Jump to content

Shri Ram Centre for Performing Arts

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Shri Ram Centre)

Shri Ram Centre for Performing Arts
Formation1958
Location
ServicesDrama school
Websitesrcpa.in

The Shri Ram Centre for Performing Arts (SRCPA) commonly referred as Shri Ram Centre, is one of Delhi's noted theatre organisation and theatre venues.[2][3][4] It is situated at Mandi House on Safdar Hasmi Marg, New Delhi, close to the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra, Triveni Kala Sangam and the National School of Drama.[5]

It is run by the Indian National Theatre Trust, established in 1958 the promotion of Art and Culture, with people like Sheila Bharat Ram, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Nandita Kriplani and Aditya Srivastava associated with it.[6] The Centre runs a certified two-year-acting-course. The SRCPA Theatre Repertory Company started in 1980[7] and Puppet Theatre company, which over the years saw the rise of modern puppetry under puppeteer Dadi Padamjee.[8]

History

[edit]

The present building of the Centre opened in the ’60s. The Brutalist building, built between 1966 and 1969, was designed by Shiv Nath Prasad and Mahendra Raj[9][10] with help from theatre doyen, Ebrahim Alkazi, and was constructed under the overall supervision of industrialist Vinay Bharat Ram of Shriram Group (DCM Ltd.), from the industrialist family of Lala Shri Ram. The Shankar Lal Murli Dhar Auditorium is a proscenium theatre with a capacity of 375 people at two levels; 300 in the stall & 75 in the balcony.[11][12] The building also had basement theatre which closed after a few decades, due to municipality regulations.[13]

Since 1970s, each year, it also hold its Annual Summer Theatre Festival,[14][15] Annual Shiela Bharat Ram Theatre Festival and Annual Panna Bharat Ram Theatre Festival[16][17] besides being the venue of several theatre festivals, and events.[18][2][5]

Repertory

[edit]

The SRCPA Repertory was set up in 1980 by theatre director Rajinder Nath.[18] Presently, the Repertory is a full-time professional resident theatre company, performing regularly in Delhi and in other parts of the country. The company comprises 14 artists and a resident director namely, Sameep Singh (Chief of Repertory)[19]

Over the years, the SRC Repertory Company has been working with directors like Rajinder Nath (1976-1981, 1983–89),[18] Ranjit Kapoor,[20] B.V. Karanth, Habib Tanveer, B.M. Shah, Bansi Kaul, Piyush Mishra, Suresh Sharma, Roysten Abel, Sanjay Upadhyay, Bapi Bose, Avtaar Sahni, Chittaranjan Tripathi, Urmil Kumar Thapliyal, Mushtaq Kak, Chetan Dattar, Rabijita Gogoi, Aniruddh Khutwad, K. Madvane, K.S. Rajendran, Zafar Sanjari, Sameep Singh, Sohaila Kapur[21] and Niloy Roy.[22]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ Rai, Aditya (3 March 2023). "Places to visit at Mandi House". The Patriot. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Message-driven theatre fest with contemporary stories wraps up in Delhi". The Times of India. 23 December 2025. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  3. ↑ Aparna Bhargava Dharwadker (2009). "Theatres of Independence". University of Iowa Press. p. 92. ISBN 158729642X. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  4. ↑ Bukhtiyar, Idrees (23 March 2025). "Mandi House: Where Delhi's theatre legacy comes alive". The Patriot. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  5. 1 2 Nandwana, Gargi (22 June 2023). "Shiela Bharat Ram Theatre Festival: Audience get transported to a simpler and purer time through Prem Kabootar". The Indian Express. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  6. ↑ History Archived 2011-07-27 at the Wayback Machine SRC website.
  7. ↑ "Repertory Performances". SRC.
  8. ↑ "Dadi Pudumjee". 11 July 2017.
  9. ↑ "Shri Ram Center for Art and Culture". #SOSBRUTALISM. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  10. ↑ Prasad, Shiv Nath; Raj, Mahendra; Shetty, Prasad; Gulati, Manish; Kuriakose, Biju; Pandit, Madhu; Dasgupta, Arunav; Shivkumar, Rohan; Suresh, Sabareesh; Rewal, Raj (1972). "Sri Ram Centre for Art and Culture". Structural Engineering International. 1 (3). ISSN 1016-8664. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  11. ↑ Varghese, Shiny (6 May 2018). "Building Blocks: Setting the Stage". The Indian Express. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  12. ↑ "CEO Profile". DCM Textiles. Archived from the original on 11 December 2010.
  13. ↑ "This theatre of the absurd". The Times of India. 17 April 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  14. ↑ "Delhi remembers Girish Karnad as his play Agni Aur Barkha comes alive on stage". The Times of India. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  15. ↑ Ajith, Adithi Reena (7 June 2025). "Sheila Bharat Ram Theatre Festival 2025 kicks off successfully, celebrating Delhi's rich theatre legacy". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  16. ↑ Kapur, Sohaila (5 January 2018). "An enthralling collage of plays: Panna Bharat Ram Theatre Festival". theweek.in. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  17. ↑ "Don't miss out on these plays at Delhi's nine-day theatre fest". Hindustan Times. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  18. 1 2 3 "Rajinder Nath, who shaped city theatre scene, no more". The Times of India. 25 July 2025. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  19. ↑ "New production of Vijay Tendulkar's 1981 play to explore complexities of homosexual relationships".
  20. ↑ "Shri Ram Centre Repertory presents 'Janpath Kiss' Hindi Play as part of Summer Weekend Theatre Festival at Shri Ram Center for Performing Arts (SRCPA), 4, Safdar Hashmi Marg > 7pm on 31st May & 1st June 2014". June 2014.
  21. ↑ "Building Blocks: Setting the Stage". 6 May 2018.
  22. ↑ Bajeli, Diwan Singh (23 July 2015). "Reliving the past". The Hindu.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shri_Ram_Centre_for_Performing_Arts&oldid=1362527100"