Suanga is a musical folk theatre whose literal meaning is masque or farce. This is most popular in coastal Orissa till the early part of the twentieth century. Although it has become extinct there, it is still prevalent in Kalahandi and Balangir districts of western Orissa. The technique of Suanga also informs the spectacular Prahlada Nataka. Suanga playwrights who dominated Oriya theatre with their performing troupes were Jagannath Pani, Gopal Das, Bandhu Nayak, Dayanidhi Swain, Baishnab Pani, and Balakrishna Mohanty. All later converted to Yatra because of popular demand.

The themes of Suanga plays are always mythological. The actors are required to sing their own dialogue. The refrain repeated by a chorus of singers. All the characters introduce themselves through songs. For example, when Siva enters he sings, `I am Siva, God of three worlds, Ganga is in my matted locks, I live in Kailash.` While the choruses are sung the actors dance gently. Gini i.e. cymbals and mardala or mridanga i.e. double-ended drums are the only accompanying instruments. Enough humour is provided by minor characters such as the Dwari or sentry and Vaidya or village doctor. They sing and gesticulate according to the mood and meaning of the songs. Their portions of sung dialogue are written in common colloquial language.

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