The 21-day International Theatre Festival, Bharat Rang Mahotsav is set to begin on February 1 and the 19th edition of Asia’s grandest drama festival is centered around the theme ‘Whose Theatre is it Anyway’.
The thought provoking theme ‘Whose Theatre Is It Anyway’ and the discussions around ownership of theatre, as a commodity or not, and the relative marginalisation of the art in this century will be a delight for all theatre lovers, given the profound nature of the theme.
“NSD as the country’s premier theatre institute aims to take theatre to all corners of our country and show and inculcate a way of life where theatre survives, thrives and enriches all those involved with it,” says Kendre.
This festival will represent various facets of Indian theatre such as classical, modern, Indian narratives and folk performances such as Marsiya, Kirtan and Chakiyar Koothu. The festival will have on board eminent Indian and International theatre personalities discussing theatre and topics surrounding theatre.
“NSD as the country’s premier theatre institute aims to take theatre to all corners of our country and show and inculcate a way of life where theatre survives, thrives and enriches all those involved with it,” says NSD Director Waman Kendre.
The 19th edition of Bharat Rang Mahotsav, Asia’s largest theatre extravaganza, will not see any performances from neighbouring Pakistan or China.
Of the 12 countries staging 14 of the total 94 performances, there will be no performances from Pakistan or China, said organizers from National School of Drama.
Downplaying the absence of Pakistani artistes this year, NSD director Waman Kendre said, “They (artistes) had sent applications but the committee might not have selected them. Quality is the only criteria we keep in mind and they might not have matched it.”
He also said that a record-breaking number of applications were sent in to the Expert Committee from all over the world, and 602 applications were sent from around India alone.
On China’s absence, NSD professor Suresh Bharadwaj said that scheduling issues prevented performers from attending the festival.
Of two Israeli plays that were scheduled, one has been cancelled as the artistes faced problems regarding tickets, bringing the total number of foreign plays to 14.
The schedule includes performances by artists from England, Russia, Italy, Israel, Turkey, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Romania, Malasiya, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh, as well as folk artists from around India.
(With agency inputs)