Feminist Street Theatre – Histories and Stories A Presentation on Feminist Street Theatre during the 1970s & 80s in Delhi by Deepti Priya Mehrotra Friday, January 20, 2017 | 05:30 PM

The late 1970s and 80s was a particularly fertile time for street plays, within the context of a vibrant women’s movement. Deeply political plays were created by ordinary women, from colleges, bastis and women’s groups, in Delhi, and performed hundreds of times. Actor-activist memories provide occasions to explore theatre as activism, as education and art. Revisiting vintage drama scripts feels meaningful, for the history they embody and the power they still exude.

Deepti is an independent scholar and a Fellow at Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, researching towards a book on a spectrum of social movements in India of the ’70s and ’80s. Her publications include, Gulab Bai the Queen of Nautanki Theatre, Burning Bright: Irom Sharmila and the Struggle for Peace in Manipur and Home Truths: Stories of Single Mothers.

Sampurna Trust received a grant, with Deepti Priya Mehrotra as the Principal Investigator, under the Arts Research programme of India Foundation for the Arts, with part support from South Asia Women’s Fund.