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On a weekend evening in Chennai, a small crowd gathers near a tea shop. There is no stage and no microphone. Six street theatre artists stand in a circle. Within minutes, people stop walking. Someone laughs, someone disagrees, someone finally speaks about an issue they have lived with for years but never spoken about. This is how our Area Sabha campaign unfolds, not inside halls, but on the streets where everyday life happens.
These six artists are not performing for applause. They perform to start conversations about democracy, about local decision making, and about whether people know they have a voice in their own neighbourhoods. Through participatory theatre, they invite the public to step into the performance, question power, share experiences, and imagine collective solutions.
Street theatre does not sell tickets. It does not come with banners or sponsors. Yet it demands time, rehearsals, travel, and emotional labour. Most of the time, artists continue this work by compromising their own livelihoods. This fundraiser exists so they do not have to do that.
Over the next five months, these artists will perform during weekends across Chennai and Tambaram. There are twenty weekends in this period. In this time, they will conduct at least thirty participatory street theatre performances in public spaces. Each performance creates a space where people can speak freely about their local issues and understand how Area Sabha can be a platform for their voices.
A typical performance begins with a familiar situation from the neighbourhood. Slowly, the audience becomes part of the play. People interrupt, argue, suggest, and even replace the performers on stage. By the end, the performance dissolves into conversation. People stay back, talk among themselves, and ask what they can do next.
To make this possible, each artist needs ₹2,000 per weekend. This includes ₹1,500 for the campaign day performance and ₹500 for travel during rehearsals. With six artists performing over twenty weekends, the total support required is ₹2,40,000.
This amount ensures that the artists are paid with dignity and can continue this work without financial stress.
Your contribution directly supports these artists. It helps them show up week after week, prepared and committed. It helps take conversations about democracy to streets where people rarely feel heard.
Through at least thirty performances, hundreds of people will encounter Area Sabha, many for the first time. Some will attend local meetings. Some will begin asking questions. Change often begins this quietly.
Democracy weakens when it feels distant and abstract. Street theatre brings it back to eye level, into everyday spaces, using language people understand and experiences they recognise. These artists do not stand above the community. They stand within it.
By contributing to this fundraiser, you are not just donating money. You are standing behind six artists who carry conversations into public spaces. You are helping keep people’s voices alive on the streets. You are helping democracy travel where it is most needed.
These six artists are not performing for applause. They perform to start conversations about democracy, about local decision making, and about whether people know they have a voice in their own neighbourhoods. Through participatory theatre, they invite the public to step into the performance, question power, share experiences, and imagine collective solutions.
Street theatre does not sell tickets. It does not come with banners or sponsors. Yet it demands time, rehearsals, travel, and emotional labour. Most of the time, artists continue this work by compromising their own livelihoods. This fundraiser exists so they do not have to do that.
Over the next five months, these artists will perform during weekends across Chennai and Tambaram. There are twenty weekends in this period. In this time, they will conduct at least thirty participatory street theatre performances in public spaces. Each performance creates a space where people can speak freely about their local issues and understand how Area Sabha can be a platform for their voices.
A typical performance begins with a familiar situation from the neighbourhood. Slowly, the audience becomes part of the play. People interrupt, argue, suggest, and even replace the performers on stage. By the end, the performance dissolves into conversation. People stay back, talk among themselves, and ask what they can do next.
To make this possible, each artist needs ₹2,000 per weekend. This includes ₹1,500 for the campaign day performance and ₹500 for travel during rehearsals. With six artists performing over twenty weekends, the total support required is ₹2,40,000.
This amount ensures that the artists are paid with dignity and can continue this work without financial stress.
Your contribution directly supports these artists. It helps them show up week after week, prepared and committed. It helps take conversations about democracy to streets where people rarely feel heard.
Through at least thirty performances, hundreds of people will encounter Area Sabha, many for the first time. Some will attend local meetings. Some will begin asking questions. Change often begins this quietly.
Democracy weakens when it feels distant and abstract. Street theatre brings it back to eye level, into everyday spaces, using language people understand and experiences they recognise. These artists do not stand above the community. They stand within it.
By contributing to this fundraiser, you are not just donating money. You are standing behind six artists who carry conversations into public spaces. You are helping keep people’s voices alive on the streets. You are helping democracy travel where it is most needed.
