Theatre via Streaming Technology (TST)
Channel: Jaaga Media
Date: 06/01/2023

Theatre via Streaming Technology (TST): An easy-to-use Information and Communications Technology (ICT) platform to deliver cultural and educational content to the elderly.

Lead Investigator: Sohini Basu
Group Members: Barnamala Roy

Theatre via Streaming Technology (TST) experiments with online performances, borrowing from new ways in which remote audiences have emerged to take part in a new way of “doing theatre”. The project aims to resolve the hindering participation of the elderly in theatre by employing Information and Communications Technology (ICT). People aged 65+ years are generally interested in participating in cultural and recreational activities (Zentrum Für Kulturforschung, 2008). However, a substantial percentage of older adults in India find difficulties in accessing cultural events (Toepoel, 2011). The nature of these impediments varies: they could be related to mobility, financial or health problems. As a consequence, many older people feel discouraged or are unable to attend such events. Developing an easy-to-use, cross-device ICT platform, the goal of the project is to deliver videos of Bengali theatres and plays (to begin with) via streaming technology that can be easily accessed by older people at home in Kolkata with internet access.