The mobile theatre industry in Assam has come to a grinding halt as pre-planned shows have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Even after over three months of lockdown has passed so far, however, there has been no confirmation regarding the reopening of the theatres.
The day-day-lives of those associated with the various theatre groups have also been thrown out of gear.
There are several performers in a theatre group who gets paid on a per-day basis.
This lockdown has hit hard on the lives of these daily wage-earning performers and there are around 150 such performers in the 60 odd theatre groups of the country.
Apart from artistes, there are many other technicians and associates, who are paid on a daily basis by the theatre groups.
Theatre troupes start their journey across Assam for nine months from the month of August.
In 2019, however, their journey was cut short by the global pandemic.
New plays are rehearsed from late June onwards, which has also remained suspended in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A senior advocate of Bajali Giridhar Choudhury said, “Life of over 1 lakh people associated with the mobile theatre industry of Assam has been thrown out of gear.”
“The Assam government should come forward to help this industry,” he added.