Kachahari Natak: Fragments of an Aesthetics of Theatre for Social Change
Chapter 4 shifts focus from macro-level political protests to the micro-level power dynamics of grassroots social theatre. It explores the transition of Nepali street theatre from radical political activism to donor-funded development projects, examining how Augusto Boal’s “Theatre of the Oppressed” was adapted into the Nepali context and highlighting the ongoing tensions between artistic integrity, NGO agendas, and genuine social change.
The “NGO-ization” of Theatre Following the advent of multi-party democracy in 1990, the influx of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) transformed Nepali street theatre into an instrument for “development communication”. Many veteran artists lamented this shift, feeling that theatre devolved into top-down, message-driven “NGO theatre”. In this model, urban actors arrived to deliver predetermined behavioral change messages to supposedly “backward” rural populations, sacrificing theatrical aesthetics and political spirit to satisfy donor agendas.
Kachahari performed in Balaju, Kathmandu (Janauary 2005, photos by the author)
Nepalizing Forum Theatre To counter this paternalistic, top-down approach, the Aarohan Theatre Group adopted Boal’s forum theatre methodology in 2001, rebranding it as kachahari natak (named after a traditional Nepali village assembly used for dispute resolution). Unlike standard street theatre, kachahari requires actors to present an unresolved conflict and then invite the audience to step onto the stage as “spect-actors” to rehearse practical solutions. This flipped the development dynamic, operating on the premise that marginalized communities inherently possess the knowledge to solve their own problems.
Kachahari in Purano Baneshwar (January 2005, photos by the author)
The Boundaries of Staging Conflict The chapter explores the limitations of what can safely be staged in a conflict-ridden society. Aarohan discovered that macro-political issues, such as the ongoing Maoist insurgency, were too dangerous to resolve in a public forum. Staging these conflicts carried severe real-world risks of violent retaliation for both actors and participants. Consequently, kachahari natak safely retreated from national politics to focus on micro-level social oppressions, such as domestic child labor and wage exploitation.
Kachahari on child labour staged at schools, photos by the author (see the book for an analysis).
Process vs. Product (Workshop vs. Issue-Based Theatre) A central theme is the tension between process-oriented and product-oriented theatre, illustrated through two case studies. The first, a workshop-based play co-created with exploited construction workers, was highly localized and perceived as empowering. The workers used the play as a direct bargaining tool against their bosses to secure unpaid wages, blurring the line between theatrical rehearsal and real-life activism. Conversely, an issue-based play about child labor represented Aarohan’s shift toward standardization to meet heavy donor quotas. Pre-packaged and performed repeatedly in Kathmandu’s private schools, this model relied on comedy and fixed narratives. However, because the student audience lacked empathy or “absolute identity” with the oppressed child worker, often coming from families that employed such labor, the play’s revolutionary potential was diluted into a safe, one-off educational event without real-world follow-up.
Artistic Identity vs. Social Work Ultimately, the chapter highlights a fundamental dilemma for professional artists. Conducting deeply integrated, workshop-based forum theatre is unpredictable and borders on full-time social work. By streamlining kachahari natak into a repeatable product without community follow-up, Aarohan successfully safeguarded its identity as a professional artistic institution, even as it sacrificed some of the radical, liberating capacity of Boal’s original methodology.
To cite this book and read more: Rehearsing for Life. Theatre for Social Change in Nepal, Cambridge University Press (2018) available here.