This was the 100th show of Macbeth Badya, a play by well-known theatre director Manish Mitra. He uses traditional Indian art forms to bring Shakespeare’s work to life. “Shakespeare’s plays still matter today. It doesn’t matter when or where he wrote them — they can be retold in any language or art form because they always have something meaningful to say,” Manish says. He has staged this play in more than 16 countries.

In a full theatre, a musical show is taking place. A young actor steps into the spotlight and performs some Kathakali moves, then continues with Bharatnatyam and Koodiyattam. For the next few minutes, the audience watches a kind of dance-poem that tells the sad story of a modern man’s hunger for power. The performance becomes even more powerful with the sounds of the pakhawaj and Indian classical music. As the audience absorbs the performance, soon they realise it’s actually a version of William Shakespeare’s famous play Macbeth, told with an Indian flavor.

Shakespeare In India:

One example is Kasumal Sapno, directed by Ajeet Singh Palawat. It’s based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The play uses Rajasthan’s traditional puppet art, Kathputli, and bright desert colors. It’s a creative retelling that follows four young lovers — not in Athens, as in the original, but in a magical Rajasthani fort called Amorgarh. In this version, fairies and royals become puppet kings, magical weavers, forest spirits, and playful elves.

The show mixes many art styles, including the almost forgotten Rajasthani forms nakal and virah geet (songs of longing) sung by the Langa-Manganiyar musicians. “Shakespeare’s plays allow a lot of freedom to try new things. You can change his work to fit any language, place, or culture,” says Ajeet, who studied at the National School of Drama.

In India, Shakespeare moved from books to theatre stages and then to films. The British first introduced his work in Indian schools in 1700. Soon, his plays made their way into Indian theatre, starting in Kolkata and spreading across cities and villages. Each Indian language took his work and changed it to suit local culture.

West Comes to East:

“These directors were pioneers. They brought Shakespeare alive using Indian folk styles. Their versions were so good that it felt like Shakespeare had written his plays for India,” says theatre director and NSD graduate Rajendra Panchal. He adds that even Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa based many of his movies on Shakespeare. “Kurosawa adapted the plays so well, it felt like Shakespeare was Japanese. That’s the magic of his writing and the directors who retell his stories,” he says.

In Mumbai (then called Bombay), English theatre groups started performing Shakespeare around 1770. By 1868, Parsi theatre companies also began doing his plays, inspired by the Oriental Theatre Company. Almost 200 years later, Shakespeare’s plays no longer feel foreign to Indian audiences. Indian theatre legends have made his works truly their own.

Famous director Habib Tanvir was among the first to bring A Midsummer Night’s Dream into Indian theatre. He called it Kaamdeo Ka Apna Basant Ritu Ka Sapna and used Chhattisgarh’s local Nacha theatre form. Another legend, B.V. Karanth, turned Macbeth into a Yakshagana performance — a traditional dance-drama from Karnataka.

Bengali theatre group Natadha breath life into Shakespeare's Othello with their production of Athhoi. Adapted by Arna Mukhopadhyay, the play delivers a politically charged storyline with a modern twist. The play focuses on the idealistic doctor Athhoi Lodha and his turbulant experiences. The play weaves together themes of racism, love, jealousy, and betrayal, which resonates with contemporary audience.

Making Shakespeare Modern:

Famous director Roysten Abel adapted Othello into Othello: A Play in Black and White 24 years ago. Actors Adil Hussain and Barry John starred in it. Roysten’s version shows a group of actors rehearsing Othello, with Adil playing the lead using Kathakali techniques. As they act, real life starts mixing with the play. Feelings like jealousy, love, anger, and revenge take over both their real lives and their roles.

“I think Shakespeare is the best playwright for actors. Even if an actor isn’t very good, if they say the lines right, the scene will work,” Roysten explains. He says Shakespeare gives directors a lot to work with. “His writing can fit into any situation or place,” he adds.

Award-winning Mumbai-based director Atul Kumar once feared Shakespeare. But now he has happily adapted Twelfth Night into a nautanki-style musical called Piya Behrupiya. In 2017, he also reimagined A Midsummer Night’s Dream as Khwaab-Sa. Well-known actor and director Rajat Kapoor has recreated Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear, and As You Like It for Indian theatre in fresh ways.

Famous Manipuri director Ratan Thiyam gave Macbeth a powerful Indian form using Manipuri folk arts, live music, and grand lighting and sets.

As writer Poonam Trivedi says in her book India’s Shakespeare: Translation, Interpretation and Performance, “Shakespeare’s strong influence on Indian theatre in the 1800s led to many Indian-style versions and translations of his plays. To help Indian audiences connect with them, his plays were filled with songs and dances.”

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