Cal­cutta may offer little to youngsters trying to innovate in the theatre space and explore newer modes of creative expression but there are surprises galore. Interestingly, most of these come from the suburbs.

Budge Budge Agami’s Chithir Jubaan (picture) is a perfect example. Scripted and directed by Ebong Ipsita, this experimental piece premiered at the Tripti Mitra Sabhagriha. Set in a mofussil town soon after the partition of Bengal, this intense relationship drama has an exciting premise. A postmaster (Suman Saha) and his newly-married wife (Ipsita) are troubled by the tumultuous political situation around them. Two other young men (Arghya Roy and Saumyajit Adhikary) keep coming in and out, teasing the minds of the audience, till the mystery is resolved at the end. Letters, passionate and puzzling at times, form the backbone of the narrative. While the flexible set is manoeuvred well by the actors, it is Saikat Manna’s imaginative light design — a sensitive amalgam of shades and silhouettes — that scripts success for this immersive watch. Mounted with care and executed with love, Chithir Jubaan is 70 minutes long and I wish a long run for this production. The director/actor, Ipsita, has many talents.

Speaking of amalgams, Kayadanga Sabuj Sanskritic Kendra works out a challenging script by juxtaposing Rabindranath Tagore’s play, Dakghar (1912), and Lu Xun’s story, “Diary of a Madman” (1918). Visually arresting and aurally exciting, the production, titled They and My Diary, explores the unknown fears and nightmares that crowd our personal space, represented by the characters from the famous texts. Rajesh Debnath, the director, is always open to new prospects in scenography. Here, he negotiates with projected images, innovates with prosthetic make-up and controls the light sources seamlessly to come up with a stunner. Pritam Chakraborty and Udipta Bhuiya share the acting honours.

In this context, it must be mentioned that Calcutta urgently needs a few black-box theatres with state-of-the-art facilities and a seating capacity of 150-200 people. Ramshackle proscenium theatres or reoriented lecture theatres can neither facilitate the intimacy our young practitioners love to explore nor accommodate the latest technological tools that they find handy. Time is running out. Corporates should step in at once.