.
"Batteries" were used as a source of electricity in an era when there was no electric lighting and the same preserved in the "
Gaiety theatre" for tourists.
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| "MAKE-UP & CHANGE ROOM" of the Stage Artists in Gaiety Theatre. |
The "Opening/Closing" of the Curtains in the main theatre is still done in the same manner as in 1887 . A combination and permutation of sand-bags and pulleys makes it possible to either open or close the curtains from one side of the stage.The Old theatre has been modernized with state of the art active beam technology wireless system without disturbing or altering the original natural acoustic system of the theatre.On the first floor there were postcard
photographs plastered on screens explaining the history and plays
conducted at this historic heritage theatre.Advocate Rajendra.Gautam was
an excellent guide and explained the detailed history of Shimla and the
"Gaiety Theatre", himself having visited the theatres in London.The "Gaiety Theastre" is the only theatre in India to have its own
"Script Bank".
Any performing group can take a script from the "Theatre Bank" and enact the same. Gaiety Dramatic Society (GDS), which manages the theatre, has acquired 400 scripts, some of them of the plays that were performed in
the theatre
between 1864 and 1939. The bank also has a large
collection of Hindi plays and most of them have been procured from New
Delhi`s National School of Drama. All of
Bollywoods top actors which include illustrious names like
Actors Prithviraj Kapoor ,Balraj Sahni, K.L. Sehgal, Shashi Kapoor, Jennifer Kendall, Raj Babbar, Anupam Kher , Naseeruddin Shah , Prem.Chopra, Amrish.Puri and
Anupam.Kher have at some time in their career performed at the
"Gaiety
theatre"
 |
| A partial view of the classic seating arrangements in Gaiety Theatre |
.
"Gaiety theatre" is the oldest Gothic theatre in Asia and the
sixth oldest in the World and soon to be recognized by
"U.N.E.S.C.O" as a
"World Heritage theatre".If having an interest in theatre and cinema
then a visit to the
"Gaiety theatre" in Shimla is mandatory.
