Ratan Thiyam

Ratan Thiyam
Thiyam receiving the "Legends of India - Lifetime Achievement Award" from M. Venkaiah Naidu, 2018
Born(1948-01-20)20 January 1948
Nabadwip, West Bengal, India [1]
Died23 July 2025(2025-07-23) (aged 77)
Lamphelpat, Imphal, India
NationalityIndian
Other namesOja
Alma materNational School of Drama
Occupation(s)Playwright, Theatre Director
Founder Chorus Repertory Theatre, 1976
Years active1974–2024
OrganizationChorus Repertory Theatre
AwardsSangeet Natak Akademi Award in Direction, 1987
Padma Shri (1989)
Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship 2012

Ratan Thiyam (20 January 1948 – 23 July 2025) was an Indian playwright, theatre director and teacher from Manipur. He was a leading figure of the post-independence "Theatre of Roots" movement of decolonisation in Indian theatre, along with stalwarts like KN Panikkar, BV Karanth, Habib Tanvir, Bansi Kaul, and Jabbar Patel.[2] In a career spanning over five decades, he is best known for amalgamating traditional Manipuri performance styles with contemporary theatrical forms to create a new language with plays like Uru Bhangam, Karnabharam, Chakravyuha, Ritusamhara, and Uttar Priyadarshi [3][4][5][6]. This won him critical acclaim in India as well as internationally, through his theatre company, Chorus Repertory Theatre, which was formed in Imphal, Manipur in 1976. it soon became a "national hub for experimental, visually rich, and socially responsible theatre".[2] Also known as Thiyam Nemai and Oja (teacher in Meiti), Ratan Thiyam was known for writing and staging plays that use ancient Indian theatre traditions and forms in a contemporary context.[7] A former painter, and proficient in direction, design, script and music, Thiyam was often considered one of the leading contemporary theatre gurus.[8]

Thiyam was the first graduate of the National School of Drama from Manipur state in 1974, and went on to serve as its chairperson from 2013 to 2017.[6] He had also worked as vice-chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi before joining NSD. He also worked as Director of the National School of Drama from 1987 to 1989.[9] He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in Direction in 1987, given by Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama, and the Padma Shri given by Government of India in 1989. He was awarded the 2012 Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, the highest honour in the performing arts conferred by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama. In the year 2013, Ratan Thiyam received an honorary D.lit. from Assam University, Silchar.[10]

Early life and education

Thiyam parents, Thiyam Tarun Kumar and Bilasini Devi, were noted Manipuri dancers and teachers. It was during a tour in Nabadwip, West Bengal, when Thiyam was born. He grew up in Imphal and often travelled with them in their troupe.[1][11][3] He graduated from National School of Drama, New Delhi in 1974, where he trained under theatre doyen Ebrahim Alkazi[12][3] During this period, he acted in Alkazi’s noted production, Andha Yug, done in kabuki style at the Purana Qila open-air theatre, where he played the role of Yuyutsu.[3]

Career

Chorus Repertory Theatre founded by Ratan Thiyam in 1976

He went on to set up a theatre group called Chorus Repertory Theatre[13] in Imphal, Manipur in 1976. He was also briefly the director of National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi (1987–88).[5]

His play Chakravyuha (1984) got him immediate praise and is now considered a modern classic.[14] His production of Ajneya's Uttar Priyadarshi in Meitei was staged at the 1st Bharat Rang Mahotsav (BRM), the annual theatre festival of National School of Drama (NSD), Delhi in 1999,[15] his presentation of Kalidasa's epic poem Ritusamharam was closing production of 4th BRM in 2002,[16] subsequently the 10th BRM in 2008, which also marked the golden jubilee of NSD, opened at Kamani Auditorium, New Delhi, with a performance was Prologue, the first part of his Manipur Trilogy, when all past alumni have gathered for the festival.[17][18][19] The 12th BRM in January 2010 featured Ratan Thiyam's When we Dead Awaken.[20]

