Indian Theatre has a history of more than 5000 years. The first treatise the Natya Shastra, was written by Bharat Muni around between 2nd century BC and 4th century AD. A long time for any art to form its rules. The existence of the book leads us to conclude that Indian theatre must have begun long time ago.

Theatre in India started as a narrative form that is reciting, singing and dancing becoming the integral part of the theatre. The emphasis on narrative elements made it more theatrical and encompassed all forms of literature and fine arts including literature, mime, music, dance, movement, painting, sculpture and architecture all mixed and being called `Natya` or theatre in English.

Theatre in the West presents life as it is whereas in India it presents life, as it should be. In other words, theatre is near to realism but in India it is more idealistic. The development in India can be divided into three distinctive phases: the classical period, the traditional period and the modern period.

Phase I includes the writing and practice of theatre up to about 1000 A.D., almost based on rules, regulations and modifications handed by Natya Shastra. Playwrights such as Bhasa, Kalidasa, Shudraka, Vishakhadatta and Bhavabhuti contributed through their dramatic pieces in Sanskrit. They based their plots on sources like the epics, history, folk tales and legends.

Sanskrit theatre was aristocratic and religious. The basic ideas for this art form were derived from the Greek Comedies. These plays are the first known pieces of literature from India. During the seventeenth century, this art form began to lose popularity. By the eighteenth century it had evolved into what is known as "Indian classical dance. The dramas of later India were called sangeets or musicals. Since the beginning of the nineteenth century, all folk plays were entirely written in song. A sangeet is actually a combination of a comedy and a musical. The dancers would always have painted faces with special accents around the eyes usually done in red. The audiences for these primitive plays were boisterous, always eating and moving around throughout the play. Puppetry is the most prominent division of theater in India. The most popular form of puppetry in Indian is shadow puppetry. Practiced for thousands of years in Indian culture. And the plays are based on two important epic poems from India, the Ramayana and the Mahabharta.

Phase II involves that practice of theatre, which was based on oral traditions. It was being performed from about 1000 AD onwards up to 1700 A.D. Even today it continues almost in every part of India. It is linked with the change of political set up in India as well as the coming up of different regional languages. This whole period is known as folk or traditional theatre handed over from generation to generation through an oral tradition. The classical theatre, which is based on Natya Shastra, was much more sophisticated in form and nature and totally urban-oriented. The classical theatre was almost similar in its presentation in all parts of India at a particular time, the traditional theatre took to two different kinds of presentational methods - all the folk and traditional forms in northern India are mainly vocal, i.e., singing and recitation-based like Ramlila, Rasleela, Bhand Nautanki and Wang without any complicated gestures or movements and elements of dance.

Phase III is again linked with a change in the political set up in India. The time about 200 years under the British rule. India, as a colony of the British Empire, used theatre as one of its instruments in protest. To resist, the British Govt. had to impose Dramatic Performance Act in 1876. From the last half of the 19th century, theatres in India experienced a boost in numbers and practice. For the first time in India, the writing and practice of theatre is geared fully towards realistic or naturalistic presentation. It was always present as also envisaged in Natya Shastra through concepts of Lokdharmi, i.e., a style of presentation connected with day-to-day gestures and behaviour and Natyadharami, - i.e., a style more presentational and theatrical in nature. But the stories used were invariably from the same sources. In the modern theatre the story also changed its nature. Now it is no more woven around big heroes and gods, but has become a picture of common man. After independence in 1947, theatres spread throughout India as one of the means of entertainment and one of the means of protest. Though it seems that the theatre in India has been a continuous activity, yet in reality it has not been so. It has always been a part of festivals or such other occasions, which are related to entertainment. It has not yet become a part and practice of our life as in the West. Even in States like West Bengal and Maharashtra, where theatre is very prolific, none of the performers is totally devoted to the theatre. They are involved in some job or the other during daytime and only in the evenings they come to rehearse or perform. India is a vast country with 22 languages and as many different cultures. It is not like any Western countries where the language and culture is one. In India, the concept of National Theatre has to be seen purely in regional terms. All the regions have their own language, history and culture and their theatre is also deeply rooted in those circumstances.

Theatre in present day India is a different story. In India today, theatre in general is in a constant struggle against the always-changing technology, which seems exciting compared to the art forms, which have been around for thousands of years. Just as the plays of previous years did, these dramas contain the religious and social message, which happen to be weighing on the mind of the playwright. One of these important messages is the role of women in society. The actors and playwrights that make their living entertaining India receive different levels of respect and therefore are placed on different "social levels".