Ebrahim Alkazi
| Ebrahim Alkazi | |
|---|---|
| Born |
18 October 1925 Pune, Maharashtra |
| Occupation | theatre director |
Ebrahim Alkazi (born 18 October 1925) is one of the most influential Indian theatre directors and drama teachers in 20th-century Indian theatre. Alkazi was a strict disciplinarian who did rigorous research before producing a play, leading to important advances in scenographic design. His standards later became very influential. He also remained the Director of National School of Drama, New Delhi (1962–1977) He has also been a noted art connoisseur, collector and gallery owner, and found Art Heritage Gallery in Delhi with his wife, Roshan Alkazi.
Staging more than fifty plays in his lifetime, Alkazi used both proscenium stages and the open-air venues. His designs for the open-air venues were acclaimed for their visual nature and for the original spins he put on each stage production, including those he had previously directed before. Trained at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he won the BBC Broadcasting Award in 1950. He has directed over 50 plays, including famous productions of: Girish Karnad's Tughlaq, Mohan Rakesh's Ashadh Ka Ek Din, Dharamvir Bharati's Andha Yug and numerous Shakespeare and Greek plays. Many of his early plays were from the West and were performed in English, however, Alkazi changed them to have Indian viewpoints to be more relatable towards his audience.
Born in Pune, Mahrashtra, Alkazi was the son of a wealthy Saudi Arabian business man trading in India and a Kuwaiti mother. Educated in Arabic, English, Marathi, and Gujurati, Alkazi was schooled in St. Vincent's High School in Pune and later St. Xavier's College, Mumbai. While he was a student at St Xavier's, he joined Sultan "Bobby" Padamsee's English theatre company, Theatre Group. Thereafter he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London in 1947. There he was offered career opportunities in London after being honored by both the English Drama League and the British Broadcasting Corporation, however, he turned the offers down in favor of returning home to rejoin the Theatre Group, which he ran from 1950 to 1954.
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