Monday, March 12, 2012

Rabindranath's Drama staged in London

(St. James Theatre, London)
Rabindranath's drama, Chitra, was staged in St. James Theatre, London on 27th April, 1917. It was thought of staging the Drama in 1913.  Every arrangement was done to stage it in America in 1916, but ultimately it was not possible to stage it.
The Westminister Gazette wrote on 28th April;
" The special performance last  evening at the St.James Theatre by the "Union of the East and
West " in honour of the Indian Delegation of the Imperial War conference was in many respects a remarkable gathering ... Last night's programme, contained two short Indian plays, performed in English -- "Chitra" from the pen of Sir Rabindranath Tagore, and "The hero and the Nymp", one of the masterpieces of Kalidasa. The outstanding features of the performance was Miss Edith Godall's sympathetic presentation of the title-role in Chitra,....The lover, Arjuna, -- admirably played by Mr. William Stack ... At the conclusion of the performance the Right Hon. E.s.Montagu said that both Kalidasa and Sir Rabindranath Tagore, the respective authors of the two plays that had been presented, were entitled to high places amongst the great writers and thinkers of the British Empire."
This was nicely written, but Kalidasa did not born in British India.