City-based architect Namita Singh, who is working on the renovation project, says the audience will soon be able to experience the difference of viewing performances in the upgraded theatre for which audio, video, stage lighting, stage furnishing, seating, flooring, general lighting are being spruced up.

It is a well-known fact that the existing capacity of seats in the theatre fall woefully short and around hundred extra chairs have to be added in the aisles for every famous performance. To create new facility without tempering with the existing structure was the major challenge, Singh says.

After a close examination it was found that the stage could be turned around and the seating capacity increased without compromising on any functional aspects. The seating capacity of the auditorium is now being increased to 885 from the original 575.

During the study, it was also found that facilities vital for performers, like the greenrooms and toilets, were inadequate. Special priority was thus given to improving the backstage area. In addition, sight lines have been improved from the earlier times when the sight was not clear even from the third row, Singh said.

However, theatre artists like Rani Balbir Kaur, film director M S Sathyu and architect Aditya Prakash have criticised the renovation work. They opine that the triangular stage being constructed in the name of renovation would only cause greater destruction to the theatre.

Brushing aside the apprehensions, Singh says the stage is neither in a corner nor triangular. “Once the cyclorama and the wings are in place and the connections between the acting area and new structure, including the back stage and ancillary areas, opened, it will be apparent that the dimensions (65 feet x 40 feet depth) and shape of the stage are nearly the same as that of the earlier one,” she adds.

Reacting to the criticisms, Singh says the sweeping comments by Sathyu and Rani Balbir Kaur were a result of the visit to an incomplete structure where they could not visualise the finished theatre.

She says that the dimensions of the stage are as per the standards for a theatre of this size. The depth of the new stage (40 feet) has been designed keeping in mind the requirement of various kinds of performances like drama and dance.

“To say that stage is in one corner is absolutely wrong. The new stage is in the same axis as the old stage and is central to the seating arrangement,” she informs.

The word “stage” is not only the acting area which is seen by the audience, it is a composition of spaces required for various functions involved behind the successful performance, like acting area, scenery space, wing space, crossover, working and storage space, dressing rooms with toilets, she adds.

“This makes the stage area almost equal to the area for seating space in the present design of Tagore Theatre, which is as per the standards. Hence to say that the stage is only 9 per cent is totally false and irrelevant,” said Singh.

A state-of-art sound and light system are also being incorporated apart from increasing the seating capacity. Lighting control booth is also being located in the rear portion of the theatre so that the operator is able to see the stage completely in order to give right light effects at right time.