ABSTRACT
Theatre has a long history in India with dialogues being enacted as a part of the Rig-vedic oral traditions dating back to the fifteenth century bce. Soliloquy of Indra inebriated with Soma and the dialogue between the star-crossed lovers Urvasi and Pururavas have been appreciated for their dramatic content. Modern Marathi theatre emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century. In the sense of form, it was modern as it had a script, performances that were held on a stage and an audience that paid to attend. It was also modern in the sense of content in that its themes and subjects were relevant to the times.
