Stinking toilets & dusty green rooms at BNA’s Thrust Theatre audi, complain artistes

For theatre artistes, green room is that sacred place where they prepare for their performances -- reading scripts, practising dialogue delivery and changing costumes

For theatre artistes, green room is that sacred place where they prepare for their performances -- reading scripts, practising dialogue delivery and changing costumes -- says artiste Rupali Chandra while rehearsing for a play in the Thrust Theatre auditorium of the Bhartendu Natya Akademi (BNA) in Lucknow.

Cement strewn inside a basin in a washroom at the Thrust Theatre auditorium of the BNA in Lucknow. (Sourced)

“But sadly, the facilities here are far from satisfactory. The washrooms attached to the green rooms of this auditorium leave performers with no option but to cover their nose with a handkerchief. They stink so much!” she said.

According to her, the pathetic condition of the washrooms annoyed veteran theatre artiste Dr Anil Rastogi during his visit to the Akademi.

“At a time when our Prime Minister is stressing on focusing on sanitation and personal hygiene, institutes like the BNA are doing just the opposite,” she complained.

Another artiste, unwilling to disclose his identity, said, “Most of the performers coming here are stressed due to the unhygienic conditions of the toilets.”

“The basins are stained with ‘pan masala’. Also, there is cement strewn inside the basins and the pots. They are not cleaned for days. The urinals leak and give out a nauseating odour,” he said.

Chandra said that the condition of the green rooms was not much better. “They are neither swept nor dusted daily. A layer of dust and dirt covers the furniture here. All artistes are forced to practise in such unhygienic conditions. This brings a bad name for the place, especially among people coming here from other cities,” she said.

When HT contacted BNA director Ramesh Chandra Gupta about the condition of the green rooms and the toilets at the auditorium, he said, “We have so many students and performers here. There are workers here responsible for the daily cleaning of toilets. In addition, we get the washrooms cleaned whenever there is a complaint. However, there are some people who want to the malign the image of institute by spitting in basins and pots. First they spit ‘pan masala’ in it, then they click photos. After that they release these photos in the social media to bring the Akademi a bad name.”

Gupta said the BNA administration would surely make extra efforts to keep the premises clean. “But we also need users’ cooperation to keep our green rooms clean,” he said.