Ask any event organiser the most challenging part about helping to shape Bahrain’s cultural mindscape and the answer is unexpected. It is not about getting top artistes to perform here – we’ve had everybody from Andre Rieu to Guns N’ Roses, K S Chithra to Kathak maestro Birju Maharaj. The problem is getting a good, responsive audience into the venue.
In the larger scheme of things, a sizeable audience, an engaged audience, holds the key to the success of the event. Because the audience energy feeds the artistes and is the reason sponsors make cultural events part of their community mix.
Once organisers have jumped through the hoops of getting the artistes, the sponsors and the venue, time and again, the most difficult thing is to get an enthusiastic audience. Yes, really. And if it’s a traditional/classical performance, somehow the Bahrain audience feels entitled to a free event. We should be embarrassed by this discriminatory behaviour. The same audience which vociferously demands a free classical event, will fly to a neighbouring country for a Bollywood show – a fashionable new trend.
Once you get them into the hall, Bahrain’s audience shows zero tolerance of any new experimentation. Even in this age of music and dance streaming when the latest performances are available live, our island audience chooses to remain isolated in the ‘nineties’.
And then there is the cultural snob who believes that his/her knowledge is the litmus test that every good event must pass and will not countenance any deviation. At a recent annual dance and music festival that celebrates a wide spectrum of Indian music and dance as well as Bahraini arts, I was shocked to hear that many so-called music lovers refused to attend the popular music concert of an upcoming film playback singer, known for her lovely, crystal-bright voice and who happened to be visually impaired. She was even dismissed as “just a film singer who is a ‘novelty’ because she fought her disability”. This, from people who probably can’t hold a note right.
And these people complain that Bahrain does not get enough top-notch cultural events ... “not like other countries nearby”.
A good friend who runs her own expat theatre group – the only private one in Bahrain, I believe – says she spends as much time scripting plays and producing/directing them as she does cajoling the audience to show up and share in the creative circle.
Cultural clubs elect bright-eyed and enthusiastic officials who bring wonderful ideas to their term. But the performing arts always needs an audience. Whether its music, dance or theatre, even the best performers need the energy of audience feedback. I’m especially surprised that Bahrain’s music and dance teachers who make their living from their knowledge of the arts are the first to withhold support and discourage their students from attending the concerts.
Wake up, Bahrain! Nurturing an artistic and creative environment is a joint responsibility. Only if we encourage organisers by showing up and supporting, will they be able to show the sponsors and artistes that our kingdom is a great place to bring such events to.
meeraresponse@gmail.com
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