Theatre In British India Mumbai- Old Postcard 1895

The seeds of the modern Indian Theatre were sown in the late 18th century by the British. South Bombay or Mumbai was the life for administration, business, finance, and so on, and one was for theatre. The Portuguese parted with the seven islands of Bombay to the British as a dowry gift. It developed rapidly after unionizing the seven islands into a single landmass.

Inevitably theatre would take off and bloom into a busy cultural activity and entertainment. South Bombay had a greater concentration of Europeans, British soldiers, and other personnel, attracting many English theatre groups to take root here. This Postcard reflects one such entertainment of modern European theater in an evening at Fort area.

See also my post- Vintage Postcard Ode To Bombay Soldier’s Lover and Vintage Postcard Royal Opera House. Not only the English Theatre, but other regional language Theatres and drama also took root- Parsi, Marathi, Gujarati, and so on. But were concentrated at Dadar and further. Nightlife at Fort was brimming with the vibrancy of splendid hotels, bars, operas, and of course the theatre.

Many of the city’s grand Hotels held their own entertainment and cultural programs for the rich patrons and their families. Bringing in drama and dance troupes from the US and Europe. Under the regional language, the Parsis were the pioneers in drama and theatre having their own troupes. The Parsis concentrated on the Dadar area.

The Marathi and Gujarati picked up the cue and followed suit with their own troupes. All the theatre groups flourished robustly but sadly lost sheen and many shut shop with the coming of cinema which had a far greater mass appeal. Read more about- Theatre is Mumbai.

Did you know– Maurice Bandmann was among the first entrepreneurs to bring cinema to India in 1911.