The plays of Ratan Thiyam

His works express a deep concern for social welfare and spiritual yearnings amidst the political chaos of the modern world. His plays infuse rationalised and multifaceted analysis of myriad perspectives. Using ingenious theatrical stagecraft, his plays are marked by literary beauty and profound meaning. Most of Ratan Thiyam's plays are thematically Indianized and are profound, with universal appeal. Most of his plays were in his native Manipuri language (Meitei). They incorporated indigenous traditions like the Wari Liba, a Manipuri storytelling form, Thang-Ta, a martial arts style, and Pung, the Manipuri drum.[14]He was also an expert practitioner of Thang-Ta.[3]

His productions are characterised by tightly choreographed movement sequences, visual tableaux, ritualistic repetitions, silence, minimal dialogue, and nuanced lighting designs, creating a meditative and immersive theatrical experience.[1] His works are strongly influenced by Natya Sastra, an Indian theatre style propounded by Bharata during the second century B.C., as also ancient Greek drama, the Noh theatre of Japan and Metei performing arts. His approach to theatre was shaped by years of study under the tutelage of several major exponents of the traditional Meitei performing arts. Thiyam is also known for his use of traditional martial arts, of Thang-Ta in his plays, such as in Urubhangam (Broken Thigh), of Sanskrit playwright Bhāsa itself based on an episode from epic, the Mahabharata, which along with Chakravyuh (Army Formation) is considered one of his finest works.[21] In 1986, he adapted Jean Anouilh's "Antigone" as Lengshonnei, a comment on the personal behaviour of politicians, failing to handle political situation in the state.[5] Uttar Priyadarshi (The Final Beatitude), an adaptation of Hindi verse play by playwright and poet Agyeya in 1996, based on a story of redemption of King Ashoka, a man's struggle against his own inner dark side and a plea for peace, knowing its impact on future generation. The play has since travelled to many parts of the South Asia, Australia and the US.[22][23]

His play Andha Yug (The Blind Age), known for creating an intense and intimate experience, around the epochal theme, was famously staged in an open-air performance, at Tonga, Japan, on 5 August 1994, a day before the forty-ninth anniversary of Atomic Holocaust in Hiroshima.[24]

His major plays include Ritusamharam: The work seeks solace and sanity amidst the chaos and violence of today's world.[25] In 2014, Thiyam opened a Manipuri adaptation of Macbeth, translocated to a historical Meitei context, with names of characters unchanged. It was the opening act at the 2019 inaugural Bangladesh International Theatre Festival.[26]

Death

Thiyam died at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Lamphelpat, Imphal, on 23 July 2025, at the age of 77, after a prolonged illness of post-COVID health complications.[27][28] Upon his death, the Manipur state government declared a day of state mourning, and in its message called him, "a towering figure in Indian theatre and a cultural icon of Manipur."[29] His son, Thawai Thiyam, is also theatre actor and director, and a part Chorus Repertory Theatre; he has directed plays like Bacchae, a Meitie adaption of Greek tragedy by same name.[1]

List of plays

'The Shrine', the main theatre of Ratan Thiyam's Chorus Repertory, Imphal

Awards

"Ratan Thiyam The Man of Theater" (2022), a play based on the life of Ratan Thiyam

