ABSTRACT
The materialist semiotic analysis focuses primarily beyond the stage and into the realm of the theatrical dark matter of Bengali Group Theatre, and lives up to Andrew Sofer’s charge of explaining the theatrical phenomenon better. It is after all the combination of the work put together by those behind the scenes and the circumstances behind the scenes that allow visible matter or the theatrical event to exist. And finally, the historical and societal attitudes surrounding gender roles, paid and unpaid labor, and the role of the arts act as a lens to understand the evolution of the unique performance culture of Bengali group theatre. Therefore, even though similar, the analytical framework differs from Sofer’s proposed spectral reading of a performance event by focusing on the actual material dark matter beyond the visible theatrical event in Kolkata and not on the unsaid invisibilities of the theatrical narratives playing out on stage.
