Ratan Thiyam, the Manipuri director was born in Nabadwip, Nadia district in 1948. The district is situated in West Bengal. He is the son of Manipuri dance teacher Tarunkumar Thiyam, and began his artistic career in poetry and painting. He took part in the literary movement in the 1970s when creative expression was at a premium and the search for Manipuri identity the subject of the young generation. Then began a passionate interaction with Manipuri theatre, and he enrolled in the National School of Drama in 1971. After graduating in 1974, he founded the Chorus Repertory Theatre with young colleagues in 1976.
He sought meaningful exploitation of traditional culture. The folk theme of Sanarembi-Chaism i.e. `Sanarembi and Chaisra` in 1976 launched him on a brilliant career. His commitment to discipline, seriousness of training, and execution of a strong visual sense made his work a tour-de-force in national theatre with a powerful presence on the international circuit. He staged his major productions for an audience outside his home state, and his explorations of mainstream Hindu epics through Manipuri traditions of theatre, dance, music, and martial arts carried him far. Bhasa`s Urubhanga in 1981, Bharati`s Andha yug in 1984, his own Chakravyuha in 1984, Hiroshima and Ajneya`s Uttara Priyadarshi, etc. all of them dealt with the horrors of war. Thiyam became Director of the National School of Drama in 1987. He also extensively designed, choreographed, and undertook artistic responsibilities for international festivals. Relocating to Manipur, he built a complex for his company where the artistes live in a collective, sharing all day-to-day activities.
List of Plays by Ratan Thiyam
* Karanabharam (1979) (Karna-bhara: Karna`s burden by Sanskrit playwright Bhasa)
* Imphal Imphal (1982)
* Chakravyuha (1984) (Army Formation)
* Lengshonnei (1986) (An adaptation of Bertolt Brecht`s Antigone)
* Uttar Priyadarshi (The Final Beatitude, by Hindi playwright Agyeya) (1996)
* Chinglon Mapan Tampak Ama (Nine Hills One Valley)
* Ritusamharam (Ritusamharam by Sanskrit playwright Kalidasa)
* Andha Yug (The Blind Age, by Hindi playwright Dharamvir Bharati)
* Wahoudok (Prologue)
* Ashibagee Eshei (based on When We Dead Awaken, by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen) (2008)
Awards Won by Ratan Thiyam
* 1984: Indo-Greek Friendship Award, 1984 (Greece)
* 1987: Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
* 1987: Fringe Firsts Award, from Edinburgh International Festival
* 1989: Padma Shri
* 1990: Diploma of Cervantino International Festival, (Mexico)
* 2005: Kalidas Samman
* 2008: John D. Rockefeller Award