Some Roots Grow Upwards a 2003 documentary by Kavita Joshi and Malati Rao, was based on the life and work of Ratan Thiyam, especially his political ideologies, and his use of theatre as medium of political protest.[46]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Nath, Dipanita (23 July 2025). "Ratan Thiyam: Outspoken theatre director who forced audiences to reconsider stereotypes of heroes, villains". The Indian Express. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  2. ^ a b Kalita, Prabin (24 July 2025). "Ratan Thiyam: A Visionary Who Revolutionized Indian Theatre". The Times of India. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Ratan Thiyam showed that the more rooted you are, the more universal you become". The Indian Express. 24 July 2025. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  4. ^ Shirin, Babie (23 July 2025). "Ratan Thiyam, Indian playwright and theatre icon, dies at 77". India Today. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  5. ^ a b c Cody, p. 1348
  6. ^ a b Baruah, Sukrita (23 July 2025). "Ratan Thiyam, first NSD graduate from Manipur who went on to become its director, passes away". The Indian Express. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  7. ^ Thiyam Nemai Archived 6 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Theater in Review – 'Nine Hills One Valley' by Jason Zinoman, New York Times, 14 October 2006.
  9. ^ The world's a stage: Theatredoyen Ratan Thiyam on how he conquers space The Hindu, 30 December 2008.
  10. ^ "India needs many more regional schools of theatre: NSD chairperson Ratan Thiyam". Zee News. 23 December 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  11. ^ a b "Padma Shri Awardee & theatre legend Ratan Thiyam dies at 77". newsonair.gov.in (Akashvani). 23 July 2025. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  12. ^ NSD Graduates Archived 18 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ chorusimphal
  14. ^ a b "As an artist and storyteller, Ratan Thiyam always came back to Manipur". The Indian Express. 25 July 2025. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  15. ^ "All the world's classics, on a stage". The Indian Express. 18 March 1999.
  16. ^ Kavita Nagpal (16 April 2002). "BHARAT RANG MAHOTSAV : A RETROSPECTIVE". Press Information Bureau (Govt. of India).
  17. ^ National School of Drama celebrates golden jubilee in style The Economic Times, 12 January 2008.
  18. ^ Manisha Jha (27 December 2007). "Celebrating 50 years of NSD". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 30 December 2007.
  19. ^ "The Graduates". Indian Express. 28 December 2007. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2010.
  20. ^ Anima, P. (2 January 2010). "Talking theatre". The Hindu. Chennai, India.
  21. ^ India – Ratan Thiyam The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre: Asia/Pacific, by Don Rubin. Published by Taylor & Francis, 2001. ISBN 0-415-26087-6. Page 146.
  22. ^ a b Review: Uttarpriyadarshi Archived 5 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine by Renee Renouf, ballet magazine, December 2000,
  23. ^ Margo Jefferson (27 October 2000). "Next Wave Festival Review; In Stirring Ritual Steps, Past and Present Unfold". New York Times.
  24. ^ Dharwadker, p. 196
  25. ^ Profile at manipuronline Archived 6 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  26. ^ Vikram Phukan (29 June 2019). "Desi drama, subcontinental style". ‘’The Hindu’’. Mumbai, India. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  27. ^ Choudhury, Ratnadip (23 July 2025). "Theatre Doyen Ratan Thiyam Dies At 77 In Manipur After Long Battle With Post-Covid Complications". www.ndtv.com. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  28. ^ Renowned theatre maestro Ratan Thiyam passes away
  29. ^ Jaiswal, Umanand (25 July 2025). "Manipur observes daylong state mourning as mark of respect to theatre legend Ratan Thiyam". Telegraph India. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  30. ^ Dharwadker, p. 105
  31. ^ Asia society Archived 26 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  32. ^ "Real art attacks the wrong system" and director-playwright Ratan Thiyam's plays bear testimony to his words The Hindu, 30 January 2005
  33. ^ Ratan Thiyam at Fordham University Archived 9 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  34. ^ Bharatrangmohotsav (theater Festival) 2008, National School of Drama, New Delhi, India.
  35. ^ Delhi Ibsen Festival : When We Dead Awaken – Play
  36. ^ Another play by Ratan Thiyam, another astonishing splash. The Telegraph, 6 March 2009.
  37. ^ "The National School of Drama's Bharat Rang Mahotsav... Featuring 96 productions..." MumbaiTheatreGuide.com. 12 January 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  38. ^ "SNA: List of Akademi Awardees". Sangeet Natak Akademi Official website. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011.
  39. ^ which he returned in July 2001
  40. ^ "Padma Awards". Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.
  41. ^ "Ratan Thiyam Received Bharat Muni Samman". odisha.360.batoi.com. 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2012. Ratan Thiyam, the doyen of theatre was awarded Bharat Muni Samman for the year 2011
  42. ^ "Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Akademi Awards 2012" (PDF). Press Information Bureau, Govt. of India. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
  43. ^ "Ratan Thiyam – the doyen of Indian theatre". India-north-east.com. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  44. ^ "City college honours Biren Datta, Thiyam". The Assam Tribune. 15 September 2010.
  45. ^ "K-Cian 2016-17" (PDF). K.C. Das Commerce College.
  46. ^ Open Frame 2003– August 21–27 2003 India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

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