World Theatre Day: From Seema Pahwa to Ashish Vidyarthi, actors get nostalgic about the dynamic medium

Seema Pahwa and Ashish Vidyarthi

In the entertainment world, theatre serves as a pillar of artistic expression, providing a platform for creativity, passion, and storytelling. On World Theatre Day, from Seema Pahwa to Ashish Vidyarthi, several actors, who have showcased their talent and dedication on stage, fondly reminisce about their experiences.

Amruta Subhash, in a conversation, shared her personal experience of how the stage is a miraculous place for her. The Zee Theatre's teleplay ‘Hamidabai Ki Kothi' actress said, "I had a fever, and I had a show to do. When I entered the stage, suddenly the fever disappeared. I was completely fine for the three hours I was on stage, and when I left the stage and entered the green room, I had a fever again. So theatre has this almost miraculous effect on me, and it has happened more than once. If I'm suffering from something, I completely transcend when I'm on stage. So for me, it is meditative. It has given me some miraculous gifts like these. I feel elated, I feel so on top. I feel like a fountain of energy when I'm on stage."

When asked about what she would choose between stage or screen, the actress said that she will always go for a good script. "I would choose between a good script and a bad script. I wouldn't choose between screen and theatre because what attracts me is a good script, despite its form, whether I am doing it for cinema/OTT or for Theatre, and touchwood, life has been kind enough to give me good scripts on all platforms," she shared.

Aditi Pohankar, while recalling her old days, shared that for her stage means the world and said, "I feel most liberated when I am on stage. I feel most loved and almost one with divine energy because I can feel the breath of people flow in tandem with my emotions. But that feeling remains only till the applause lasts, and then you step out of the theatre, you come back to a regular life, drink tea, and go home. So it's a very short-lived adrenaline rush, but it gives you a high like no other."

The actress further shared that she will always choose theatre above the screen as she thinks theatre is something one can never leave.

Seema Pahwa, known for her roles in films like ‘Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi', while talking about her experience, said, "Theatre is actually a space where you must focus on your craft because it is here that an actor enables the audience to visualize a story, maybe even a house with doors and windows in the absence of any elaborate sets. There is often minimal visual detail on stage, and the rest is created through imagination. So the whole foundation of theatre is based on the craft of an actor and the magic created by the suspension of disbelief."

‘Khufiya' actor Ashish Vidyarthi also opened up about his views on doing theatre. The actor said, "On stage, you get goosebumps, you're scared, but there is also a magical energy unfolding because months of hard work are about to culminate before the audience. It doesn't matter what has happened before because it is this show that matters."

The actor further added that theatre has helped him to hone his skills as a performer. "It has taught me to go with the flow and also to improvise, adapt, alter my performance, relate to the audience, and connect deeply with the immediate moment and my environment. Theatre is truly a live medium, and there are moments in which things don't turn out the way you expected, but still, you manage to bring your best to the performance. You can't sleepwalk through a stage performance, and being alive to the moment is one of the most important skills that you get to hone in theatre," he added.