Even finding younger actors and technicians to replace those already well past retirement age is proving difficult. As an American theater director who has studied Ramlila since 1976, I am fascinated by its scale, by the attention to detail in its staging, lighting, scenic design and costuming, by the acting and singing, and by the convergence of narrative, spectacle, devotion and politics. In September, I went to Ramnagar to see portions of this year's spectacle, as I have in other years. Ramayana means Rama's journey, and Ramlila suggests this journey literally. There are no seats.
People sit on the ground, stand, watch from rooftops or perch on walls.
When the action calls for it, the crowd moves from one location to another. Following in Rama's footsteps is fundamental to Ramlila. The festival itself transforms an area of many square miles. Some of the stages are enclosures in the middle of the town, others are deep in what was once forest and jungle, or on grassy hillsides and in open fields, or amid large gardens of fragrant blooming trees and temples and marble gazebos built by former maharajahs. For one scene, the stage is the Maharajah's own palace, known as the Fort, which it really once was.