LUCKNOW, July 19 -- For a city that prides itself on being the cultural capital of north India, Lucknow today has few functioning stages to showcase its rich theatre tradition. With its major auditoriums lying shut due to renovation work and power-related issues, theatre artistes say the city's stage culture is facing a crisis. They also allege that at Rai Umanath Bali Auditorium, which reopened a few months ago after renovation, the makeover has done more harm than good.

At the Bhartendu Natya Academy (BNA), both newly renovated auditoriums - BM Shah Auditorium and Raj Bisaria Thrust - remain shut despite being inaugurated in April earlier this year. BNA chairperson Rati Shankar Tripathi said the electrical load of the complex has incre...