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The Suguna Vilasa Sabha was established in Madras as a theatre company in 1891 in a house of Georgetown.In the summer of 1891, the Bellary Sarasavinodhini sabha under the leadership of the late Mr.D.Krishnamacharlu who has been highly praised as the father of Telugu dramatic literature, visited Madras and gave fabulous performances in Telugu at the Victoria public hall.
During those times, Indian amateur theatricals were confined to a few adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays. But this was the first amateur dramatic society which gave performances in a different language. This new development caused a twitch among the old and young stage lovers, especially the young. A preliminary meeting was conducted at the premises of Mr.Zacheas school, presided by Mr.P.M. Sivagnanam Mudaliyar (now Rao Bahadur) in order to start the movement of an amateur dramatic society in Madras on the lines of the Bellary society.
It has been 132 years from the year 1891 in which the sabha was founded, till this year 2023. During these years, the Sabha has been expanding steadily, with around 1200 members on roll, it’s one of the oldest and premier clubs in the city.
At the end of the meeting, a list was produced and signed by those approved the movement and prepared to join in starting an amateur dramatic society for Madras.
Messers.T.Jayaram Naicker, (Rao Bahadur)P.Sambandha Mudaliyar, V.Venkatakrishna Naidu, A.Venkatakrishna Pillai, W.Muthu kumaraswami chettiar, G.E.Sampath Chetty and Mr.P.C.Subramania Pillai were the 7 important people signed the list.
In 1902, the sabha moved to the Victoria public hall from where it functioned from 1902 to 1936, then it moved to mount road, which is it current location. In 1945, the sabha built its own theatre called the New theatre. After the Second World War, stage dramas began to diminish. At that time, the sabha transformed into a social club.
Pammal Vijayaranga Sambandha Mudaliar (1873-1964), who has been described as “the founding father of modern Tamil theatre”, was a playwright, director, producer and actor of the late nineteenth- and early twentieth centuries. He was a recipient of the civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan.
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