Built in 1883, the Star Theatre in Kolkata was initially located in Beadon Street but was later moved to Cornwallis Street, which is currently known as Bidhan Sarani. Along with the Minerva Theatre, which was built a decade later in 1893, the Star Theatre was one of the first institutions of commercial Bengali theatre.
It was in these two theatres along with The Classic Theatre that aired the first motion pictures in Bengali made by Hiralal Sen, who is considered to be one of India"s first filmmaker. It is said that sometime in the 1880"s one of the first directors to produce a play at the Star Theatre was Girish Chandra Ghosh, a Bengali playwright, novelist, theatre director and actor.
Overview of Star Theatre
The Star Theatre was destroyed in a fire but was later restored by the local municipal corporation and is currently a heritage site in the city. The restored Star Theatre maintains the heritage facade and has contemporary interior designs. Over the years, the Star Theatre has witnessed several changes of proprietorship and currently it is maintained by a private company.
The Star Theatre is now a cinema hall and plays are staged about twice per month. During the winter months of December and January, plays are staged here more frequently, about 10 a month. The Star Theatre auditorium has excellent acoustics and is once known to be visited by Bengali luminaries such as Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Rabindranath Tagore. Presently, after renovations by the Government of West Bengal, Star Theatre hosts many Bengali plays by popular playwrights from Bengal.
Visiting Information on Star Theatre
The city of Kolkata has the facility for underground railway services, which connects parts of the city all over and the Star Theatre is located close to the Sovabazar Sutanuti metro station at a mere distance of about 700 m.
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